When you place a bet on a horse, you’re given the option of wagering either money or the equivalent in free chips. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume you’re betting with real money.
If you opt for the former, the stake you’ll contribute will be measured in money. If you bet with the latter, you’ll have to provide the equivalent in chips. While the exact amount of chips you’ll need to bet with depends on the size of your stake, there’s an easy formula you can use to figure out how many chips you’ll need.
Here it is:
- Your money (Stake)
- Plus 125 (Wager)
The above equation tells you how to calculate your wager, as follows:
- For every $1 you place on a horse, you’ll wager $12.50
- If you bet with $100, your wager will be $125
- As you’d guess, the above equation works in reverse, too: if you bet $125 on a given horse, your stake will be $12.50
How ‘Plus 125’ Became A Staple In Wagering
Many sportsbooks and online betting sites use the phrase “plus 125” to denote a “tote” wager or an “over/under” wager. That’s because it was once common practice for bookmakers to require customers to wager a certain amount (usually $125 in the case of cricket betting) on top of their money stake. So if you wanted to bet $1000 on a given cricket match, you’d need to provide $1250 in addition to your original stake (which, for whatever reason, you decided to wager on a cricket match in the first place).
As you might imagine, this raised concerns among some bookmakers’ customers regarding fairness. Why should they have to provide an additional amount to wager on a game? It wasn’t all that long ago when sportsbooks and online betting sites were the only game in town when it came to wagering. But over the last decade or so, land-based bookmakers such as Parlay Sports and Betfair have seen a diminishing share of the sports betting market, as offshore betting sites have risen to prominence. So it was only natural that online bookmakers would try to keep up by adopting the same practice. As a result, today you’ll often see “plus 125” or “plus wager” (or even just “wager” in some cases) attached to wager amounts ranging from $2 to $500.
Why 125?
Amongst the growing number of online bookmakers, there’s been a recent uptick in the use of “plus 125” wagers. Why? Well, it’s no secret that bookmakers want to remain competitive. As noted, over the last decade sales at land-based bookmakers have declined, as have market share gains. And one of the primary ways online bookmakers can remain competitive is by taking the wagering market share from land-based bookmakers. Therefore, if you’re a user of online bookmakers, it makes sense that you’d see a growing number of “plus 125” wagers.
To that end, it’s also worth noting that the “plus 125” wager amount is pretty much standard amongst online bookmakers. You’ll rarely see it attached to larger wager amounts, such as $1000 or $2000. Instead, you’ll see a $125 plus wager more frequently attached to smaller wager amounts. For example, the “plus $25” wager is often used in place of a $100 plus wager. So if you’re trying to get the best deal possible, it’s worth asking for a “plus 125” wager rather than a “plus 100” wager.
Other Important Points
As mentioned, if you’re placing a wager on a horse race, you’ll need to decide whether to wager money or the equivalent in free chips. If you’re opting to wager with money, the cost to place a bet will be the same as in the case of a regular wager: $12.50 per $1 staked. However, if you elect to wager with chips, the cost per bet will be reduced to $2.50 plus the cost of an equivalent number of chips.
Also, if you’re placing a wager on a team in the NFL, you’ll need to decide whether to bet on that team to win or lose. In the case of a win, your wager will be credited with a 50% vigorish discount, as noted above. In the case of a loss, there will be no vigorish discount applied.
That’s it for today. As always, we hope we were able to provide you with valuable information and that you enjoyed reading. Good luck out there.