Dutching Calculator
List the outcomes with their odds and a total stake or a return you want. You get the stake on each outcome and the profit or loss.
Betting is for adults aged 18 or over, and you can lose money. This page explains the maths and does not encourage betting. If gambling is a problem for you or someone close to you, contact BeGambleAware or GamCare (National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133).
Worked examples
Two outcomes at 2.0 and 4.0
£100 total
£66.67 and £33.33, each returning £133.33
The book is 75%, so there is a profit of £33.33 if either wins.
Three outcomes at 3.0
£90 total
£30 each, each returning £90
The book is exactly 100%, so you break even.
About Dutching Calculator
Dutching is a way of staking on several outcomes of the same event so that each one returns the same amount if it wins. The stake on each outcome is proportional to the chance its odds imply, so shorter prices get a bigger share. This calculator takes a list of outcomes with their odds and either a total you want to stake or a return you want, and shows the stake on each, what it returns and the profit or loss.
Whether dutching makes a profit comes down to a single number, the book percentage, which is the sum of the chances implied by all the odds you list. Below 100% leaves a profit whichever listed outcome wins. At 100% you break even, and above 100% you lose the same amount whichever one wins. Real bookmaker markets add up to more than 100%. This page explains the maths and does not encourage betting.
How to use Dutching Calculator
- Type each outcome on its own line, with the odds at the end. A name before the odds is optional.
- Choose whether you know the total to stake or the return you want.
- Enter the amount in pounds.
- Read the stake for each outcome, the return and the profit or loss.
Common uses
- Spreading a stake across two or three runners in the same race
- Working out stakes when backing every outcome with different bookmakers
- Finding the total needed to return a target amount from any outcome
- Understanding why a market over 100% always costs something
Frequently asked questions
How is the stake on each outcome decided?
Each stake is the total multiplied by the chance implied by that outcome's odds, divided by the sum of all the implied chances. That makes every outcome return the same.
What is the book percentage?
The sum of the implied chances, which are 1 divided by each decimal price. Odds of 2.0 and 4.0 give 50% plus 25%, a book of 75%.
How much does £100 on odds of 2.0 and 4.0 return?
The stakes are £66.67 on the 2.0 outcome and £33.33 on the 4.0 outcome. Either returns £133.33, a profit of £33.33, provided one of those two outcomes happens.
Is dutching a guaranteed profit?
Only when the book is under 100% and one of your outcomes actually wins. If something else happens, you lose the whole stake. Prices on a normal market sum to over 100%, so it is rare.
Why do the returns differ by a few pence?
Stakes are rounded to the nearest penny, as a bookmaker would take them, so the returns are not exactly equal.