If you bet on horse racing, there may be one essential thing you are overlooking in your betting strategy – takeout rates.

Many bettors don’t know what takeout rates are or how they affect winnings, so we’ve put this guide together that explains everything you need to know.

What Are Takeout Rates?

In short, takeout rates are pre-payout taxes applied by a horse racing track on every bet made at a race meeting.

For example, if you make a $100 bet on a horse to win a race at odds of +1,000, and the horse wins, your profit before the takeout rate is applied would be $1,000.

But, before you decide how you’re going to spend your $1,000 profit, you have to factor in the cut the track will take.

For our example, let’s say the track has a 10% takeout rate on single bets; in this case, your winnings would be $900.

Racetracks have to apply takeout rates to survive. It’s an essential part of the sport.

Owners, trainers, and jockeys take their wages via takeout rates, and the tracks fund maintenance and upkeep of their grounds with their percentage.

However, this doesn’t make it any less impactful on your bottom line.

Additionally, the 10% we used in the example above would be on the extreme low end of the rates and some tracks can charge as much as 25%, depending on the type of bet.

How Do Takeout Rates Affect Payouts?

Takeout rates affect payouts in a pretty severe way, especially if the track can take as much as a quarter of your winnings.

If you’re working with a specific betting strategy and on a set budget (which you should), it’s important to factor this in.

If you don’t know the takeout rate at a particular track, it’s essential to try and find out. Good luck, though – often, tracks try to keep this information as quiet as possible to avoid turning bettors off.

It definitely won’t be advertised at the cashier’s desk when you go to make a bet. The best way to find takeout rates is to do your own research. Often, the information is available online with a bit of digging.

Takeout rates also vary depending on the type of bet you’re making.

For example, a single bet (straight bet) on a horse to win will have a different rate to a pick 4 (exotic bet) where you have to combine four winning bets into one.

In general, the bigger the odds of the bet, the higher the takeout rate will be.

There are some exceptions, though.

Some tracks encourage bettors to combine multiple bets, offering discounted takeout rates for pick 5 or 6s, making their potential payouts much larger, but of course, there is much less chance of them landing.   

An example would be when in 2017, Kentucky Downs racetrack in Franklin, Kentucky, applied a rate of 16% on bets to win, place, or show (all single bets).

But for Pick 4 and Pick 5 bets, the track only had a takeout rate of 14%, giving a small but welcome bonus for successful bettors.

👉 How To Bet On A Live Horse Race

Takeout Rates Compared State By State

Takeout rates are generally set at state level and are consistent for each racetrack within a particular state.

Also, note that some states have different rates depending on whether the race involves Thoroughbred horses.

Arizona

• Up to 25% on win-place-show wagers, up to 30% on two-horse wagers, up to 35% on wagers involving more than two horses in one or more races.

Arkansas

• 17% on single wagers and 21% on multiple wagers.

California

• 15.43% for win-place-show and 20.18% on exotic wagers for Thoroughbreds.

• 15.63% for win-place-show and 20.38% for exotic wagers for Quarter Horse meetings.

• 16.43% for win-place-show wagers and 24.18% for exotics at Harness meets.

• 16.77% for win-place-show and 21.52% for exotics at Fair meetings.

Colorado

• 18.5% on straight wagers, and 28% on exotics.

Delaware

• 17% on straight wagers with an additional 2% on daily doubles and exactas, plus 8% on other exotic wagers for Thoroughbreds. 

• 18% on straight wagers, 20% on multiple wagers on an 8-horse field, and 25% on multiple wagers on a 9-horse field for Harness.

Florida

• Set by individual tracks.

Idaho

• 23% on straight wagers, 23.75% on exotics.

Illinois

• 17% on straight wagers, 20.5% on two-horse wagers, and 25% on three or more horse wagers.

Indiana

• 18% on straight wagers, and 21.5% on exotics.

Iowa

• Up to 18% on win-place-show, 24% on wagers involving up to two horses, and 25% on other wagers.

Kansas

• 18% on win-place-show and 25% on multiple wagers if authorized by the racing commission.

Kentucky

• At tracks with over $1,200,000 daily average, 16% on straight wagers and 19% on exotics for Thoroughbreds.

