There are many ways to wager on the horses in Ireland, to suit a wide range of betting needs. For those looking for something a little different, compared to straightforward Race Winner and Each Way bets, one of the most interesting alternatives you might find is the Placepot. This form of pool betting is tricky to get right, but can deliver big-time payouts when you manage it.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Placepot betting in Ireland. We’ll explain exactly what it is, give you plenty of examples of how it works, provide some top tips on turning a profit, and plenty more besides.
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NO CODE REQUIREDJoin NowLearn More0101New UK & NI customers only. Deposit and place sports bets worth at least £10 at odds of 1/2 or greater. Receive £30 worth of free bets within 10 hours of qualifying bets being settled, which will expire after 7 days. E-wallets and prepaid card payments will not qualify, while opening bets must be settled within 60 days. Full t&cs applyWhat is a Placepot Bet?
The Placepot is a type of wager known as a ‘pool bet’. Pool betting is in fact a common global form of wagering, and – in some countries – pool betting is the only way to gamble on horse racing betting. Thankfully this is not the case in Ireland, but pool betting remains popular.
Pool betting is a simple concept. All of the money wagered on a particular race is ‘pooled’, and – once a small percentage has been deducted for the operator – the remaining money is divided up among winning punters. The payouts are calculated not by the odds compilers, as usual, but by dividing the total amount of money in the pool by the amount of money wagered on the winning selection.
The Placepot is a type of pool bet that requires punters to pick one or more horses to place in six races – usually the first six races of the day at a particular course. This type of bet is popular because you don’t have to find the winner of each race. In turn, this gives punters more leeway, and potentially more value for their money. Finally, while you can pick multiple horses in each race, the size of your stake will increase accordingly as you do so.
How does a Placepot Bet Work?
As mentioned above, every horse racing meet (on eligible sites) has its own Placepot, which almost always involves the first six races on the card (in the case of meetings with seven or eight races).
Punters have to pick one or more horses in each race, and a pick is successful if that horse finishes within the ‘places’. The definition of what counts as a place varies according to the number of runners, but this is a good guide:
- 4 runners or fewer: 1 place
- 5 to 7 runners: 2 places
- 8 or more runners: 3 places
- 16 or more runners: 4 places
All of the money wagered on the Placepot goes into a pool. The operator – in this case, the ‘Tote’ – takes out around 27% of that pool for profit, administration costs, and investment in horse racing. When the six races have been run, the remainder of the pool is divided amongst the winners, and the final dividend each winner will receive is calculated and displayed as a €1 stake.
The size of the dividend will therefore be determined both by the amount of money in the pool, and the number of winning ‘lines’. For example, if the Placepot for a particular meeting amounts to €20,000 and there are 1,000 winning lines, the dividend would be worked out as follows:
- Placepot pool: €20,000
- 27% deduction: €5,400
- Payout: €14,600
- Winning lines: 1,000
- Dividend: €14.60 per €1 stake
It is also worth remembering that, if one of your chosen horses is a non-runner, the bet is not voided. Instead, your selection will move onto the SP favourite. If there are multiple SP favourites, your replacement selection will be the horse ranked as #1 on the racecard.
A Horse Racing Placepot Bet Explained
Placepots aren’t actually that complicated, but – if you’re new to pool betting – they may take some getting used to. To help you along, let’s walk through a step-by-step example, using an imaginary group of six races.
Step 1 – Assess the Card
To begin with, it is a good idea to take a look at the range of races on the card, to be sure that you are comfortable betting on those races. Remember, there will be Placepot bets available for all race meets on eligible sites, so you are not restricted to one meet.
Step 2 – Pick your Horses
The next step is to pick your horse or horses in each race. This will involve completing either a physical Placepot slip if you’re at a real-world betting venue, or – preferably – simply filling in the online Placepot slip. When you’re ticking the boxes, do double-check at this point that you are choosing the correct horses, according to your research.
