Your Extra Places Questions Answered!

Extra places (or EPs) are something you hear a lot about when Matched Betting, especially in the run-up to Cheltenham.

See: Matched Betting Cheltenham 2022: How much could you make?

They can be highly lucrative, making them a hot topic in the Forum and Facebook Group.

In this post, we’ll go through a variety of common questions that come up regarding one of the best Matched Betting offers around.

Can Anyone Do Extra Places?

Extra Places are an advanced Matched Betting strategy.

We strongly suggest having a minimum £1000 bankroll. Ideally, you will have much more.

You should have - at the very least - completed all the signup offers and have a strong understanding of the basics of Matched Betting.

If you aren’t quite at that stage yet, don’t worry!

You can still make a return at Cheltenham, other festivals and from daily horse racing events with Money Back (Refund) Offers.

What Is A Horse Racing Extra Place Offer?

An extra place offer is when a bookmaker offers to pay out more places than usual in a race.

Lots of bookies offer extra places to compete with each other and attract more punters.

Useful reading: Horse Racing Extra Places Part 1: The Basics

How Can You Use Matched Betting With Extra Place Offers?

Extra place offers are a long-term Matched Betting strategy.

You can set up an extra place bet by placing three different bets:

1. An each way back bet with the bookmaker
2. A win lay bet at a betting exchange
3. A place lay bet at a betting exchange

Providing the odds are right, these three bets give you a chance of a return.

To learn more about each way and extra place offer bets, you should take our 4 part course here:

Matched Betting Extra Places (Part 1): The Basics

Matched Betting Extra Places (Part 2): Walk-through Example

Matched Betting Extra Places (Part 3): Tips for Beginners

Matched Betting Extra Places (Part 4): A Strategy Discussion

Can I Use Gubbed Accounts To Do Extra Places?

Absolutely. To our knowledge, if you haven’t been notified by a specific bookmaker, they all pay out extra places - with the exception of BoyleSports and Betvictor.

This makes extra places a fantastic use of gubbed accounts!

You may find that you are stake restricted on a gubbed account but you'll still be paid out for extra places (unless it's with BoyleSports or BetVictor).

Useful reading: Top tips to avoid being gubbed

Do More Extra Places Mean More Value?

Yes! If a bookie is offering more than one extra place then this is brilliant for you as a Matched Bettor.

For example, if Sky Bet are offering 5 places and the exchange is 3 places, you’ll make a profit if your horse comes 4th OR 5th.

This means you have double the chance to hit the extra place compared to if they were offering one extra place.

If you have two horses in the Extra Place race and both hit 4th and 5th - then you're in for even more profits!

Also Read: What is Matched Betting? (For Beginners)

What Is The Minimum Number Of Runners Required For The Extra Place?

If a race starts with too few runners, then the bookie will drop the number of places that they'll pay out on each way bets.

This makes it important to have a good idea of how many runners are needed for the bookie to still pay out the extra place.

This changes based on the bookie and the race in question, but you can find more information and minimum runner tables here.

What Happens If The Odds Move Quickly Just Before The Race Starts?

The bookmaker and betting exchange odds will move rapidly just before the start of races.

You can find great matches just before the race starts. But it can open you up to the risk of losing money with unmatched bets.

If you want to play it safe, then it is important to get your bets sorted well before the race start time. We would recommend newbies always make sure their bets are matched comfortably before the race starts.

Useful Tool: The Fixabet Calculator

Can I Use Shared Liability To Make The Most Out Of My Bankroll?

Yes absolutely! There are often several bookies offering extra places for the same race.

This means you could potentially cover multiple horses with the use of shared liability (explained here)

Shared liability comes into play when you have lay bets on different selections of the same event on the same exchange.

Usually, it's impossible for all these outcomes to occur, so the amount of liability is reduced.

For example, in a specific horse race, you have lay bets against Horse A and also Horse B, it's impossible for both Horse A and Horse B to win. As a result, your liability will be much lower than you may have initially thought.

Useful to know: If you are doing each-way bets on horse-racing offers shared liability on the 'place' markets won't occur until after you've bet on more horses to place than there are available places.

For example, if you are laying on the 'To Place 3' market, shared liability won't occur until you are laying off a 4th horse in that market. Shared liability basically comes into force when it's impossible for all the lay bets to lose. It's possible for 3 horses to finish in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, but impossible for 4 horses to do so.

Got More Questions on Extra Places?

We’ve got you covered!

Our expert Matched Betting team often do live Q&A sessions with our members on extra places and advanced horse racing offers in our Facebook Group.

If you are already a Platinum or Diamond member of Outplayed you can also access a list of past live events in the forum here.

Need a helping hand with Matched Betting?

Our Facebook Group, which has over 50,000 members, is a great place to ask for help and ask questions, especially if you are new to Matched Betting. 

Alternatively, you can also contact us directly for support too. Our team are available by phone, live chat and email 7 days a week!

Interested in Getting Started Matched Betting?

You can start learning for free with our free trial

Alternatively, upgrade to our Platinum Membership here. You can easily make the cost of your monthly membership back within one hour once you get the hang of things. Talk about value for money!