• At tracks under $1,200,000 daily average, 17.5% on straight wagers and 19% on exotics for Thoroughbreds.

• 18% on straight wagers and 25% on exotics for Harness.

• 18% on straight wagers and 25% on exotics for Quarter Horse, Appaloosa, and Arabian.

Louisiana

• 17% on win-place-show, 20.5% on two-horse wagers, and 25% on three-horse wagers.

Maine

• 18% on straight wagers, and 26% on exotics.

Maryland

• 18% on straight wagers, 21% on two-horse multiples, and 25.75% on three-horse multiples for Thoroughbreds.

• 25% on all wagers at Fair Hill.

• Tracks over $600,000 daily, 17% on straight wagers, 19% on two-horse multiples, and 25% on three-horse multiples for Harness.

• Tracks under $600,000 daily,18.75% on straight wagers, 20.75% on two-horse wagers, and 26.75% on three-horse wagers for Harness.

Massachusetts

• 19% on win-place-show wagers, 26% on exotics.

Michigan

• 17% on straight wagers, up to 28% on multiples.

Minnesota

• Not to exceed 17% on win-place-show wagering, 23% on exotic wagering.

Montana

• 20% on straight wagers and up to 25% on exotics.

Nebraska

• Not less than 15% or more than 18% on straight wagers. Up to and including 24% on exotic wagers.

New Hampshire

• 19% on win-place-show wagers, 26% on multiple wagers for Thoroughbreds.

New Jersey

• 17% straight wagers, 19% on two-horse selections, and 25% on three-or-more-horse selections.

New Mexico

• 19% on win-place-show, 21%-25% on exotic wagers for Class A tracks.

• 18.75% to 25% on win-place-show, 21% to 30% on exotic wagers for Class B tracks.

New York

• 14% on straight wagers, 17.5% on multiple wagers, 25% on exotics,15% on pick 6 with no carryover – 25% with carryover at NYRA tracks.

• 18% on straight wagers, 20% on multiple, and 25% on exotics for Harness.

Ohio

• 18% on win-place-show wagers, and 22.5% on all other wagers.

Oklahoma

• 18% on win-place-show wagers, 20% on multiple-horse wagers, and up to three-race wagers. 25% on multiple race wagers involving more than three races.

Oregon

• 19% on wagers with one wagering interest, 22% on wagers with two or more wagering interests for commercial meets. Up to 22% at fairs and non-profit meets.

Pennsylvania

• 17% on regular wagering pools, 19% if the average daily handle is less than $300,000, 20% on exactas, daily doubles, quinellas, 26-35% on trifectas.

Texas

• 18% on regular wagers, 21% on two-horse wagers, and 25% on wagers involving three or more horses.

Virginia

• 18% on straight wagers, and 22% on all other wagers.

Washington

• 16.1% on win-place-show wagers, 22.1% on all other wagers (1.1% less for non-profit meetings).

West Virginia

• 17.25% on win-place-show wagers, 19% on two-horse wagers, and 25% on wagers on three horses or more.

Summary

As you can see, different states, racetracks, bet types, and races have different takeout rates.

As a bettor, knowing exactly what the rate is before you start is crucial.

Knowing what your return will be is must-know information before making any bet, especially if you have a target number of returns or a set amount of money to wager.

Use this guide as a starting point, but complete your research to ensure you know exactly what takeout rate a track will charge in your next bet.

Lead image: Philippe Oursel/Unsplash

The main difference between American Roulette and the other two is the number of green zeros. Whereas the American Roulette wheel has two zero sockets, the European and the French ones have one. What makes the European and the French roulettes different is the table layout. For instance, the numbers grid is ordered horizontally, and the outside bets are on the sides.

Roulette Wheel Sections

Every roulette game has two main roulette wheel sections, a bowl, and a centrepiece that rotates called a wheel head. The bowl is entirely made of wood, and it includes a ball track. The wheel head is located inside the bowl, fitted with upper and lower ball-bearing mechanisms. The outer edge of the wheel head features a circle of numbers.

Inside the aforementioned numbers is where the ball sockets are placed. On the other hand, the central area of the wheel head is known as a cone. The cone has a decorative piece in its centre, called a turret, and inside of it is where you can find the height-adjusting mechanism for the wheel head.

