Many of us have probably seen or heard of a betting under. It’s one of the most famous betting systems that has been around for a while. You might know it as the “Dutch system” or the “French system”. In reality, it is not a system at all. It is simply a method of placing bets that is less likely to generate a profit for you as the punter (or gambler).
Before I go any further, it is important to understand how betting under (also known as pari-mutuel betting and odds betting) works in general.
Imagine you are at a bookmaker’s (or sporting goods store’s) racing department and you want to make some wagers on the horse races that are being held across the country. Depending on where you are located, the odds may vary from bookies in another country, but the overall principle behind betting under stays the same.
So you walk up to a counter and place your bets. The clerk takes your cash and gives you some tickets. On those tickets you have written the name of a horse and its winning probability. In theory at least, this is how betting under works.
But wait, there’s more!
Now, imagine you are at a horse race track and you want to make some wagers on the horse races that are being held across the country. Depending on where you are located, the odds may vary from bookies in another country, but the overall principle behind betting under stays the same.
So you walk up to a counter and place your bets. The clerk takes your cash and gives you some tickets. On those tickets you have written the name of a horse and its winning probability. In theory at least, this is how betting under works.
But wait, there’s more!
The above examples were meant to simulate a situation where you are betting on a single event; however, betting under is not so much about the event you are choosing, but rather the method of making the bet. This brings us to our next point.
The Method, Not The Event
If you bet on the outcome of an event, such as a horse race, football game, or tennis match, then you are essentially betting on the event itself and therefore are risking your money on something that can potentially happen. When talking about odds, you will always hear bookmakers refer to the event you are betting on, not the method of betting.
“Odds” refers to the fact that you are wagering on an event that has a known probability of occurring. So, if you are placing bets on the Superbowl then you are really wagering on whether or not the New England Patriots or the Atlanta Falcons will win the game. Or if you want to place a bet on who will win the World Series, then you are staking out that the Boston Red Sox will defeat the Chicago Cubs in the Fall Classic.
While there is more than one way to skin a cat, in other words, more than one method of betting under, all of them follow the same basic idea. The key is to pick events and conditions that are less likely to generate a profit for you as the gambler. This is why people who use this method try to avoid events with high degrees of uncertainty, like sports that are not professionally organized or games that are held in foreign countries. These are just a few examples of what not to do if you want to make a profit as a gambler using the betting under method.
The Dutch and French Systems
The two most famous and most commonly used forms of betting under are the Dutch system and the French system. These two systems were developed independently, according to different proponents, but they both share a common origin. Indeed, some claim that the French system was inspired by the Dutch system. The following will examine how these two systems work.
The Dutch System
The Dutch system is named after a town in Holland, where the practice of bookmaking first came into existence. The method of betting under is basically the same, no matter where you are located in the world. You will find bookies willing to take your wagers in all parts of Holland and even some in Belgium and Germany. The odds offered by Dutch bookmakers may be slightly higher than those in other parts of Europe, but the principle behind the method remains the same: minimize your risk and increase your odds of profiting from gambling.
The Dutch system was designed to allow for more accurate odds comparisons and easier risk-versus-reward analysis. For instance, if you look at the odds for the major sporting events, you will generally find that they are remarkably consistent. The World Series has an average win probability of 40 percent for the home team. The Superbowl is a close second with an average win probability of 39 percent. The NBA Finals are next at 37 percent, and then the NHL and NCAA finals follow suit.
The reason why the Dutch system is so popular is because it minimizes the number of variables that can change the outcome of a wager. If you are familiar with statistics, you will know that there are many different ways in which a single game can end up. For instance, if you are betting on the World Series and the Chicago Cubs win the game, then the probability of you profiting is 29/64 or 46.875 percent. But if you had backed the Los Angeles Dodgers instead, your chance of winning would have been 33/64 or 52.5 percent. So, by using the Dutch method, you can eliminate half of the variables that can affect the outcome of your bet.
However, if you want to make a killing at the races, then avoid using the Dutch system. The reason is because the Dutch system was designed for people who want to simply make a profit on the outcomes of sporting events, per se. If you are looking to profit from the activity of gambling, then the French system is what you want to use.
The French System
Like the Dutch system, the French system was designed to eliminate as many variables as possible when making wagers. However, French bookmakers were more focused on minimizing their risk, rather than maximizing their profit. As a result, the odds offered by French bookmakers are generally higher than those in the Netherlands. The higher the risk, the higher the reward, as the saying goes.
The French system is named after the city of Paris. Like the Dutch system, the French system was first used for comparing odds across different bookmakers. Back in the day, people would travel from Paris to other parts of France to compare odds and place bets. The practice of pari-mutuel betting (or odds betting) was initially developed in Paris some time in the 17th century. Today, the French system is still widely used throughout Europe and in countries like Canada and Australia. It is also popular in the Arab world, especially in countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where gambling is legal and regulated.
Pari-mutuel betting is the original form of bookmaking. It originated from the idea that all people who bet on a certain outcome will contribute their winnings together. For instance, if you are betting on the Superbowl and the New England Patriots win, then you will generally win your bet, even though the odds may be in favor of the Atlanta Falcons. In essence, everyone who bets on the New England Patriots to win the Superbowl will end up losing their money, because they will be coming up short. However, the person who bets on the Atlanta Falcons will make a small profit, since they will win the game.
So, like the Dutch system, the French system was designed to reduce the number of variables that can change the outcome of a wager. In fact, the French system was developed with the idea of using statistics to analyze and reduce the amount of variables in a betting situation. For example, the French system tries to normalize the variance, so that betting on a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who have an average winning probability of only 34 percent, will yield the same profit as betting on the New England Patriots, with an average winning probability of 40 percent. With the French system, you are essentially placing the same bet as always, but you are taking into account the fact that some books will likely be more profitable than others. And given that you are looking for a way to reduce as many variables as possible, the French system is what you want to use if you want to profit from gambling. So here’s a piece of advice: if you want to win at gambling, then use the Dutch system or the modified Dutch system, if you are located in Holland, and use the French system if you are elsewhere.