Step 3 – Work out your Stake
If you’re betting online, then your total stake will update with each horse you add to your selection. You can tweak the amount of money you wager on each ‘line’ of six horses, and the total number of horses you choose. To work out the total stake, you simply multiply the number of selections you have in each race by your individual unit stake.
Step 4 – Check the Results
Once you’ve placed your bet, you can sit back and watch the races. If you managed to land a placed horse in every race, you can then calculate your potential winnings, which will be quoted under the final race’s result as a dividend paid out to a €1 stake. We will talk more about these calculations shortly.
Why Place a Placepot Bet?
There are plenty of betting options for a horse racing fan in Ireland, of course, so why should you specifically consider the Placepot? Here are some of the main pros and cons.
Pros
- Betting against Other Punters
One of the main advantages of the Placepot bet is that you are effectively betting against other punters, and not the bookmaker.
Bookies will go to great lengths to get their odds right, and will work hard to ensure that they don’t make a mistake. The Placepot pool, by contrast, will include a lot of wagers from punters who are perhaps betting on their favourite jockeys, or just throwing a few euros on a casual bet.
Getting an edge on the bookmaker is hard. Getting an edge on your fellow punters is a lot easier.
- Small Stakes, Big Payout
For punters across all sports, the ultimate success is to land a big win from a small wager. That helps to explain why accumulators, combination bets, and other exotic betting options are so popular.
The Placepot bet is one of the best options for aiming at a big win while keeping your stake small. Unlike an accumulator, you don’t need all of your selections to win in order to land a payout. And, unlike some of the more exotic combination bets, you are not committed to a huge range of individual wagers.
In short, the Placepot combines flexibility with the chance of landing a big prize.
- The Whole Card Matters
Compared to a six-race accumulator, a Placepot bet can be a lot more entertaining to make.
If you’ve bet on an accumulator and your first horse fails to win, that’s the end of the bet. With a Placepot, it is far more likely that you will still have an interest in the racing by the third or fourth race.
In that sense, it is a more entertaining wager, which in turn can feel like you are getting more value for your money.
Cons
- Infrequent Wins
While there are many advantages to the Placepot bet, there are some obvious drawbacks. The most obvious is the relative infrequency of wins.
You won’t actually land the Placepot very often, even compared to regular horse racing betting. Some punters have no problem with that, but those who prefer a more frequent return may find the Placepot a frustrating way to wager.
- Dividend Uncertainty
Unlike a lot of fixed odds and exchange betting, you won’t know your exact potential return until the Placepot pool has closed, when the stalls open, or the flag goes up on the first race. This means that it is a lot harder to weigh up value and to take a good price, particularly at meetings where the pool is relatively small, or doesn’t fill up until minutes before the first race is off.
Placepot Bet Calculations
With many accumulator and combination bets, there are some complicated calculations to be made. That’s why you will find many dedicated online calculators to help you out with your sums. In the case of the Placepot bet, working out your stake and your potential winnings is actually a lot more straightforward.
Calculating Your Placepot Bet Payout
Let’s say you have picked two selections in each race on a six-race card. To work out your total stake, you simply multiply the number of selections in each race together, and then multiply the result by your stake per line:
2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 64.
If you are wagering the minimum stake of €0.05, that would mean your total stake for your complete Placepot bet would be: 64 x €0.05 = €3.20.
If you are betting online, you won’t even need to do these calculations yourself. Instead, the online betting slip will update your total stake with each new selection you add.
When it comes to working out your potential winnings, you won’t actually be able to do this until the last race is over and the dividend is declared. Placepot winnings are shown in terms of the return to a €1 bet, so – to calculate your winnings – you need to follow three steps:
- Add up the total stake wagered on winning lines
- Divide this stake by €1
- Multiply the result by the size of the Placepot dividend
For example, apply €800 to a €1 stake, and you have four winning lines at a stake of €0.20, for total of €0.80. €0.8 is 80% of €1 and therefore you will win 80% of the €800 figure, which would be €640.