Height adjustment is essential to make the ball fall into one of the sockets. If you are interested in knowing all about the roulette wheel, our roulette wheel guide will inform you properly. As you know, there are specific roulette elements, such as the diamonds, which are obstacles designed to alter the trajectory of the ball.

French Roulette is played on the same wheel as the European, which contains 37 sockets with one zero. Furthermore, the numbers on the wheel are displayed differently from the American Roulette wheel. The red and black numbers on the roulette wheel sections alternate, and each pair of even numbers is followed by a pair of odd numbers.

The exception to this comes with the few numbers placed right next to the green zero. By the way, betting on the zero on the roulette wheel is possible, and it’s the same as betting on a single number. No matter which roulette you play, roulette wheels are designed to ensure that all the numbers are evenly distributed.

Roulette Table Sections

Even though the French and the European Roulette wheels are the same, the roulette table layout is where you can tell the real differences between the two games. To start with, the French wheel is situated towards the centre of the table with the betting roulette table sections, or grids, on the sides.

The French roulette table sections are easy to distinguish because they are written in French. Therefore, Low/High bets are written as Manque/Passe, Odd/Even bets as Impair/Pair, and sometimes the Red/Black betting boxes may contain the translation Rouge/Noir. The three boxes where the Dozen bets are placed are written as P12, M12 and D12. Look at the meanings below:

Call bets are placed in a section of the layout called the racetrack. If you are interested in playing roulette, we suggest learning about all the types of roulette bets. There are three main types of bets: inside bets, outside bets and call/announced bets. However, there are many other bets that are worth knowing about.

French Roulette – Sector Bets

Roulettes with a single zero usually allow betting on a large sector of the wheel. Each sector bet covers a specific sequence of numbers on the wheel. These bets could be made by hand, but a table allows betting on the sections of a roulette conveniently divided into smaller wagers. See below how the sector bets are formed:

The aforementioned wagers would work for the French Roulette game and the Premium European Roulette, but let’s take a step further by only focusing on French Roulette, its roulette sections and wagers. See below a table with the French Roulette sector bets explained:

Considering the sector bets mentioned, we will have what looks like a racetrack which includes all numbers from 0 to 37 in the same order as on the French Roulette wheel. The purpose of the racetrack is to bet any consecutive five numbers on the wheel, which are known as neighbour bets.

Here is an example: if you want to cover the five consecutive numbers (30, 8, 23, 10, 5), you would make a neighbour bet on the number in the middle, the 23. This bet should be evenly divisible by five, which divides into five straight-up bets on each of the five numbers in the sector.

As you have just seen, neighbours bet include a specific number located in the centre surrounded by an equal amount of numbers on either side of it. Aspects like this one should be known along with as many live roulette strategies as possible in order to be potentially successful at playing roulette.

Roulette Sections Strategy

Following a roulette sections strategy will not assure you any wins. Nevertheless, it might boost your chances to be successful in the long term. Now we are going to talk about a few strategies that work for French Roulette and other versions of the game. We will mainly describe progressive betting, flat progression and non-progressive betting.

Progressive strategies are about raising your bet size after getting the around-upshot. The most popular and widely used roulette strategy is the Martingale system. This method suggests doubling the bet after every loss. A modified version of the Martingale strategy is the Paroli system. The latter recommends doubling the wager after a win. These two strategies are mainly recommended for outside bets.

When it comes to inside bets, a flat progression strategy is better than progressive betting. The D’Alembert system is the most popular flat progression method, in which bets would be placed on even-money areas of the table. Then, one unit is either added when losing, and one unit is subtracted when winning.

Last but not least, we have the non-progressive betting strategy by Ian Fleming, also named the James Bond strategy. It’s about placing bets covering more than half of the table, with the intention of turning the odds in favour. Following the best roulette strategies tips will help you to choose the best one according to your situation and preferences.

Then, there’s the favoured strategy, which is only allowed in French Roulette. Here you must bet on neighbouring numbers, as we have mentioned in the section above. It consists of splitting the bet and placing it on five neighbouring numbers. The idea is to enhance the chances of winning in case the ball misses the selected socket.

