Dutching - Betting System And Strategy

James McMath

4 Jan 2017

Updated: 14 Feb 2023

Dutching is a betting strategy that involves backing multiple selections to make sure the outcome is the same, no matter who wins.

When gambling using dutching, a punter shares the bet across several selections.

An example would be backing four horses in a race, ensuring that, whichever won, the return would be enough to outweigh the total stake.

Dutching often mentioned in tandem with arbitrage betting, hedging and lay betting.

Outplayed members are shown how to make use of betting strategies like these to produce a return on a constant basis.

In Matched Betting, Dutching is considered an advanced type of reload (existing customer) offer that more experienced Matched Bettors tend to do.

Dutching Calculator

Because the different selections will no doubt have different odds of winning, the bettor must work out how much to place on each one.

Calculations when dutching can be tricky, with varying odds and commissions to consider.

Another problem is that it takes time to place a series of bets, during which the odds can fluctuate, potentially ruining your calculations.

Types Of Dutching

There are three main types of dutching:

  • Simple dutching – where each stake remains the same regardless of the odds of other runners.
  • Set-amount dutching or stakes-limit dutching – this is where the stake for each selection decreases are more runners are added, so the total staked remains the same.
  • Dutching for a return target – The stake on each runner and the total staked increases as more runners are added so that the desired return is the same..

How To Use Dutching When Betting

You can only use dutching to make a return when the total odds do not exceed 100 per cent.

So first, you need to convert the odds to a percentage.

To do this, divide 100 by the decimal odds.

So 2.0 is 50%, 3.7 is 27.02%, 10.0 is 10%, etc. If the percentages is greater than 100, the book is said to be over-round.

Less than 100%, it is under-round.

Most bookies will ensure their books are over-round so that they make a return.

There are, however, occasions when mistakes are made or offers are available that change this.

Examples of Dutching

Simple

With simple dutching, the stakes reduce as runners are added.

OddsStakeWinnings minus Losing stakesNet
4.02575 - 3045
5.02080 - 3545
10.01090 - 4545

The problem here is that, as more selections are added, the total stake increases.

You can see that the return is winnings – the other losing stakes.

Stakes-limit

Stakes-limit or set-amount dutching is a method of keeping the total stake to a given limit.

This means the stake for each bet is decreased as the amount of selections increases.

OddsStake x OddsWinningsMinus Losing stakesNet
4.045.45 x 3136.3536.36 + 18.18 (54.54)81.81
5.036.36 x 4145.4445.45 + 18.18 (63.63)81.81
10.018.18 x 9163.6245.45 + 36.36 (81.81)81.81

The amount bet on each selection depends on the odds of that out come.

Dutching System For Good Returns

If you are aiming for a specific returns target, the amount staked on each selection increases as more are added, as does the total amount staked.

Therefore the net return remains about the same.

OddsStakeStake x oddsMinus losing stakesNet
10.02.52.5 x 922.5 - 2.5 = 2020
10.02.52.5 x 922.5 - 2.5 = 2020

... and with three runners ...

OddsStakeStake x oddsMinus losing stakesNet
10.02.862.86 x 925.74 - 2.86 = 20.0220.02
10.02.862.86 x 925.74 - 2.86 = 20.0220.02
10.02.862.86 x 925.74 - 2.86 = 20.0220.02

Examples courtesy of Betformulas

What's In A Name

The name dutching is thought to relate to American mobster Dutch Schultz.

Schultz, whose real name was Arthur Simon Flegenheimer, lived in New York in the early 20th century.

One of Schultz’s rackets was a racetrack and he is credited with conceiving the idea and using the dutching strategy.

Also read about hedge betting.