In order to place your bets so that you have maximum chance of winning, you need to understand the odds. You have to be proficient at reading the odds so that you can estimate your chances without making any errors in judgment. Speed in assessing the odds is also important so that you are able to place your wagers before the dynamic odds change. One of the reasons that betting odds follow primarily a numerical representation is that the bookmakers have to present a lot of information in a limited amount of space and they expect the bettors to understand the manner in which the odds are represented.

Odds are represented according to the different types, the broad classification; however, is fractional/ decimal/ moneyline. The odds vary with the type of sport and as you learn about the probabilities of an event occurring in a game and study historical success rates, you will be able to make better use of the information displayed on the betting boards. With time, you should be able to place bets after reading the odds and assessing not only the chances of your win but also the kind of edge the house holds on a bet of that kind.

The following examples will help you understand better the manner in which betting odds are read.

Bet Number Team Point Line Total Money Line

101 ABC +200

102 DEF -5 10 -150

The Betting Board above gives the odds for the different types of wagers that you can lay for the given team ABC.

Point Line refers to the Point Spread bets. In the above example, DEF is favored to win over ABC by 5 points. The usual way of representing is to mention the point line next to the favorite team with the points preceded by a (-) sign. So, in this case there are two bets that can be placed. DEF wins by 6 or more points or ABC win/lose by 4 or less points.

Total bets are wagers against the total number of points scored in a game. The bettor can bet over or under the total number of points set by the bookmaker.

Money Line bets involve selecting a winner. In the above example, a $100 wager on ABC will give you $200. If you wish to earn $100 on team DEF, you need to wager $150. This is because team DEF has been marked favorite by the odd setters and since the odds are low on this team, the bookmakers will try and make the bettors pay more for a given bet. With money line betting you can develop your own ideas over time whether it is better to place a wager on the underdog or bet on the topdog.

Dime supers are now offered at many tracks across the country and the bet seems to be a big hit. When playing the superfecta, the bettor tries to pick the first four horses to finish. It is like a trifecta where the bettor picks the first three finishers, a bet that has been popular for years, but the bettor must pick one more horse. Anyone who has done some horse racing handicapping betting for a while knows that this can be a difficult task, but not impossible.

When superfectas were first offered, most tracks only offered a $1 or $2 base bet. So boxing four horses in a superfecta box for a $1 bet would cost $24 because there were 24 possible combinations. Key bets and wheels could be much more expensive as handicappers tried to get more horses into the equation. The original superfecta bets attracted bettors who typically played for more money and bigger bets, but who were willing to risk that much to have a chance to win a large superfecta. When only $1 or $2 bets were available in the superfecta pools, the payoffs were often quite large, but now that many people can play many combinations for a tenth of the original costs, the payoffs have dropped accordingly.

Realizing that they have to please the crowd and small bettors without alienating the large bettors (whales), most race tracks have kept a few $1 minimum superfectas. Though this is only anecdotal, it seems that those superfectas do have larger payoffs even after making the adjustment for the difference in minimum bet amounts. People who prefer to play the supers for larger amounts and expect a big payoff when they succeed can still find action in those superfecta races.

The “dime supers,” as they are called, can be a lot of fun to play and still offer a chance for a good payoff for a winning ticket. For just $2.40 a horse player can box four horses and have a chance to win. A horseplayer with a little more to spend can try wheels and other bet combinations. A five horse box will cost the bettor $6.00.

To figure how much a wheel will cost, just multiply the number of horses in each leg or segment of the bet times each of the others. For instance, here is how to figure what a 10 cent super bet with one horse on top, over three horses, over four horses, over five horses would cost…

A/BCD/BCDE/BCDEF
(1) (3) (4) (5)

Believe it or not, there are actually only 27 possible combinations in the partial wheel bet shown above so

27

x.10

$ 2.70

Therefore, the (partial wheel) bet shown above would cost $2.70 and would include a total of 6 horses spread over the four positions of a super bet.

If you can pick that one horse that will win and find some good horses to place in each of the other positions, for $2.70 you may hit the dime super. If your key horse that you played on top goes off at low odds, the same amount wagered to win might not pay much, but if a few longshots get into the top four spots, you could hit a nice ten cent superfecta.

The secret to betting on horse racing for profit is to get the best value for your money. Good horseplayers look for value in all the pools, especially when one horse is almost certain to win because of its superior ability. While a win bet on such a runner may not pay well, the same money placed in another pool may bring a good payoff. The beauty of the dime super is that you can get a lot of horses, including some longshots, into your betting combinations.

While good horses that lay over the field are the most consistent, they rarely pay well so it is important to get some longshots into your bet. The next part of that scenario, of course, is to get those longshots to run well enough to fill out your dime super bet. You’ll have to depend upon racing luck for that.