If – with the same dividend – you had two winning lines with a €1 stake on each, your total stake would be €2. €2 is twice the €1 dividend and so you would get twice the €800
Betting Strategies for Placepot Betting
While there is no guaranteed way of winning the Placepot, there are some general strategies that you can follow to increase your chances of success.
1 – Check the Pool and the Races
The size of the Placepot pool varies widely according to the profile of the race meeting. Also, some meetings are packed with 16 runner handicaps, while others are made up of easier puzzles to solve. Both of these factors will affect your chances of winning and your likely payout, so you should weigh them up carefully before you opt to stick money into the pool.
2 – Staking Discipline
The temptation to add in ‘just one more’ selection is always strong when putting together a Placepot bet, but you should try to avoid getting sucked in. It is inevitable that you will miss some winners, but you should view Placepot betting as a long term proposition, and not chase wins in the short term, as this can lead to you losing control of your staking and betting more than you can afford.
3 – Don’t Give Up on Value
While it is a lot harder to estimate value with Placepot betting, as you don’t know the final dividend, that doesn’t mean you should overlook it completely. Try to estimate which horses are likely to be heavily backed, and weigh up whether it is worth selecting them as a result.
Five Key Betting Tips when Placing a Placepot Bet on Horse Racing
With time, every Placepot punter will develop their own approach to this form of bet. To help you get started, however, here are five tips to bear in mind during the early stages of your Placepot adventure.
Tip 1 – Be Wary of Favourites
Winning favourites are the scourge of every Placepot pool, as a spate of short-priced winners can reduce the eventual dividend to a tiny proportion. That’s why it is usually a good idea to look elsewhere. In fact, many Placepot punters start by trying to identify weak or vulnerable favourites, as that usually means better value can be found elsewhere.
Tip 2 – Lock in Your Bankers
The starting point for many Placepot punters is to identify their ‘bankers’. In many punting contexts, the ‘banker’ is usually a short-priced favourite that is expected to win. But with the Placepot, a banker is more likely to be a horse that has consistently placed, even if it doesn’t always win. When you’re structuring a Placepot bet, bankers should often be your foundations.
Tip 3 – Team Up
Joining a syndicate to play the Placepot can be a fun and profitable experience. The number of lines may be raised by pooling cash and putting a wager down as a group, increasing the odds of success. Although the relative payment will be lower, since the dividend is split among the syndicate, having several eyes look over the form and analyse possible patterns that aid the selection process might be beneficial in the long run.
Tip 4 – Multiple Lines in Bigger Races
Finding two or three banker selections can free you up to add in a greater number of selections on competitive, big-field races. Remember that more selections equal more chances to win, and to earn a dividend, you must have at least one placing horse in each race. This is particularly significant in handicap events like the Cheltenham Festival, when 20 or more horses are typically vying for one of four qualifying spots.
Tip 5 – Weigh Up the Odds
Often, when you are filling out a Placepot bet, you don’t have a clear indication of the likely prices of the various horses. Accordingly, part of your pre-betting strategy should be to research how these horses are currently being priced by the bookmakers. That can give you a good indication of their likely finishing positions.
Best Placepot Offers in Ireland
Due to its very nature, the Placepot bet is – unfortunately – almost impossible to create offers for. Largely, this is because – as noted – you’re not betting ‘against’ the bookie to the extent that you normally would.
With that said, if you’re a fan of Placebot betting on horse racing, the chances are that you like placing other wagers on the ‘sport of kings’ too. If this is indeed the case, then you’ll find a vast number of special offers to choose between within Ireland. Some will help to improve your returns, such as Best Odds Guaranteed or Odds Boosts, while others – like No Runner No Bet – seek to reduce your losses instead.
Below, you can take a quick look at three of the top horse racing promotions which our recommended bookies currently provide.
