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Betting calculators
Dutching calculator: split a stake so each selection pays the same
Enter the odds of each selection and either the total you want to spend or the return you want. The calculator gives the stake on each selection, the return from whichever wins, and the loss if none of them does. Jump to a worked example, or use the odds converter to read a price first.
| Selection | Odds | Stake | Return if it wins | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2/1 | £44.44 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| 2 | 3/1 | £33.33 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| 3 | 5/1 | £22.22 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
- Total stake
- £99.99
- Market’s chance that one of them wins
- 75%
- Return if any selection wins
- £133.32
- Profit or loss if any selection wins
- £33.33
- Loss if none of them wins
- £99.99
How a dutching calculator works
Dutching is a way of splitting one amount between several selections in the same event so that each of them pays the same if it wins. A shorter-priced selection gets a bigger share of the money and a longer-priced one a smaller share, and the two effects cancel out. The calculator does the split for you: enter the odds of each selection and the total you want to spend, and it gives the stake for each one and the return you would get from whichever wins.
The arithmetic is short. Turn each price into its implied chance, which is one divided by the decimal odds. Add them up. Each selection’s stake is its own share of that total, multiplied by the amount you have to spend. The return is the same for all of them: the total stake divided by the sum of the implied chances. At 2/1, 3/1 and 5/1 the decimal odds are 3, 4 and 6, the implied chances are a third, a quarter and a sixth, and together they come to 75 per cent.
| Selection | Odds | Stake | Return if it wins | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse A | 2/1 | £44.44 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| Horse B | 3/1 | £33.33 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| Horse C | 5/1 | £22.22 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
Read the table across. Each selection returns about the same £133 if it wins, and the profit is about the same, £33, whichever of the three it is. The pennies differ only because each stake is rounded to the nearest penny. Read the bottom of the calculator too. If none of the three wins, all £100 is lost. That is the part of dutching that is easy to forget.
Dutching calculator for horse racing
Dutching is most often used on a race. A bettor who thinks one of three horses will win, and cannot split them, backs all three in the proportions above and takes the same return from any of them. The prices at which a bookmaker offers them decide whether the return is above or below the stake. When the implied chances of the chosen horses add up to less than 100 per cent, as in the example, the return is higher than the stake if one of them wins. That is a statement about the three prices and says nothing about whether any of the three will actually win.
The number to look at is the sum of the implied chances. In the example it is 75 per cent, which is the market’s view of the chance that one of your three horses wins. In a race with several runners, the rest of the field has the other 25 per cent and more, because the prices of all runners together add up to more than 100 per cent. If one of the others wins, the stake on your three is lost.
Dutching on football and other markets
The same sums work on any market with a set of outcomes. In a match result market there are three: home win, draw and away win. Dutching two of them covers two thirds of the market, and the return from either is equal.
| Selection | Odds | Stake | Return if it wins | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home win | 2.10 | £61.82 | £129.82 | £29.82 |
| Draw | 3.40 | £38.18 | £129.81 | £29.81 |
With home at 2.10 and the draw at 3.40, the implied chances add up to about 77 per cent and the return is above the total stake whichever of the two happens. The calculator shows that and also shows that an away win loses everything. Covering two of three outcomes is not the same as covering the match. For the maths behind prices and probabilities, see our odds converter.
What dutching does not do
It does not make a loss impossible and it does not cover outcomes you have not selected. The calculator shows both ends: the return and profit if any of your selections wins, and the loss of the total stake if none does.
| Outcome | Total stake | Return | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse A wins | £99.99 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| Horse B wins | £99.99 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| Horse C wins | £99.99 | £133.32 | £33.33 |
| Another horse wins | £99.99 | £0.00 | -£99.99 |
It also does not make a bad price good. Dutching only splits money between prices that already include the bookmaker’s margin. If you cover every outcome in a market, the implied chances add up to more than 100 per cent and the equal return is below the stake, so a full cover is a certain loss. The calculator lets you see this by entering all the outcomes of a market.
Why covering a whole market returns less than you stake
Take a coin-toss style market with two outcomes, each priced at 1.90. The implied chances are 52.6 per cent each, which add up to 105.3 per cent. Putting £100 on both, split evenly, returns £95 whichever wins, a loss of £5.
| Selection | Odds | Stake | Return if it wins | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side one | 1.90 | £50.00 | £95.00 | -£5.00 |
| Side two | 1.90 | £50.00 | £95.00 | -£5.00 |
That £5 is the bookmaker’s margin on the market. Joining prices does not remove it, and a larger number of selections does not either. The calculator will show you the margin of any set of prices as the amount by which the implied chances go above 100 per cent.
Rounding the stakes
A bookmaker accepts stakes in whole pence, and some bet slips are easier with round numbers. The calculator can round each stake to the nearest penny, ten pence or pound, and shows the effect. Rounded stakes break the equal-return rule slightly, so the returns from the selections differ by a small amount.
| Rounding | Stakes | Total stake | Return if one wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest penny | £44.44, £33.33, £22.22 | £99.99 | £133.32 |
| Nearest 10p | £44.40, £33.30, £22.20 | £99.90 | £133.20 |
| Nearest £1 | £44.00, £33.00, £22.00 | £99.00 | £132.00 |
Rounding to whole pounds on three horses at a total of £100 gives stakes of £44, £33 and £22 and a total of £99. All three return £132. The loss of a pound against the exact split is the price of tidy numbers, and it grows as the stakes get smaller.
