Dutching: how to split a stake over several bets and when it makes sense
Dutching means splitting one stake over several selections so that the payout is the same whichever of them wins. The dutching calculator spreads the stake over 2 to 12 selections and works out the combined odds and the break-even chance, and when you pick the bets from the bet list it settles the whole set-up on every possible score of the match. In this guide we show how to use both modes, how to read the settlement table, and when dutching makes sense and when it only looks good.
Key takeaways
- 1
Dutching creates no edge, it only turns several bets into one with lower combined odds and a higher chance of landing.
- 2
In the example with the scores 1-0, 2-0 and 2-1 the combined odds are 2.95, so you need a 33.9% chance, exactly what the odds imply with the bookmaker's margin still in them.
- 3
Under 2.5 goals at 1.80 and both teams to score at 1.85 cover almost every score, but make money only on 1-1.
- 4
In free text mode the selections must exclude each other, because the calculator assumes that at most one of them wins.
What is dutching?
Instead of putting everything on one correct score, you back three: 1-0, 2-0 and 2-1. You choose the stakes so that each of these scores pays the same. You win if any of them comes up, and you lose the whole stake if the match ends some other way.
In practice dutching turns several single bets into one bet at combined odds: lower than the odds of each selection on its own, but with a much higher chance of landing.
Dutching is useful wherever a market has many outcomes and you want to cover several of them:
- the correct score of a match,
- combinations of markets in one match, such as under 2.5 goals and both teams to score,
- the first goalscorer,
- the winner of a tournament or a league (outright bets),
- horse racing and other markets with many runners.
Dutching and surebets
Both tools even out the payout across the selections, but they differ in one thing:
- a surebet covers every possible result, so at the right odds you make money whatever happens,
- dutching covers only some of the results, so it is an ordinary bet: if none of your selections wins, you lose the stake.
If you want to cover the whole market at different bookmakers, use the surebet calculator and read how arbitrage betting works. The dutching calculator is for backing a chosen part of a market.
Two modes: from the bet list or free text
The Picks switch at the top of the calculator has two positions. The calculator remembers the mode you chose in your browser.
From bet list: selections from one match, fully settled
In this mode you pick a bet from a list in each row, as in the surebet calculator:
- 1X2, double chance, draw no bet,
- Asian and European handicap with a line,
- total goals and home or away team goals (over/under with a line),
- both teams to score,
- correct score: you set the home and away goals.
How each of these markets settles is explained in our guides to 1X2 betting, double chance, draw no bet, Asian handicap, European handicap, over/under goals, team total goals and both teams to score.
Because the calculator knows what each bet means, it can settle it on every score of the match. That is why only this mode has the Settlement by score table (more on it below), and why selections may overlap, such as Under 2.5 and BTTS yes, which both win on 1-1.
Two bets that settle identically on every score (such as 1 from 1X2 and AH 1 (−0.5)) would count the same bet twice. The calculator then marks the second one with the message "Settles exactly like selection…" and asks you to pick another bet.
This mode also opens from the football tips list: Dutching suggests a set of bets for each match, and a click on it (Open in calculator) enters those bets into the calculator. What the coverage and the "league · H2H" note beside the set mean is explained on an example in how to read our football tips. You enter the odds yourself, and the calculator works with the ones you give it, so type in the price you are actually betting at.
Free text: classic dutching of any selections
In this mode each row is a name you type in yourself (a goalscorer, a horse in a race or a team in a bet on the league winner) and its odds. The calculator does not know what those selections mean, so it assumes classic dutching: at most one of them can win. It works out the stakes, the combined odds and the break-even chance, but shows no settlement table.
Use it for markets that are not on the list. Just make sure the selections really exclude each other, because the calculator cannot check that for you.