Betfred – All Correct Bonus
Betfred isn’t just our top Placepot betting site, but also provides some great special offers
for horse racing in general. Fans of high-risk, high-reward wagers like the Placepot will be particularly intrigued by the All Correct Bonus here. This applies to other, similarly challenging exoctic multiples – namely Lucky 15’s, 31’s, and 63’s. If you do manage to hit these tricky bets, you’ll be given a 10%, 20%, or 25% bonus respectively. Better still, this will be paid as cash, rather than a free bet.
QuinnBet – Money Back if 2nd
QuinnBet isn’t just a great place for Placepots – it’s also one of the most underrated sites
around for horse racing betting in general. You’ll invariably find a wide range of special offers in place for racing, with its Money Back if 2nd deal arguably being the best right now.
As the name suggests, if you back a horse to win a race here, and it ends up finishing second to the SP favourite, you’ll actually get a refund of up to £10. Impressively, this applies to every single race in the UK and Ireland with at least six runners.
BoyleSports – Non Runner No Bet
Ireland’s own BoyleSports is another of the very best betting sites around for horse racing fans. Its Promotions page is always packed out with deals for the sport of kings, including
Extra Places and Money Back if 2nd offers.
Our favourite right now, however, is the Non Runner No Bet offer. This is typically put in place for all major festivals, such as Cheltenham, and ensures that – if your chosen runner doesn’t actually start the race, for any reason – your stake will automatically be refunded.
Placepot Betting through Mobile Apps
Mobile betting is steadily becoming the most popular way for punters to bet in Ireland. Bookmakers have responded by offering an increasing range of mobile apps and mobile betting platforms, and the quality of these platforms also continues to increase.
The best mobile betting sites, as indicated in our list of recommended brands, will make it easy for you to make your Placepot bets with fast and intuitive navigation, one-click selections, and all of the betting features available to users of the desktop site. Making your Placepot bets on the go has never been easier.
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NO CODE REQUIREDJoin NowLearn More0101New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any Football market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is €20. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply.Is there Placepot Betting in Other Sports?
Placepot wagers represent a specific form of pool betting that is rarely found in other sports, with the only exception being some greyhound events. However, the principle of the pool bet is well known across many different sports, and can be found in formal and informal betting.
The most common example is football pools. This form of pool betting has existed for decades, and is based around punters betting into a pool, and attempting to pick a certain number of draws, home wins, or away wins.
Pool betting is also a popular way of getting involved with the biggest sporting events, such as the Superbowl or the World Cup. For a small entrance fee, it enables punters to have a chance of winning a big prize, and get a little extra excitement out of the occasion.
Final Thoughts
Clearly, the Placepot bet isn’t for everyone. This is a high-risk, high-reward wager, in which you won’t usually have all the key information available to you – such as your potential payout – until the wager has actually been placed.
With that said, there’s a lot to like about these bet types. Pool betting is a fascinating alternative to wagering on your own, picking so many runners to place is a great challenge, and – if you do win one of these bets – you’ll get a big payout compared to your initial stake.
After reading this article, you’ve got all the information you need to start sticking down Placepot bets in Ireland. All you need to do now is pick one of our recommended brands, create an account, and try out Placepot wagers for yourself.
Our Top Recommended Site For Placepot Bets
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NO CODE REQUIREDJoin NowLearn More0101New UK & NI customers only. Deposit and place sports bets worth at least £10 at odds of 1/2 or greater. Receive £30 worth of free bets within 10 hours of qualifying bets being settled, which will expire after 7 days. E-wallets and prepaid card payments will not qualify, while opening bets must be settled within 60 days. Full t&cs applyFAQ
What does a ‘Placepot bet’ mean?
Where can I learn how to bet a Placepot?
What is the Placepot bet cost?
What is the key to a Placepot bet?
Are there any special offers for Placepot betting?
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for horse racing in general. Fans of high-risk, high-reward wagers like the Placepot will be particularly intrigued by the All Correct Bonus here. 
