How Does A Placepot Work?

A placepot is a pool bet in which you must pick different horses to place in each of the first six races on any race card. The placepot can be a fun bet if you’re going for a day at the races or a cheap bet if you’re betting at home or on the go.

In the United Kingdom, placepots are run by the Tote, though you can have placepot bets with many of the leading online and high street bookmakers.

As a placepot is a pool bet, all selections are entered into the Tote pool for that specific meeting. Part of the excitement is not knowing what the placepot dividend will pay. You don’t know what selections everyone else has picked, so you can win a big placepot dividend if your selections are unpopular or win a small dividend if you find that you’ve been a sheep like all the other placepot punters.

A placepot dividend is not determined by the odds of any horses, simply by how many people have selected a winning combination of six-placed horses. This means you can win much bigger placepot dividends than you thought you would, or you could be disappointed.

Where Can I Have Placepot Bets?

If you’re heading for a day at any of the racecourses in the UK, you’ll be able to have your placepot bets on course. The Tote usually has an on-site shop, and there will also be portable Tote cabins set up all over the course on busy days.

All you need to do is fill in a placepot slip by selecting the number of the horse you think will place in each race. You can also do placepot multiplies by selecting more than one horse in some or all the races.

The Tote also has high-street shops (many of which are now Betfred) or you can have placepot bets online at the Tote betting site.

If you’re not a member of the Tote and you haven’t got a high street Tote shop near you, don’t worry, you can place bets at lots of other high street and online bookmakers. High street bookmakers that accept placepot bets include William Hill, Ladbrokes, and Coral.

The big three bookmakers also accept placepot bets online, as do other leading betting sites such as Bet365, Betfred, Betway, Sky Bet, Betfair Sportsbook, Paddy Power, and many more. If you’re having a placepot bet online, look for the placepot section where you’ll find an easy-to-fill-in digital placepot form.

How Many Horses Place In Each Race In A Placepot?

Placepot betting is based on the standard each-way place terms for races. For example, in a non-handicap with eight runners or more, the horses that finish 1-2-3 will be deemed to have been placed for placepot purposes.

In races with four runners or less, only the winner will count in a placepot, while the horses that finish 1-2 will place in races with 5-7 runners. In handicaps with more than 16 runners, the horses that finish 1-2-3-4 will place. *Please note, although some bookmakers offer enhanced place terms on some races, these enhanced places will not count for the placepot.

Placepot Betting Strategy

The simplest placepot betting strategy is to try and pick horses to place that you don’t think a lot of other punters will pick, as this gives you the best chance of landing a big dividend. But what you need to remember is even if you pick a 33/1 shot that places, it will only count the same as the favourite if the favourite also places.

Serious placepot punters tend to go through the card first and try and find dodgy favourites, perhaps one that is odds-on, but it falls now and again.

If you can find two or three dodgy favourites that most people will pick, this has the potential to take out a massive number of tickets.

However, you also need to consider that lots of people are taking these favourites on, so will you really be betting against the crowd unless you can find a couple of longshots that nobody else considers.

This uncertainty is what makes placepot betting both frustrating and exciting. I can remember a mate that had the placepot up at the Cheltenham Festival on a day when no favourites placed. He was expecting thousands for his straight £5 line, yet he only won £600. Meanwhile, I’ve seen all six favourites place on a card at Doncaster where the placepot paid over £5,000 for a £1 bet. Having said that, none of those six favourites had been the favourites in the morning.

You can also tick the ‘unnamed favourite’ in any placepot race, which means you’ve got a good chance of having a well-backed selection in your placepot. This isn’t a bad strategy in races in which you’re struggling to find an angle, though lots of other punters will also tick that box.

Placepot Permutations

Lots of punters have a straight placepot line, and you must stake a minimum of £2 when you do this with the Tote. But you can also have placepots with one or more selections in each race. What you need to understand is placepot perms are multiplied leg by leg.

