Return to the Main FAQ's PageFAQ # 25
ALL-WaysTM Support
What is meant by the term "Dutching"?
The term "Dutching" applies to situations where you wager on more than one horse for the same bet. Two horse win betting is the most common use of Dutching. Dutching simply means determining the amount to bet on each horse such that the payoff you receive would be the same regardless of which horse wins.
Here is some more information regarding two horse win betting.
A basic tenet of followers of the Sartin Methodology is betting two horses to win. Not everyone "buys in" to this because you are guaranteed one losing ticket. However, we do like two horse win betting and here is why. A very good handicapper will probably average about 30 to 35 percent wins betting one horse to win. The two horse win bettor will probably average about 60 to 65 percent wins. Now it is true that the two horse win bettor will always have one losing ticket and if both bettors wager the same dollar amount on a race, the two horse win bettor will have a smaller average net profit per winning bet. Here is what tips the scale in favor of the two horse bettor. Losing streaks will be far less frequent and will be shorter in duration. Your chances of "tapping out" will be greatly diminished. Because of this, the percentage of your win bet bankroll that you wager on a race can very safely be increased from the 3 to 5 percent range to the 5 to 8 percent range. The disadvantage of a guaranteed losing ticket is more than offset by a higher win percentage at a higher average bet size.
If there is a clear cut winner, then a one horse win bet is in order as long as it is an overlay. If two horses have a decent shot at the race and at least one is a significant overlay, then bet them both. If three horses figure, then bet the two that are overlays.
Now, you must structure your wager. Lets say that your win bet bankroll is $500 and you feel confident about the wager so you are willing to bet 8% of your bankroll. This gives you a total of $40 to wager on the two horses. Some followers of the Sartin Methodology suggest you can do well by simply always splitting the bet with 60% ($24) placed on the lowest odds horse and 40% ($16) on the longer odds horse. Let's say you bet $24 on a 2 to 1 shot $16 on a 4 to 1 shot. If the 2 to 1 horse wins, you collect $72 for a $32 net profit. If the 4 to 1 horse wins, you collect $80 with a $40 profit.
Another way to apportion the wager is to "Dutch" the bet. Here is the Dutching formula:
| Horse “A” Bet | = | (Odds to 1 of horse “B”) +1 | |||
| Horse “B” Bet | (Odds to 1 of horse “A”) +1 |
Let's say we have 2 to 1 and 4 to 1 horses. The formula looks like this:
| Horse “A” Bet | = | 4 + 1 | = | 5 | ||||
| Horse “B” Bet | 2 + 1 | 3 |
This means that for every $3 you wager on horse "B", you should wager $5 on Horse "A". Our total $40 wager is thus split with $25 bet on Horse "A" and $15 bet on horse "B". Regardless of which horse wins, we will get back $75 and our profit will be $35.
Two horse win betting may not be particularly exciting in itself. But consistently winning and a rapidly growing bankroll are a pretty exciting prospect for most horse players.