As the name would suggest, a betting slip with a -150 side is reserved for use in conjunction with gambling activities in which the gambler wins back twice the amount of money staked. The side number signifies the ‘juiciness’ of the bet: –20 is a negative bet that the gambler will lose; a number between -10 and 10 represents a ‘push’, or push to make; and a number between 10 and 20 is a ‘side’, which is the general term for a bet in British sporting parlance.
Odds of 2.0 (or 20:1) are very popular in Britain because they are easy for the punter to understand. An Englishman in New York told me that they are often used in places where there is no other language available, such as in areas served by only one TV channel. The 2.0 odds are often used for soccer matches since the betting slip reads ‘2.0 soccer’ and it is customary to place a stake of £10 on a 2.0 soccer bet. This would equate to a £20 stake on a winning bet.
The house edge (also known as the betting slip ‘rake’) on a 2.0 bet is 20%. On a push or a side bet the house edge is 10%. On a losing bet the house edge is double your stake, i.e. a 50% chance of losing your money.
The advantage of the 2.0 odd is that it is very easy for the layperson to understand. However, people who are experienced in betting might find it obscure. The advantage of a 10/20 side is that it provides better odds for the gambler than a 2.0 bet, but it is easier for the bookie to comprehend for the layperson. You would need a calculator to work out what you stand to win or lose from a 10/20 bet. Some bookies only offer the 2.0 option, so if you want to place a bet using traditional odds, you might have to search diligently for a bookie that offers the 10/20 side.
How Large Can A Single Bet Slip Go?
A single betting slip can hold several separate bets. Each separate bet represents a separate wager, and each separate wager has its own separate house edge. The only way to win money from several bets is to combine them into one winning bet. When you get several bets together, you have to keep track of several outcomes to determine who wins. Consider the scenario in which you have staked £100 on five successive singles, each represented by a separate betting slip. If all five bets are placed at the same time, the bookie will shout ‘scrambled eggs’ at the top of his voice since no two outcomes can occur more than once in a single betting slip. In such a case, the bookie will collect on all five bets, but since you are playing against the house, you will lose your £100. If you want to take a gamble on a single event that will have multiple results, then you should look into several betting options.
Why Use The ‘Scrambled Eggs’ Option When Placing A Betslip?
When a bookie gives you an odd of 2.0 or 20:1, he is effectively saying that he will give you a rebate on your gambling activity in the form of additional free bets. To enable this, he will give you a choice of several outcomes that you can bet on, and he will collect on multiple wins. The name given to this option of choosing multiple options is a nod to the way in which the bets are ‘scrambled together’ by the bookie when multiple bets are placed. In other words, the bookies give the multi-option bet its own nickname because a bettor can end up with a jumbled mess of paper bets when everything is tallied up. This is unavoidable when several bets are placed in a single betting slip because the only way for the bookie to give you the rebate is to let you place several bets. If you want to take advantage of this option and use it to your advantage, then you should familiarise yourself with the concept of odds multiplication.
What Is Odds Multiplication?
Odds multiplication is the process of combining several odds to create a better overall chance of winning. You cannot place a combination bet, but you can use odds multiplication to effectively create one bet that is based on several other bets. The chances of winning are determined by taking the product of all the odds, and this is what results in the overall better chance of winning. The more bets you place, the better and more opportunities you have of winning. For example, you might staked £10 on a horse named Red Rum to win the Grand National, place £10 each on Snowball and Boudoir Flowers to win the Eclipse, and put £5 on a grey horse called Skippy to win the Irish Derby. Red Rum wins the Grand National, so you win £25 in total, as the product of the three separate bets is £90. Since you are playing against the odds, your profit from this bet is £45.
The Maths Of Odds Multiplication
To calculate the winning chance of an overall bet that is based on several other bets, you use a fraction to represent each of the individual winning chances. For example, let us say that you stake £10 on Red Rum to win the Grand National at odds of 4.0, £10 on Boudoir Flowers at odds of 6.0, and £5 on Skippy at odds of 8.0. In this case, the 4.0 odds for Red Rum are used twice, once to determine your profit on the bet and once to determine your loss. Your win will be 40% since you have doubled your money, and your loss will be 60% since you have lost £20 on the bet. The equation for calculating your profit or loss on this bet is as follows:
(£10 x 2) + (£10 x 1.4) + (£5 x 1.6) = £20 (Profit)
(£10 x 2) + (£10 x 1.36) + (£5 x 1.64) = −£20 (Loss)
To summarize, you will make a profit of £20 when Red Rum is victorious and you will suffer a loss of £20 when he loses. If you want to multiply the winning chances of several bets to create a better overall chance of winning, then you should use odds multiplication, also known as a ‘combo bet’.
The Difference In Terms Of Profit
The difference in terms of profit between combining several odds and placing several singles is significant. Let us say that you want to stake £100 on the grey horse Skippy to win the Irish Derby. If you put a £10 bet each on Snowball, Boudoir Flowers, and the famous Skippy, then you will win £110 from the £100 you staked. The overall chance of winning is 33.3%, which is higher than the 30% chance of winning with a single £10 stake on Skippy. In this case, it is better to combine the three £10 bets because the overall chance of winning is much better than if you had staked the £100 on Skippy alone.
Making The Most Of The Rebate
In most instances, you do not want to win the jackpot all in one bet. For example, say you want to make the most of the £4 free bet that you have earned with odds of 20:1 on a horse named Red Rum to win the Grand National. The fastest way to make the most of this opportunity is to bet £100 on Red Rum to win his first two runs, place another £100 on him to win his next two runs, and place the rest of your money on him to win his final two runs. In this case, you effectively bet £500 on Red Rum to win the Grand National, winning you a £4,000 bonus. It is important to place these large bets early in the day if you want to take advantage of the rebate. Consider that if you place these three bets at 11:00 pm, then the £4 rebate from the odds of 20:1 will be applied to your next bet, which in this instance will be a £100 stake on Red Rum to win the Eclipse.
In conclusion, if you understand the concept of betting slips and odds, you can place effective bets and make the most of the opportunities that the oddsmaker presents.