Tote Placepot Explained: Rules, Tips & Strategy

Tote Placepot Explained: What Is a Placepot?

Visit any high-street bookmaker in the UK and you will find hordes of long rectangular papers, covered in numbers and check boxes akin to lottery slips. These are Tote betting slips, and they are very popular with novice and professional punters alike. The Tote Placepot is one of the products operated by the UK Tote Group (others include the Tote Jackpot, Scoop 6 and Quadpot).

The Placepot is very popular amongst many punters as it enables them to win large sums of money, for relatively small outlays. The bet requires you to select horses to be placed in the first six races of a UK or Irish meeting, and major international meetings like the Dubai World Cup, Breeders’ Cup and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Why Is the Tote Placepot a Good Bet?

The Tote Placepot is a good bet for several reasons. Firstly, as a punter is effectively betting against others and not the bookmakers, then a skilled operator will be at an advantage. Lots of ‘blind’ money backing purely favourites, certain numbered horses or bad selections, help to swell the coffers and ensure the fund for the dividend is strong.

Lastly, the Placepot is typically a good bet because it offers value to the customers. The takeout is 28% which may sound a lot, but that is over six races. Comparing the margin to an accumulator or multiple bet with six selections, the value is there for all to see.

Due to bookmakers’ in-built margins on each horse and race, the true odds of success are actually about double what the customer receives (compounding the margins).

How Does a Placepot Work?

Each meeting has its own Placepot – usually the first six races on the card unless otherwise stated. The total amount bet on a Placepot goes into a prize pool which is split by the winners.

• In fields of 4 runners or less, you have to select the winner.
• In fields of 5-7, the horse can finish first or second
• In fields of 8 or more, the horse can finish in the top three.
• If the race is a 16 runner+ handicap, that extends to the top four.

Tote currently take 28% out of the final pool to cover administration and to return some revenue into the sport. The 72% remaining is paid out to the winners. After the six races have been run, the final dividend is calculated to a £1 stake.

Tote Placepot Strategy

It is best to pick horses with consistent form figures who don’t often win, but regularly finish in the top 4, as opposed to those who win sporadically, but can run a series of stinkers. Consistency and reliability are key when it comes to the Placepot. Ask any of the best Placepot tipsters and they’ll tell you the same.

Horses with good form at the course should always be considered and those proven under similar racing conditions are attractive from a Placepot perspective. A horse with less latent ability, but proven form on the going is preferable to one who comes into the race with a series of 1’s next to its name, but hasn’t run on the surface.

In races with more than one selection, it can sometimes pay to speculate on a runner at a bigger price that may outrun its odds. For instance, a good trainer record at the track, a horse returning from a break, good back form but in poor form recently, etc. The money is really made when the fancied runners are unplaced and the outsiders fill the spots – this occurrence is commonly known as a ‘Placepot buster’.

Should You Back the Favourite?

When all the favourites on a card are placed, the payout is invariably low. Many betting shop punters simply back all the favourites (there is a box to tick for each race to back the SP favourite) and obviously the more people supporting a horse in each race, the lower the Placepot dividend will be.

Therefore, whilst the favourite is clearly the most likely winner, supporting a runner at bigger odds, who have a solid chance of placing, is likely to yield better returns in the long run.

If the favourite fluffs their lines and is unplaced, it will knock out a large proportion of the pool and will give those remaining the opportunity to share a sizeable dividend.

How Many Lines Should You Bet?

There is no limit as to how many horses are picked in each individual race – but selecting multiple runners in each contest can produce eye-watering stakes. To work out stakes, the number of selections must be multiplied race by race. For instance:

• 2 selections per race – 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = £64
• 3 selections per race – 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = £729
• 4 selections per race – 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = £4096

The stakes for 2 selections per race, let alone 3 or 4, are out of reach for most punters. A more common Placepot may look like:

• 1 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 4 x 1 = £16

In the races where a punter is confident in their selection, or where there is a short-priced favourite in a small field (win only qualifies) they may just play one line.

However, there may be a tricky, open looking 16-runner handicap on the same card where it would be prudent to cover several runners to remain in with a shout of capturing the dividend.

Don’t worry if the math goes over your head – you can use a Placepot calculator to do all the work for you.

Tips for Playing the Tote Placepot

Playing the Tote Placepot can be an enjoyable and profitable way to bet. Being successful at the Placepot is a balancing act between thinking differently from the rest of the crowd and including runners who have a solid chance of placing.

Backing the solitary runner in contests where there is utmost confidence in the horse placing, and combining that strategy with picking several runners in the more difficult races, can keep stake size down, but give a solid change of success.

Should You Join a Syndicate?

Joining a syndicate can be a fun and advantageous way to play the Placepot. By pooling funds together and placing a bet as a group, the number of lines can be increased, thus improving the chances of success.

Admittedly the relative payout will be smaller as the dividend is shared between the syndicate, but having several eyes pour of the form and research potential trends which help the selection process, can be fruitful in the long term.

Live Placepot Betting

The Tote, the UK’s leading pool betting operator, updates Placepot running totals after every race. These results are instantly shared with other online bookmakers offering the Tote Placepot, making it easy to track all your bets in-running.

The Tote website provides all the information you need to track the potential dividends of your Tote Placepot. The pool size updates as every punter confirms their bet, so you’ll know how much the Tote jackpot is worth before the first race of the meeting begins.

This makes the Tote Placepot an exciting alternative to betting on one horse in a single race, especially if you pool your money together and join a syndicate.

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