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Tote Placepot – Ultimate Tote Placepot Betting Guide [2024]

What is a Placepot? For those of you who understand a bit about UK horse racing betting, you will probably already have a good idea and will not need Tote Placepot explained to you.

Not everybody is as knowledgeable about these bets, though, and may need assistance. This is what our review guide is here to help with.

Are you wondering, “what is a Placepot bet?” More specifically, what is a Placepot in horse racing? If so, you have come to the right place.

Join us as we explore these bets and explain them to you in the following sections. If you are ready to begin, read on to find out more…

Summary of the article

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Tote Betting on William Hill

➤ William Hill is an agent for the Tote and accepts bets at Tote odds on horse racing in Great Britain and selected pools in the Republic of Ireland and other countries where their acceptance is advertised.
➤ The bets accepted at horse race meetings in Great Britain are the Scoop 6, Jackpot, Placepot, Quadpot, Trifecta, Exacta, Swinger, win, place and any other new bet introduced by the UK Tote.
➤ Where the UK Tote offers a pool facility for horse race meetings taking place outside Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland bets will be accepted.
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Your guide to understanding Placepots in 2024

There are all sorts of popular horse racing bets that you can make. From Scoop 6 to Trixie bets, more complicated Patent bets and Yankee bets. There are Tricast bets, Forecast bets, Alphabet bets and many more horse betting terms which are worth learning. However, while many of these are fancy, far-flung options, the Tote Placepot is not. It is one of the most popular types of wagers in UK horse racing betting.

What is a Placepot in racing, though? How does a Placepot work? Is it the same as regular Tote Pool bets? Find out as we present you with our guide to Placepots in 2022.

What is a Placepot? Tote Placepot Rules

Horse racing Placepots are amongst the most common types of bets. Assuming you know how to bet on horses, and understand fixed odds, then you will have a rough idea of what to expect here.

➤ The bet essentially requires you to wager on a horse in the first six races at an event.

➤ If you are wondering, what is a Tote Placepot bet? The answer is simple – it is the same thing as an ordinary Placepot.

➤ Placepots are run through Tote pools, although the bets (for the most part) are taken by the bookmakers, who give the stakes to the pool. As with any pool, the more people wager on an event, the larger the pot is for horse racing fans to win.

➤ Tote Placepots have unit costs (lines). How much does a Tote Placepot cost then? A typical Tote Placepot will cost 10p per line (it can cost as little as 5p at some bookies).

➤ The minimum line bet differs from the minimum stake, though, with the latter set to £1. As a result, you will need a minimum of 10 lines to meet the £1 wager, or you will need to increase the cost of a line to reach that mark if you want to play with fewer.

Key questions about Placepot bets

Tote Placepot bets should be straightforward for any regular horse racing fan, but you may still have a few questions. We are here to help with the following answers…

How do I calculate my winnings?: Your winnings are decided by how much you have wagered per line and how many of those lines have come good. 

How many lines should I have?: The number of lines you opt to go with depends on the events you want to bet on, coupled with the amount you want to spend. It is a personal choice, really. The more competitive an event is, the more lines you will likely want to go with.

What happens if there is a non-runner?: What happens if your horse is a non-runner in a Placepot? Your bet will automatically go on the SP favourite.

How should I pick my horse?: Ideally, you will be picking the horse which gives you the best chance of winning. We would use guides to study each horse in detail.

Can I place live Tote placepots? You can only place Tote Placepots before an event. However, the results of Live Tote Placepots can be viewed at any time at a leading bookmaker.

How to place Tote Placepot bets

Now that you have Placepots explained to you, you can start to wager in a Tote Placepot pool. Follow these steps to get started:

Step 1
Head over to one of our recommended Pool betting sites.
Step 2
Select the “meeting” that you want to play on. The Placepot will usually be on the first six races on a card unless stated elsewhere.
Step 3
When placing your first bet, you need to decide your unit price.
Step 4
You need to select a winner if the field has four runners or less.
Step 5
You can select a horse to finish first or second if five to seven horses run.
Step 6
Your preferred horse can finish in the top three if eight runners are announced. This is extended to a top-four finish if the race has sixteen or more runners.
Step 7
After picking your selections, submit the betting slip.

To give you some idea of how it all works, look at our table below:

Race

Lines

Running Total

1
Lines
2
Running Total
2
2
Lines
2
Running Total
4 (2 x 2 = 4)
3
Lines
1
Running Total
4 (2 x 2 x1 = 4)
4
Lines
2
Running Total
8 (2 x 2 x 1 x 2 = 8)
5
Lines
3
Running Total
24 (2 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 3 = 24)
6
Lines
2
Running Total
48 (2 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 3 x 2 = 48)

How are Tote Placepots calculated and shared out?