How to use the calculator step by step
- Choose the mode under
Picks:From bet listorFree text. - Set the rounding under
Stake rounding:None,1,5or10. - Pick or type in the selections and their odds. There are three rows to start with:
Add selectionadds more (up to 12), and the cross removes the ones you do not need (at least 2 stay). - Enter an amount: the total stake, a target payout or the stake on one selection.
- Read the result: the stake, payout and profit of each selection, the summary and, in bet list mode, the settlement table.
The calculator starts working once at least two selections have valid odds. The Example button fills in three correct scores with sample odds, and Clear starts again. The rounding and the mode are remembered in your browser.
Total stake, target payout or the stake on one selection
The calculator can fit the split to one of three amounts:
- Total stake: you have £100 for this match and want to spread it. This is the default.
- Payout on a win: you want to collect at least £300, and the calculator picks the stakes. They are then rounded up, so every selection pays at least the target.
- The stake on one selection: the bookmaker will accept only £20 on one selection (more on maximum bet limits), or you have a free bet for a set amount. Enter it in that selection's
Stakefield, and the other stakes adjust to it.
The calculator remembers which amount you are holding, so when you later change the odds or add selections, that amount stays fixed and the rest changes.
Example 1: three correct scores
The calculator's own example: 1-0 at 7.50, 2-0 at 10.00 and 2-1 at 9.50, a total stake of £100, stakes rounded to £1.
| Score | Odds | Stake | Payout | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-0 | 7.50 | £39 | £292.50 | +£192.50 |
| 2-0 | 10.00 | £30 | £300.00 | +£200.00 |
| 2-1 | 9.50 | £31 | £294.50 | +£194.50 |
If any of these scores comes up, you make between £192.50 and £200.00. If the match ends some other way, you lose £100. The combined odds of this set-up are 2.95.
The differences between the payouts come from rounding the stakes to whole pounds. Without rounding, each selection would pay exactly £295.34, and the calculator shows that result as a percentage in the Without stake rounding line (+195.3%). Rounded to £5, the spread grows (a profit of £185.00 to £200.00), so with small stakes choose a smaller step.
If instead of the total stake you enter a target payout of £300, the calculator sets stakes of £40, £30 and £32, £102 in all, and every selection pays at least £300.
Example 2: selections that overlap
In bet list mode, choose Under 2.5 at odds of 1.80 and BTTS yes at 1.85, with a total stake of £100. The calculator puts £51 on the under and £49 on BTTS, and the Settlement by score table shows four scenarios:
| Scenario | Under 2.5 | BTTS yes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| fewer than 3 goals, one team without a goal (e.g. 1-0, 2-0) | Win | Loss | −£8.20 |
| a 1-1 score | Win | Win | +£82.45 |
| 3 goals or more, both teams score (e.g. 2-1) | Loss | Win | −£9.35 |
| 3 goals or more, one team without a goal (e.g. 3-0) | Loss | Loss | −£100.00 |
This is a good example of why the table matters. The selections cover almost every score, but at odds below 2.00 a single winner does not even return the stake. You make money only on 1-1, when both bets win at once. The combined odds and the break-even chance make no sense here, because one score can pay two bets, so the calculator does not show them and points you to the table.
How to read the result
The summary shows:
Profit on a winorLoss on a win: the result when one of the selections wins, with its percentage of the stake. If the results differ (rounding, overlapping selections), you see the range from the worst to the best.Combined odds: how much you get back for every £1 of stake when any selection wins. It works like the odds of a single bet.Break-even chance: how likely it has to be that one of the selections wins for you to break even. It is the inverse of the combined odds.Chance by the odds: the sum of the probabilities in the odds, with the bookmaker's margin still in them.Worst case(bet list mode) orIf none wins(free text mode): how much you lose in the worst case.Stake split: a coloured bar with each selection's share of the total stake. You stake the most on the lowest odds, because they have to pay as much as the others.
The combined odds, the break-even chance and the chance by the odds appear only when no score pays two selections at once. If the combined odds fall below 1, the calculator warns you that you lose even on a win. Then drop the shortest-priced selection or look for higher odds.
