Question by Goats: How does the betting work with odds?
When You bet on a horse or something, Say the odds are 10:1 – you bet on the horse at this time. Then later in the day the odds change to 5:1 Do you get The 5:1 or the 10:1 odds?
Best answer:
Answer by joe.attaboy
You get whatever the final odds are, if you’re betting on the tote, which is the way it’s done all over now (in the old days, you would place your bets directly with a bookmaker).
Betting on a horse race is a form of wagering known as “parimutuel” wagering. This means you’re actually betting against everyone else in a “pool”. the odds are determined by the amount of money wagered on each horse entered in the race, in ration to the total pool of money wagered all together. The less money is wagered on an entry, the higher its odds are to win.
The odds are supposed to be a reflection of the horse’s chances to win, but in reality, they’re not. Odds are simple an opinion…based on how much is bet on each horse. It’s the opinion of the people making the wagers, and really had nothing to do with the actual chances of each horse to win.
People who wager on horse racing successfully (and there are people who do) look at a horse’s chances without regard to the betting odds. The horse doesn’t know what its odds are, right? So, you have to rate the fields based on *your handicapping opinion* of what each entry’s chances of winning are.
Over time, you will see that your opinion of who’s best usually lines up with the wagering odds. However, careful analysis may point to one horse having an edge over the others for reasons that aren’t apparent. If you’re convinced that factor gives that horse and edge, and rate the win percentage high, you’ll find that the public often misses these things and gives the horse lesser consideration in the betting. This is a value bet, or an overlay…a horse who’s chances of winning are greater than the odds reflect. These kind of wagers don’t happen in great numbers, but if you spot them, you can profit from them.
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