Working backwards from the return you want
The calculator can start from the other end. Choose the return you want instead of the amount to spend, and it gives the stakes that would pay that sum from any of the selections, and the total you would need.
| Selection | Odds | Stake | Return if it wins | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse A | 2/1 | £40.00 | £120.00 | £50.00 |
| Horse B | 3/1 | £30.00 | £120.00 | £50.00 |
For a return of £120 with selections at 2/1 and 3/1, the stakes are £40 and £30, so the total is £70 and the profit is £50 if either wins. The sum of the implied chances here is 58 per cent, and the same warning applies: if neither wins, the £70 is gone.
Non-runners, each way and rule 4
This calculator works on win bets. In horse racing, if a selection is a non-runner, its bet is void and the stake comes back, but the stakes on the others are unchanged, so the return from them is no longer equal to what you planned. A Rule 4 deduction after a withdrawal can also reduce the return on a winner. Our Rule 4 explainer shows how the deduction scale works.
Each-way bets have a win part and a place part and do not dutch in the same way. For those use the each way calculator. For a set of bets that covers several selections with different results, use the bet calculator, and for one bet that needs every selection to win, the accumulator calculator.
How many selections to dutch
Each added selection spreads the money thinner. With two selections the stakes are large and the return is a modest multiple of the total. With six, each stake is small, the sum of the implied chances climbs towards the whole market, and the equal return falls towards the total stake and then below it. The calculator lets you add up to ten selections so that you can watch this happen: as the chances approach 100 per cent, the profit shrinks to nothing.
A short list of selections also keeps the total in view. It is easier to know what you are risking when three stakes are on the screen than when nine are.
Dutching compared with a single bet
A single bet on one selection pays a lot if it wins and nothing if it does not. Dutching trades some of that return for a better chance that you collect something. In the horse racing example, backing only the 2/1 horse with the whole £100 returns £300 if it wins, while dutching the three returns about £133 from any of them. The dutched bet pays more often, because three horses can win, and pays less each time.
The calculator does not recommend either. Neither is better in itself. The question is whether the extra chance is worth the lower return at these prices, and the calculator gives the numbers for that comparison. The prices decide the answer, and so does the chance that none of the selected outcomes happens.
Common mistakes with dutching
The first is treating an equal return as a guaranteed one. It is equal between the selections you chose, and it exists only if one of them wins. The second is leaving out a likely outcome to keep the sums neat. The third is entering prices from different bookmakers as if they were all available at once, when prices move and bets are accepted at the price shown when you place them. The fourth is ignoring the total, which can be larger than you intended once you add a fourth or fifth selection.
Betting responsibly when you dutch
Spreading a stake across several selections can make a bet feel safer than it is. The loss if none of them wins is the full total, and the margin works against you on every price. Decide the total before you start, set a deposit limit in your account, and keep to a budget you can afford to lose. Betting is for people aged 18 and over. You can get free, confidential support from GambleAware, and GamStop will block all licensed UK betting sites for a period you choose. Our method page explains how the rest of the site is built.
How the calculator works
Each price is turned into its decimal odds and then into an implied chance, one divided by the odds. The chances are added. For a total stake, each selection’s stake is its share of the sum of chances multiplied by the total; for a target return, each stake is the target divided by that selection’s odds. Stakes are then rounded to the step you choose, and each return is the rounded stake times the odds, so the returns differ slightly when the stakes are rounded. The loss if none wins is the total of the stakes. The calculator and the tables on this page split stakes with the same function, which tests check against splits worked out by hand. It is arithmetic, not a forecast, and it does not know the chance that any selection wins.
Questions about the dutching calculator
What is dutching?
Splitting one amount between several selections in the same event so that each pays the same if it wins. Shorter prices get a bigger share of the money.
How do you calculate a dutching bet?
Turn each price into an implied chance (one divided by the decimal odds), add them up, and give each selection its share of the total. The return is the total divided by the sum of the chances.
Does dutching always make a profit?
No. The return is equal between the selections you chose, but if none of them wins the whole stake is lost. If you cover every outcome in a market, the bookmaker’s margin means the return is below the stake.
Can I dutch football bets?
Yes. Any market with a set of outcomes works, such as the match result. Covering two of the three outcomes loses everything if the third happens.
What does the market’s chance mean in the calculator?
The sum of the implied chances of your selections. It is the market’s view of the chance that one of them wins, and it includes the bookmaker’s margin.
Why do my returns differ slightly?
Stakes are rounded to whole pence, ten pence or pounds. Rounding breaks the equal-return rule by a small amount.
Does the calculator work for each way bets?
No. It works on win bets. Each way bets have a win part and a place part, so use the each way calculator.
What happens if a selection is a non-runner?
Its bet is void and the stake comes back. The stakes on the others stay as they were, so their return is no longer the planned one.
Does the calculator place a bet?
No. It splits a total stake across the prices you enter so each outcome returns the same. It does not place bets and it is not a forecast.