The "Settlement by score" table
In bet list mode, once you pick at least two bets, a table appears below the summary. Each row is a group of final scores on which your selections settle the same way, described in words. Each selection's column shows its status (Win, Half win, Refund, Half loss, Loss) and, once you enter the odds, its payout. The Total column shows the profit or loss of the whole set-up and its percentage of the stake.
In the summary above the table the calculator tells you in how many scenarios you make a profit and in how many you lose. The worst scenario is highlighted, and the grid icon next to a row shows every score of the match that belongs to it. The table settles Asian lines too, so you can see when a handicap or a goal line comes back by halves.
Is dutching worth it?
Dutching gives no edge on its own. It only changes the shape of the bet: instead of a rare, high win you get a more frequent, lower one. If each selection is priced fairly, the whole set-up is too, and if each one carries the bookmaker's margin, so does the set-up.
That is why the key is to compare two numbers:
- the break-even chance: 33.9% in the example with three scores,
- your own estimate of the chance that one of the chosen selections wins.
The break-even chance is exactly the chance the odds imply, and the bookmaker prices these three scores together at 33.9%. Those odds still contain the bookmaker's margin, so with the margin taken out the market rates the chance lower than 33.9%. Dutching makes sense only when you have reason to think the chance is above the break-even point: you know the line-ups, the teams' styles, data on how similar matches ended. To estimate the chances, use the Elo calculator (how it turns ratings into odds is in our guide to Elo match odds) or the fair odds calculator, which strips the margin from a market, as shown in our guide to calculating fair odds.
What to watch out for
- In free text mode the selections must exclude each other. The calculator assumes that at most one of them wins. If you want to combine selections that can win together, pick them from the bet list and check the settlement table.
- Coverage is not profit. Selections that together cover most scores can lose on every single winner when the odds are low, as in example 2.
- Do not add selections for the sake of it. Each extra selection raises the chance of a winner but lowers the combined odds. A short-priced selection can take most of the stake.
- Minimum stakes and limits. With many selections and a small total stake, single stakes can fall below the bookmaker's minimum. Raise the stake or cut the number of selections.
- Odds change. The result applies to the odds you entered. If a price drops before you place the last bet, recalculate the set-up.
- Settlement rules. The table settles the selections on the match score. For goalscorers, check how the bookmaker settles a player who did not come on (see our guide to bet settlement rules), because a refund on one selection changes the result of the whole set-up.
FAQ
Splitting a stake over several selections so that each one gives the same payout. You win if any of them comes in, and you lose the stake if none does.
The stake on each selection is proportional to the inverse of its odds: the lower the odds, the bigger the stake. With £100 on 7.50, 10.00 and 9.50, the 7.50 gets £100 × (1/7.50) ÷ 0.3386 = £39.38, where 0.3386 is the sum of the inverses of all three odds. The calculator does this automatically, rounds the stakes and shows the payout of every selection.
In bet list mode you pick selections from the markets of one match, and the calculator settles the whole set-up on every score, so the selections may overlap. In free text mode you type in any selections, and the calculator works out classic dutching, assuming that at most one of them wins.
Yes, but only in bet list mode. The Settlement by score table then shows how much you make or lose when one selection wins, two win at once or none does. The combined odds and the break-even chance are not shown, because they stop making sense.
A surebet covers every possible result and, at the right odds, always makes money. Dutching covers only the chosen results, so if none of them comes in, you lose the stake.
From 2 to 12. The calculator counts every selection with valid odds and skips rows without odds.
The odds of the whole set-up: the payout for every £1 of total stake when any selection wins. For odds of 7.50, 10.00 and 9.50 they are 2.95.
Only when the chance that one of the chosen selections wins is higher than the break-even chance. Splitting the stake creates no edge on its own; it just turns several risky bets into one at lower odds.