Sometimes, you’ll come across a betting market where the short-priced favourite appears to be so likely to win – certainly in the minds of the punting public and the bookies – that the event becomes almost impossible to wager on.
There is no way to get a meaningful return without risking a huge stake.
You may even have spotted another runner in the field that you like, but the each way terms are so prohibitive – given that the favourite seems overwhelmingly strong – that you decide not to act.
But there is another way.
Betting without, occasionally shown on screen as ‘betting W/O’, offers prices without that pesky FAV – meaning that you can wager on one or more of the field, without the threat of the event becoming a one-sided drubbing.
How Does Betting Without Work?
To give you an idea of how betting without works, here’s a screenshot of a horse race at Wetherby.
In this case, Sea the Clouds was the odds-on favourite and expected to prevail both by the market and a number of pundits and tipsters. So what to do?
You could, of course, wager on another runner in the field each way, which offers the comfort of a return should the favourite – or another horse, for that matter – run away with it, but the place terms don’t always offer a satisfying return in the event that your selection finishes second or third.
You could also back Sea the Clouds and your own preferred pick in a 1-2 forecast, but again your return would be based on a short-priced favourite – your payout will be capped accordingly.
Instead, consider the betting without category.
Let’s say you fancy Belles Benefit to run well, but aren’t confident she will beat Sea the Clouds. But by wagering without the favourite, we can simply take Belles Benefit to beat the rest of the field at 6/5 or at 2/1 with two places paid.
Once the race has been run, the final position of Sea the Clouds will be omitted from this betting market. So, if he does hoover up and win, the horse that finishes second is our revised winner, third becomes second and so on. If Sea the Clouds finishes second, then the horse in third place will be bumped up into the places.
And, in the unlikely event that the odds-on fav finishes absolutely nowhere, no revisions are made to the finishing positions.
Which Sports Have Betting Without?
Of course, the betting without option isn’t available for every sport and event – betting without the favourite in a two-horse race like a football match or tennis game would be rather foolhardy on the part of the bookmakers.
So, the betting W/O option is most commonly deployed in horse racing (typically races of four or more runners) and also in outright betting, where multiple possible winners are possible behind a short-priced favourite.
For example, you can bet on who you think will win the English Premier League which, at the time of writing, is a market dominated by Manchester City at 8/11.
Now let’s imagine you wanted to back Liverpool to upset the odds. You could wager on them in the main outright market each way, which would promise a return if they do lift the trophy or go on to finish in second place (the e/w terms here are 1/4 on two places).
Alternatively, you could opt for the betting without market – this, in the case of the Premier League, is all-or-nothing, with the team finishing second behind City (or winning the title, if there’s an upset) being paid at the price taken.
When taking short-priced selections in horse racing or in outright markets across football, tennis, golf, cricket and the like, sometimes the betting without option pays better than taking on an odds-on favourite each way.
Betting Without vs Each Way
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples to try and answer the question: is betting without or taking the each way terms the better choice?
We’ll scroll back to our horse race at Wetherby. The betting without odds were shown above, and here’s the standard market without the favourite Sea the Clouds.
Imagine our pick, Belles Benefit, wins the race. Our return from a £2.50 each way bet at odds of 9/2 would be: £20 (so £15 better off).
If we backed her on the nose in the betting without market at 6/5 (£5 flat stake), our return would be £11 (so £6 better off).
Now, let’s consider the outcome if Belles Benefit finished second behind Sea the Clouds. Our each way terms are 1/4 for two places which, when we do the math – £2.50 each way at odds of 9/2 – comes to a return of £5.31, making us a measly £0.31 better off.
Of course, by using the betting without market, we’d still get a full win if Belles Benefit finishes second to Sea the Clouds – that £11 return outlined above.
Now let’s consider what would happen if we backed Liverpool to win the Premier League at odds of 5/1 (each way) or 7/4 (betting without). If the Reds beat Man City to the trophy:
- Each Way -> £2.50 e/w at 5/1 = £20.63 (£15.63 better off)
- Betting Without -> £5 at 7/4 = £13.75 (£8.75 better off)
Now we have to pose the other scenario: what if Liverpool finish second behind Man City?
- Each Way -> £2.50 e/w at 5/1 = £5.63 (£0.63 better off)
- Betting Without -> £5 at 7/4 = £13.75 (£8.75 better off)
Betting Without Strategy
As you can see, the outcomes of our bets can vary wildly depending on the result of the event.
It’s all a question of confidence. How strongly do you fancy your pick to upset the odds and beat the favourite?
If you’re in an optimistic mood, then backing them in the main market with a buffer of an each way bet is worth a chance.
But if you really do feel as though the favourite will romp home as expected, the betting without market really can be your friend – your payout for finishing second will almost always usurp that of your each way place prize.