Dutching calculator
Back two or more horses in the same race so you win the same amount whichever one wins. Calculator splits your total stake proportionally and warns when the bookmaker overround makes dutching a losing proposition.
Calculator splits this across selections so each winning horse returns the same amount.
Last column = calculator-suggested stake per selection.
How dutching works
Dutching is a stake-distribution technique. You back several horses in the same race, but you don't stake them equally — you stake more on the short prices, less on the longs, so the returns from any winner come out the same.
The maths. For each horse with decimal odds oi, the stake si must satisfy si × oi = R (same return R from any winner). Summing across all selections, R × Σ(1/oi) = T, so R = T / Σ(1/oi) and si = R / oi.
Worked example. £50 total stake on three horses at 3.5, 5.0 and 7.0. 1/3.5 + 1/5.0 + 1/7.0 = 0.6286. Return R = 50 / 0.6286 = £79.55. Stakes: 79.55 / 3.5 = £22.73 on the 3.5, 79.55 / 5.0 = £15.91 on the 5.0, 79.55 / 7.0 = £11.36 on the 7.0. Profit if any horse wins = £79.55 − £50 = £29.55.
The sanity check. If 1/oisums to more than 1, the bookmaker's overround is too big — dutching loses on average. The calculator's combined implied probability turns red in that case. Either drop the longest-priced selection or find better prices elsewhere.
FAQ
- What is dutching?
- Dutching is backing two or more horses in the same race in such a way that you win the same amount whichever one comes home. You divide your total stake unequally across selections — more on shorter prices, less on longer prices — so the return is identical from any winner.
- How do you calculate dutching stakes?
- For each selection with decimal odds o_i, the stake is s_i = T × (1/o_i) / Σ(1/o_j), where T is your total stake. The return if any selection wins is R = T / Σ(1/o_j). The calculator does this automatically — just enter total stake and the odds.
- When is dutching profitable?
- Dutching is profitable when the sum of 1/odds across all your selections is less than 1.0 (i.e. the bookmaker's overround on your subset of horses is less than 100%). If it's greater than 1.0, you'll lose money on average even when one of your horses wins — the calculator flags this in red.
- Is dutching the same as arbitrage?
- Dutching is one form of arbitrage. Pure arbitrage usually involves backing one horse with one bookmaker and laying the same horse with another (or backing every horse in a market across bookmakers). Dutching is the simpler version: back a small subset of horses in the same race at the same bookmaker. Both rely on finding prices where the implied probabilities don't sum to 100%.
- How many horses should you dutch in one race?
- Two or three is typical. Beyond four selections you're essentially betting on every plausible horse, and most racing markets are priced so that the more horses you include, the closer the combined implied probability gets to 100% (and usually over it). The sweet spot is two strongly fancied horses where the field is thin or wide-open.
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