Your share of the Placepot dividend depends on how successful your bet is and how many fellow players wagered the same way. The bookmaker will take a fixed amount (let us say 25%) of the total bets raised and puts the rest (75%) into the pot.

  • If, for instance, £250,000 is bet in total, and there are 1,500 winners, the £250,000 raised is multiplied by the amount in the pot (after the bookie’s expenses), like so:

£250,000 x 75% = £187,500

  • That figure (£187,500) is then divided by the number of winning tickets to work out the Tote Placepot returns, like so:

£187,500 / 1,500 = £125.

  • This means that a player who wagers £1 will win £125. Those who wager 5p will receive £6.25, while those wagering £10 will win £1,250.

As you can see, everything is relevant to the jackpot available. These calculations are for a standard Tote Jackpot, though, and do not include Quadpot or Tote Swinger options.

How do places work in Placepots?

The Tote Placepot rules can vary from bookmaker to bookie. However, William Hill Placepot rules are usually a good way to go. William Hill is seen as the benchmark for Trifecta Box betting, Tote Exacta, Tote Trifecta, and other horse racing bets. The rule regarding tote dividends at most bookies will be the same as those listed above.

The best way to check out how Tote win/place rules work is to examine the following table:

Number of Runners

Places in Placepot

Up to 4 Runners
Places in Placepot
1st
5, 6 or 7 Runners
Places in Placepot
1st, 2nd
8-15 Runners in Handicaps
Places in Placepot
1st, 2nd, 3rd
8+ Runners in Non-Handicaps
Places in Placepot
1st, 2nd, 3rd
16+ Runners in Handicaps
Places in Placepot
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

Top Placepot strategies that you need to know

You might have heard of the Superfecta strategy and other options, but below you will find three top Placepot strategies you may wish to read up on.

Tip

👉 Banker Legs: This strategy involves picking just one horse per race (or leg), where the favourite appears likely to win or place. This keeps your line total down, allowing you to use an extra selection for more competitive legs.

👉 Target Vulnerable Favourites: Many bettors will include the favourite in their lines. However, leaving out vulnerable favourites could see you pocket a sizable share of the pot if the favourite fails and your horse at least places. Handicaps with a lot of runners are ideal for this strategy.

👉 Multiple Lines in Competitive Races: When there are lots of runners, and the races are competitive, it is worth opting to go for strength in numbers and wager on all six legs. This is ideal if you have kept your total lines down by opting to wager on favourites in earlier selections.

The pros and cons of betting with Tote Placepot Pool Bets

There are pros and cons to Tote Placepot Pool bets, and we have listed the main ones below for you. They include…

PROS

  • You can claim UK free bets for use on Tote wagers
  • Many new horse racing betting sites offer Tote Placepot options
  • You can win extensive sums if your more obscure bets come good

CONS

  • Tricky to get your head around if you don’t understand horse racing betting
  • Commonly found at UK bookmakers, rather than more international ones

FAQs: Your questions on Tote Placepots answered

If you still have a few questions on Tote Placepots, let us see if we can help you with these short questions and answers…

Is a Placepot a good bet? We would say so. If you bet cleverly, you could walk away with a sizable share of a pot and win large sums of money for extraordinarily little expense.

We would recommend betting on favourites over multiple legs, to begin with. This helps you get a better understanding of horse racing Placepot bets.

There are other forms of Tote wagering, not just Placepot betting. Virtually any wager can form a part of the pool, but the Placepot options are ideal for beginners.

No. There are other horse racing sites in the world that accept Tote Placepots. However, they are most prevalent at UK bookies, and some even come with reload offers for UK players to take advantage of.

There is no cap on how much you can win. The amount available in the pot will be shared between all winners based on their stakes, so it is down to what you bet on, how much you bet and how many other winners there are.

Play with Tote Placepots at the best bookmakers online today

You should no longer be wondering, “what is a Placepot?”. We hope that our guide has helped you understand how to wager with a Placepot bet. The next step is for you to head over to horse racing betting sites in the UK to get started. You will also find in-depth guides to free horse racing bets with no deposit, guides on “what does SP mean in betting?” and many more horse racing betting guides on our page. Do not hesitate to look around to find top bookmakers and learn more about wagering on the nags today.