What is Pool Betting?<\/h2>\n

Pool or pari-mutuel betting as it is better known worldwide was invented in the Victorian era by Joseph Oller, the Catalan cabaret impresario of Moulin Rouge fame. A mechanised way of calculating this system, called a totalisator or tote boards, was developed in subsequent decades. Its first recorded use in a sporting context came at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand during 1913.<\/p>\n

Tote boards were in widespread use worldwide before The Great Depression. In the UK, the launch of the Tote, a state controlled betting pool for horse racing, in 1928 is a notable starting point for it in this country. Football pools from now defunct department store Littlewoods predate these from 1923. Now that you understand the history behind this, it’s time to have pool betting explained to you. This concept differs dramatically from a fixed odds wager.<\/p>\n

There’s no bookmaker you’re betting against here but other participating punters. Nor are there any quoted odds or prices in advance of the result. The popularity of a horse or football outcome determines the size of a payout. If lots of people pick the same winning result in the pool, then what you get back on the wager – called returned dividends – will be smaller than others.<\/p>\n

Football Pool Betting<\/h3>\n

With the football pools actually predating its horse racing counterpart in the UK, 2023 marks a century since these were introduced. Doing these online today is more sophisticated than marking boxes with a pen on paper pools coupons. We’ll have more on the different types of football pools available today below. None of the other football betting sites out there in the UK is so closely linked with these wagers as The Pools<\/strong>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

Horse Racing Pool Betting<\/h3>\n

Just as closely associated with betting pools is the sport of kings. That long history between the Tote<\/strong> and horse racing ensures they still have a significant presence today. Every official result to races in the UK and Ireland tells you what the winner paid on the Tote alongside its Starting Price. The same goes for placed horses with its returned dividend for making the frame.<\/p>\n

Types of Sports Pool Betting Markets<\/h2>\n

Since its introduction in 1920s across the UK’s two biggest sports for gambling, special types of bets relating to pools have been developed. These aren’t betting markets as such like you get with fixed odds bookmakers but different wagers in separate pools. Let’s take a look at each sport in turn:<\/p>\n

Football Pools You Can Play In<\/h3>\n

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• 1×2\u00a0<\/strong>– Pool betting in its most basic form concerns the result. Will the home team win or the away side triumph? Traditional pools also let you distinguish between a score draw and a no score draw.<\/li>\n
• Asian Handicap\u00a0<\/strong>– If you want to take the possibility of the draw out of things, then Asian handicaps can help. These provide imagined advantages for match outsiders to hang on to or pretend deficits for the favourites to overcome.<\/li>\n
• Both Teams to Score<\/strong> – Will both teams get on the scoresheet? There’s football pools covering the two simple outcomes of Yes and No.<\/li>\n
• Correct Score\u00a0<\/strong>– One of the toughest pools out there is predicting exact final scores to games. The difficulty attached always means a huge prize if you get lucky and pull it off.<\/li>\n
• Match Predictors\u00a0<\/strong>– Predict so many factors relating to a game of football or series of matches and you could win big!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

  Horse Racing Pool Bets<\/h3>\n

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  • Win\u00a0<\/strong>– You can bet on a horse for a straight win. This is the simplest pool bet out there.<\/li>\n
  • Place\u00a0<\/strong>– There’s a separate pool for place wagers. These are for a horse to finish placed in the race based on industry standard terms. If there are fewer than five runners, this isn’t an option.<\/li>\n
  • Exacta\u00a0<\/strong>– Where you bet on two selections in horse racing pool betting in the same event to finish first and second in a set order.<\/li>\n
  • Quinella\u00a0<\/strong>– A wager where you bet on two (or more) horses in the same race to come first and second in any order.<\/li>\n
  • Tote Swinger <\/strong>– This is a bet on two (or more) horses in the same race to fill the first three finishing positions.<\/li>\n
  • Trifecta<\/strong> – A wager with three (or more) horses in the same race to finish first, second and third in a set order.<\/li>\n
  • Placepot\u00a0<\/strong>– This Tote-created bet involves finding a placed horse in the first six races at a meeting. You can add extra lines to your wager if you want to include more than one pick in a race.<\/li>\n
  • Quadpot\u00a0<\/strong>– Another creation from the Tote, this involves finding the winner of four consecutive specified races from a meeting.<\/li>\n
  • Jackpot\u00a0<\/strong>– The Tote Jackpot requires you to find the winner of the first six races from a set meeting.<\/li>\n
  • Scoop6<\/strong> – On Saturdays, six feature races on the Tote make up the Scoop6. These aren’t limited to just one meeting like the Jackpot.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    Pros & Cons of Fixed Odds vs. Pool Betting Online<\/h2>\n

    Just to help you understand betting pools fully, we thought it’d be cool to highlight the pros and cons of it vis-\u00e0-vis regular fixed odds markets. Here are the upsides and drawbacks of it:<\/p>\n

    Pros:<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

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    • Better returned dividends on non-favourites<\/li>\n
    • Dedicated betting pool services available<\/li>\n
    • Some bets can win big off small stakes<\/li>\n
    • Suits punters who like betting on outsiders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>
      Cons:<\/div>\n

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      • Betting on favourites won’t be bigger than SP<\/li>\n
      • Fewer markets than fixed odds bookmakers<\/li>\n
      • No refunds with non-runners in some pool bets<\/li>\n
      • You don’t know what potential returns are<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

        The Last Word<\/h2>\n

        Now that you’ve seen what the best pool betting sites are, the pros and cons of wagering like this rather than fixed odds and what you can gamble on, it’s time to get right on it. Betting pools are a fun way to liven up your interest in football or horse racing. Just make sure you gamble responsibly on our recommended provider:<\/p>\n

        FAQs<\/h2>\n

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        What is Tote pool betting?<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n

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        This is wagering in betting pools organised by the Tote, a state-owned pari-mutuel gambling operator with an online platform and physical presence on racecourses in the UK. These include top tracks like Ascot Racecourse, Aintree Racecourse, Epsom Downs Racecourse and York Racecourse among others.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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        How to play pool betting?<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n

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        Betting pools have some similarities to fixed odds wagers. You need an online account with a site that offers them, then funds in there so you can bet. You then select the pool or wager type you want and enter a stake.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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        Is pool betting on football legal?<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n

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        Yes, it’s perfectly legal to enter football betting pools in the UK. These are all provided online by providers fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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        How to win football pool betting?<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n

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        You have to get your picks right to win the football pools. It’s quite difficult but the potential returned dividends, i.e. winnings, if you’re lucky enough to be successful are large relative to a small stake.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        There’s an alternative to fixed odds bookies out there, and it’s called pool betting! This page tells you all the essentials about this form of wagering like where it’s available and the bet types you can place. Learn all about betting pools in the UK today. Top Pool Betting Sites in the UK These are … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n