Win Place Show, huh? So you want to partake in some pari-mutuel wagering? Don’t worry, that’s a fancy term that means “betting among ourselves”. When you place a wager on a horse race you are not betting against the “house” as you would be if you were wagering at a casino in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Instead, you are betting your horse against every other bettor. Let the best man win!
- Win Vs Place Vs Show
- How To Win Place Show Payouts Work
- How Does Win Place Show Pay
- Calculate Win Place Show Payouts
What is a Win Place Show Bet?
Win Place Show bets are commonly called straight wagers and are the most traditional in horse racing. They are lower risk bets compared to exotic wagers like Exactas and Trifectas. These wagers are a good place for the novice horseplayer to jump in. Let’s look at the different wagering requirements.
Roulette payouts are an important part of roulette strategy. They work like this. The odds are stated in the form of x to 1, which means you’ll win x dollars for every dollar you’ve bet. For example, the single number bet offers a payout of 35 to 1. If you win, you’ll get your dollar back plus the $35 for the win. Take your winning ticket to a PA Lottery Games retailer to validate. The retailer may pay valid lottery prizes up to and including $2,500 per ticket. If the Lottery payout is over $600, you must complete a claim form. You must also file a claim form for any winning Lottery.
The Three Different Win Place Show Bets
Win: If you wager $2 to Win on your horse, you collect only if your horse finished first.
Place: If you wager $2 to Place, your horse must finish first or second for you to collect. But remember, you don’t get the Win payoff, just the Place payoff, which is generally smaller than the win payoff.
Show: If you wager $2 to Show, your horse must finish first, second, or third. But remember, you only collect the Show payoff.
Many experts consider playing a horse to Win to be the best bet in horse racing. Before placing a Win bet a horseplayer can see the odds on the tote board and then determine if those odds represent good wagering value.
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Win Vs Place Vs Show
Win Place Show Strategy
A term you may hear tossed around at the track is an “Across the Board” wager. Here you are wagering on a horse to Win Place Show on one ticket. If your horse wins, you receive Win Place Show payoffs. If your horse finishes second, you receive Place and Show payoffs; and if your horse is third, you receive the Show payoff only.
These wagers would be considered “low risk” betting, at least compared to the rest of the wagering menu. There also is a lower “takeout” on these wagers. The takeout is the cut the track takes to pay purses and expenses. The “take” on Win Place Show wagers is generally around 17% depending on the jurisdiction. The takeout on Exactas and Trifectas can range from 19% to as much as 30% at some tracks.
Win Place Show Payout Examples
Here are a couple of examples of Win payoffs based on the odds you might see on the tote board:
How To Win Place Show Payouts Work
2/1 pays $6.00
7/2 pays $9.00
9/2 pays $11.00
10/1 pays $22.00
(Based on a $2 win bet).
Horse Racing Betting Explained
What is a Show Bet?
When you bet to show your horse must finish first, second or third in order for you to cash a ticket.
The problem with show betting is that while your risk is reduced (you cash a ticket if your horses finishes anywhere in the top three positions), the payoffs are often very small when compared to win or place betting. This is because the show pool (all money wagered to show on a race minus the track takeout) must be divided equally and paid out to the holders of show tickets on the first three finishers in a race.
Additionally, the payoffs on show bets are dependant on which horses finish in the top three positions. If the favorites run out of the top three positions, the show payoffs will normally be higher than if the favorites finish in the first three positions.
There are a few situations, however, when show betting can be either justified or just plain fun.
The first situation occurs when a race includes one short-priced favorite and ALL other runners in the race are longshots. In this scenario, the favorite will sometimes pay as much to place and show as it does to win.
The second situation in which show betting can offer a good payoff is when you really like a horse to win, and you think the favorite or favorites can finish out of the money. In this case, you have reduced your risk by betting to show while also having the opportunity for a decent payoff. In this scenario, betting your selection across the board (win, place, and show) might also be a reasonable option.
One of the most popular low-risk show wagering strategies (and the most fun), is to play a show parlay. Starting with whatever amount you are comfortable with, you play a horse to show. If your horse finishes in the first three, you take all the winnings and bet them back on the next race to show. You’d be surprised how quickly this can add up to a substantial amount.
For example:
In the first race of your parlay you bet a horse to show, and it finishes in the top three and returns $3 for a $2 show bet. If you had wagered $10 to show, you would now have $15.
In the second race you bet your $15 to show and your horse finishes in the first three, returning $2.80 for a $2 show wager, and increasing your bankroll to $21 (7.5 * 2.80). You have now doubled your original $10 stake.
In the third race you bet your $21 to show and your horse finishes in the first three and returns $3.60 to show. You now have $37.80 (10.5 * $3.60).
In the fourth race you bet $37 to show, and your horse again finishes in the first three. You’re on a roll! This time your horse pays $3 to show for a $2 wager, and you have increased your original $10 to $55.50 (18.5 * $3). If you keep going it won’t be long before you have increased your initial stake of $10 to over $100.
The best way to play a show parlay is to set a reasonable goal of how much you want to win and to keep betting the show parlay until you get there. You then start over. If you don’t make it to your goal on the first try, you have only lost $10.
Show parlays are affordable, fun and can be lucrative. They give you action on every race at a very low cost and the closer you get to your monetary goal, the more the tension and excitement builds.
How Does Win Place Show Pay
Limited bankroll? Enjoy yourself by betting to show!
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