Finally, remember that there’re no guarantees when following strategies, but, obviously, the chances of winning are higher. If you want to put into practice all what you have learned in this blog post, we recommend playing on the best roulette sites in the UK. They’re all licensed by the UKGC. Hence, they are legit, secure and safe to play at.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article about roulette sections has come to an end. However, we have created our frequently asked questions just in case you have been left with any doubts. Keep in mind that the answers will jump to the paragraph of interest for you to extend the information related to the topic. Have a look at them below:

As the new year brings in a fresh wave of gambling-related stories, its time to reflect on the year that has been and gone. From soccer players breaking betting rules to poker players embroiled in cheating scandals, 2022 had it all.

VegasSlotsOnline News has taken a look through its stories from the past year to find ten articles that seemed to peak the interest of readers the most. So clear away the champagne bottles and clean up the confetti, its time for the VSO News 2022 roundup.

English Premier League striker Ivan Toney made the headlines for all the wrong reasons last year. The Brentford player stands accused of committing more than 200 betting offences over the course of his professional soccer career.

the offenses took place between February 2017 and January 2021

According to the Football Association (FA), the offenses took place between February 2017 and January 2021. The striker made appearances for Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United, and Brentford during that time. All of the leagues he participated in fell under the regulation of the FA.

Toney – who is yet to respond to the charges – has confirmed that he intends to cooperate fully with the FA’s investigation. He now has until January 4 to submit his formal response to the accusations.

In the past, the FA has come down hard on betting regulation offenders, from issuing fines to banning players from playing for multiple years.

DraftKings’ share price plummeted again over the course of 2022. The US sportsbook giant topped the list of VSO News’ biggest stock drops for the year, and investors can certainly thank a $300,000 refund as one reason for the decline in price.

In November, the operator announced it would issue the refund to customers after a flood of hacking reports. The DraftKings News Twitter account shared the update:

The company said that its systems weren’t actually compromised, instead asserting that hackers had breached customers’ logins on other websites. They then supposedly used the information to gain access to the DraftKings accounts. FanDuel customers were also affected by the data breach.

More recently, BetMGM confirmed that its customers also fell victim to the data breach. The operator said it had no reason to believe hackers were able to access account funds or the passwords of its users.

Boyd Gaming’s Fremont Hotel and Casino is a classic sight in downtown Las Vegas. Now, the operator is giving its casino a $50m makeover, announced during a fourth-quarter release in February last year.

a wider company strategy to spend $250m on capital projects

Most of the renovation will relate to the food and beverage areas of the property. However, the casino floor is also getting an enhancement, with major renovations to the gaming space. The plan was part of a wider company strategy to spend $250m on capital projects over the course of 2022.

Boyd CEO and president Keith Smith expressed his excitement for the multimillion-dollar move. He said: “Based on the demand we’re already seeing at the Fremont, we expect to see excellent returns from this investment following its completion in early 2023.”

Last year proved a big one for poker news, and no story caused as many arguments as the cheating scandal of Robbi Jade Lew.

High-stakes legend Garrett ‘GMan’ Adelstein accused Lew of cheating after she called his three-bet all in shove to win a pot of $269,000 with just a J-high. Streamed live on Hustler Casino Live, Adelstein’s confusion at Lew’s unbelievable call was clear to see:

GMan took to social media to fire accusations of cheating at Lew. Despite securing a refund of his $135,000, Adelstein listed multiple ways in which Lew could have made the “impossible” call, including using technology to hack into the card reader.

The internet detectives quickly saw their opportunity and poker Twitter was flooded with analysis videos. A Hustler Casino investigation has since revealed no signs of cheating, causing some to deem Adelstein the “worst person in poker.”

Poker pros David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney both gave their take on the issue in October.

If you listed the sights you wouldn’t expect while playing slots in a Las Vegas casino, seeing an F1 car pass by would probably be high up on the list. That’s just what happened to gamblers at the Wynn Las Vegas in November last year as part of a promotion for the upcoming Grand Prix in the US gambling capital.

The Red Bull-sponsored F1 car drove through the Wynn on a busy Thursday evening. Adding to the excitement, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell also came to town for the Las Vegas Grand Prix launch party.