A single line placepot perm with one horse in each race looks like this 1x1x1x1x1x1 = 1 bet

But a placepot perm with two horses in each race will be 2x2x2x2x2x2 = 64 bets

You can also mix it up with a different number of selections in each race.
For example: 2x3x1x4x1x2 = 48 bets

The choice is yours!

Do Tipsters Provide Tips For Placepots?

Some tipsters do provide tips for placepots, but these tipsters mainly work for betting sites that want you to have your placepot bets with them. Let’s face it, if you follow placepot tips, you’ll be betting on the same horses as everyone else that follows those tips. That’s fine when you can take odds about your horses, but when it comes to placepot betting all you are doing is reducing your chances of winning a big dividend.

That’s why professional horse racing tipsters tend not to give tips for placepot betting, as it’s impossible to gauge the value of any placepot bets.

Value betting is when you can bet on a horse at bigger odds than you think you should be able to and finding value bets is what professional gamblers and tipsters do to make a profit from horse racing.

Are Placepots worth it?

Placepots are valued for the extended engagement they offer with an entire afternoon of racing, building anticipation as you remain in contention for the sizable jackpot with each passing race. Every race you stay in the game edges you closer to winning a notable sum. The allure of substantial rewards makes Placepots appealing, despite the relatively slim odds of clinching the jackpot. The option to bolster your chances by entering multiple bets per race is available, and if luck is not on your side in the first couple of races, the Quadpot allows for re-entry, presenting another chance to win.

What happens to a Placepot with a non-runner?

Should one of your Placepot bets become a non-runner, your bet automatically transfers to the Starting Price (SP) favourite. This change could impact your odds and potential returns but ensures your bet is not wasted on a long shot. In situations where there’s a tie for the favourite following a non-runner, your bet shifts to the tied favourite with the highest racecard number.

Is there a maximum bet on a Placepot?

No maximum bet limit is imposed on Placepots. It’s crucial, however, to remember that Placepots are fundamentally meant for entertainment, aiming to enhance the racing experience with excitement. The pool’s size naturally creates a practical cap on potential payouts, suggesting a de facto ceiling on how much one should reasonably bet.

What is the difference between a Placepot and a Quadpot?

The distinction between a Placepot and a Quadpot lies in the races they encompass. The Placepot covers the first six races of a specific meeting, offering a comprehensive engagement with the day’s racing. Conversely, the Quadpot is concerned with races 3 to 6, accommodating those who arrive later and extending the excitement, or mitigating the disappointment, for those who were unsuccessful in the initial races. Though the Quadpot involves fewer races, leading to generally lower returns, it also improves the odds of winning compared to the Placepot.

What’s the history behind Placepot betting?

Placepot betting was introduced by the Tote and is not exclusive to any single bookmaker. It’s a popular form of betting at most UK bookies and at Tote windows at racecourses. Placepot pools can reach £100,000 or more, making it a lucrative option for punters.

Why Choose Plaepot betting over other types?

One of the main advantages of Placepot betting is the potential for hitting a jackpot with a relatively small stake, offering better value compared to single “win, place, show” bets. It’s seen as a strategic bet against weaker favourites.

Can you explain the pool deduction rate for a Tote Placepot?

The pool deduction rate for a Tote Placepot is 27%, which affects the net pool available for winning distributions.

How are Placepot dividends calculated and shared?

Placepot dividends fluctuate based on the number of winning tickets and the total pool after taxes. Dividends can be significantly high, especially when favourites don’t place, as seen with a memorable win at the Cheltenham Festival in 2019 where a punter won £182,567.80 from just a £2 stake.

What strategies can improve your chances of winning a Placepot?

Strategies include using ‘Banker Legs’ to keep total stakes reasonable by selecting strong favourites in certain races. Alternatively, targeting vulnerable favourites with consistent but less popular runners can yield higher dividends. In competitive races, using multiple lines can cover more outcomes, potentially increasing the chance of a win.

What’s the minimum stake for a Placepot bet?

The minimum stake per line is typically 10p, with some providers allowing for 5p lines, and the minimum total stake for a bet is £1.