The 3.8-mile Las Vegas circuit will join the F1 schedule for next season. In the heart of downtown Vegas, the loop track will showcase monuments, hotels, and casinos. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has agreed a $19.5m sponsorship deal with the racing championship.

Cheating scandals have constantly caused friction in the world of professional poker but they are on the rise due to growth of online play and improvement in cheating technology. GGPoker decided it was time to do something about it last year through the creation of the Poker Integrity Council (PIC).

dropping the hammer on high-profile offenders

The PIC consists of Jason Koon, Andrew, Lichtenberger, Fedor Holz, Seth Davies, and Nick Petrangelo. It aims to combat unethical play by dropping the hammer on high-profile offenders. With many within the community calling for an industry-wide blacklist of cheating players, the PIC decided to share the names of those it ruled against playing its live tours.

Meanwhile, PokerStars has also taken aim at cheaters by confirming it will ban offenders from live games. The operator is rumored to have turned away supposed cheaters Ali Imsirovic and Jake Schindler from its EPT Monte Carlo in April. Both played just one event at the start of the festival before making their exit.

Ever wondered why you struggle to make any headway in your poker career? Last year, Irish poker pro Dara O’Kearney – who has total live earnings of $1.2m and online winnings of $3.8m – explained exactly why most people lose when playing poker.

you just have to know the right questions and people to ask”

Among his teachings, O’Kearney focused on the need for a “meticulous approach” and the benefits of surrounding yourself with experts. “The key is not that you have to know everything: you just have to know the right questions and people to ask,” he explained.

Added to this, the Irish pro delved into the typical errors of recreational players, including commenting on their play and that of the other players at the table. He also explained “the real secret” to his successful online career and why so many players who win live struggle to transfer it to the virtual space.

The world of Twitch gambling made the VSO News headlines a lot last year. The controversy ultimately proved too much for Amazon-owned Twitch, which banned unregulated gambling content from the platform in October. The slots category subsequently lost 97% of its viewership and top streamers like Trainwreck and Roshtein transitioned to new platform Kick:

Much earlier in the year, however, the gambling streaming community was polarized when Trainwreck and Roshtein butted heads. Trainwreck, real name Tyler Niknam, accused Roshtein of lying to his followers regarding his profits and losses. In a Twitter rant, he claimed Roshtein was “selling a false reality” by “showing gambling as profitable every day.”

Trainwreck drew particular attention to a table of Roshtein’s profits over the previous three weeks that showed the streamer was up $32.5m. Notably, that same month Roshtein won his largest jackpot ever of $16m from one slot spin.

Towards the end of 2022, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar gave us some wild stories. Morocco became the first African nation to make it all the way to the semis, Lionel Messi finally got his hands on the most prestigious trophy in soccer, and one bettor in the US added a six-figure payday to his bank account thanks to a timely cash-out.

seven-leg futures parlay

VSO News followed the wager of Daniel Forte closely over the course of the tournament. With a stake of $26, his seven-leg futures parlay included different sports and leagues across the world. Among his correct predictions, he forecasted that Manchester City would win the English Premier League and the Kansas Jayhawks would win March Madness.

All Forte needed was for France to win the World Cup to make $557,000. He refused several cash-out offers from FanDuel during the tournament, including an $83,000 offer in the late stages. Forte ultimately cashed out at just the right time, securing a payday of $283,538 just before France lost to Argentina in the final:

Poker player Annie Duke has been associated with multiple scandals throughout her career. In 2010, she parted ways with UlimateBet in the wake of a cheating scam by Russ Hamilton, with it generally rumored that she knew of his wrongdoings. The following year, her reputation lay in tatters when her Epic Poker League filed for bankruptcy.

drew the ire of many within the poker community

Duke has since launched a career as an author of books on the topic of decision-making. Last year, she took this one step further by announcing her new role as “First Round’s Special Partner, focused on Decision Science.” It’s a move that drew the ire of many within the poker community, the likes of Jason Strasser and Isaac Haxton taking aim at Duke via Twitter.

In his coverage of Duke last year, VSO News writer and Irish poker pro David Lappin explained why so many have taken issue with Duke’s new role. “The bottom line is Duke did real damage to people through her various roles in the poker industry,” he wrote.

The post VSO News 2022 Roundup: Top 10 Stories of the Year appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.

Source link