Extra place offers should be a fundamental part of your matched betting activities if you’re serious about increasing your profits.
Best of all, they’re available to all customers – even those with gubbed or restricted accounts. Therefore they give you a long-term source of profit.
What is an ‘extra place’ offer?
When placing an ‘each way’ bet on an event, a bookmaker will pay out if your selection finishes within a set number of the top places. E.g. in the top three – 1st, 2nd or 3rd. The number of places depends on how many competitors are in the event.
An ‘extra place’ offer is where a bookmaker pays out on more places than usual – for example, the top four places instead of the regular three.
Although a bookmaker may pay out more places than usual, the number of places paid at the betting exchange will remain the same. This difference presents an opportunity.
Typically, these offers are on horse races but sometimes come up on major golf tournaments and other events. For simplicity, I’ll talk as if your each way bet is on a horse race for the rest of this guide, as that’s the most popular type of extra place offer.
What is an each way bet?
First, it’s essential to understand how an each way bet works.
An each way bet has two parts. Half of your total stake is placed on the horse to win, and the other half is placed on the same horse to finish in the top few places.
The win part of an each way bet pays out at the displayed odds. The place part of an each way bet pays out at a fraction of the displayed odds.
Let’s take a look at an example using the terms below.
Each Way 1/5 1-2-3
These terms mean that if your horse finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd, the bookmaker will pay out the ‘place’ half of your bet at one-fifth of the displayed odds.
If your horse finishes 1st, the ‘win’ half of your bet pays out at the full odds. When your horse finishes 1st, both halves of your bet pay out, as the place half also includes 1st place.
For example, let’s say you place an each way bet of £10 on a horse at odds of 10/1. As the bet has two halves (win and place), you’re betting a total of £20. You are betting £10 on the horse to win at odds of 10/1 and £10 on the horse to place in the top 3 at odds of one-fifth of 10/1.
To find the odds of your place bet, you divide 10/1 by 5 (since it’s one-fifth), giving you 2/1. So your win bet pays out at 10/1, and your place bet at 2/1.
To calculate the place odds using decimal odds, you first subtract one to exclude your stake, divide by five, and then add your one back on at the end, as shown below. Your full odds of 10/1 are the same as 11.00 in decimal form.
Subtract one from your odds to account for the stake.
11.00 – 1.00 = 10.00
Divide by five.
10.00 ÷ 5 = 2.00
Add the one back on at the end.
2.00 + 1.00 = 3.00
So in decimal form, your win bet pays out at odds of 11.00, and your place bet at odds of 3.00.
You won’t need to do these calculations manually, as you will be using tools that do this for you. Still, it’s important to understand the concept.
Let’s see how this example works if your horse finishes in different places.
| Outcome | Win returns | Place returns | Total stake | Profit/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse wins | £110.00 | £30.00 | £20.00 | + £120.00 |
| Horse places 2nd or 3rd | £0.00 | £30.00 | £20.00 | + £10.00 |
| Any other outcome | £0.00 | £0.00 | £20.00 | – £20.00 |
The extra place opportunity
Generally speaking, all bookmakers pay the same number of places, depending on the number of runners and the type of race.
| Runners | Race Type | Places Paid | Place Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – 4 | All races | Win only | – |
| 5 – 7 | All races | 2 | 1/4 odds |
| 8+ | All races | 3 | 1/5 odds |
| 12 – 15 | Handicap | 3 | 1/4 odds |
| 16+ | Handicap | 4 | 1/4 odds |
The ‘place’ market at the betting exchange usually matches the standard amount of places paid by the bookmaker. So when a bookmaker offers to pay more places than the betting exchange, it presents an opportunity.
Profiting from an extra place offer is similar to a regular matched bet. You place an each way back bet at the bookmaker, then lay the same selection at the exchange. Since there is no option to lay an each way bet directly on an exchange, you do the two halves separately. You place one lay bet to cover the ‘win’ half of the back bet and another on the exchange’s ‘place’ market to cover the place half of the back bet. In the £10 each way example above, that’s a £10 lay bet on the win and a £10 lay bet on the place market for the same horse.
Let’s say the bookmaker is paying 4 places, and the exchange market is for 3 places. Suppose your selection finishes in exactly 4th place. In that case, you’ll win the place part of your each way bet at the bookmaker (because your selection finished in the top 4). You’ll also win your place lay bet at the betting exchange (because your horse didn’t place in the top 3).
Your horse finishing in the ‘extra place’, in this case, 4th, is precisely the scenario you’re looking for, as it allows both your back and lay ‘place’ bets to win. This results in a significant profit. If the horse finishes in any other place, then you make a slight loss. The idea behind extra place offers is that those small losses are more than balanced out when you hit an extra place.
Finding extra place offers
You can easily find extra place opportunities on my Extra Place Offers Today page. It shows every horse race with extra place offers available and their each way terms. Bookmakers tend to go big on Saturdays and during big festivals.
Picking the right horse
Now you need to select the right horse for each race.
As you’re looking for a horse that will finish in the extra place, only some horses are a good fit. As you can imagine, a favourite is more likely to finish in the top positions, and an outsider is more likely to end up at the back of the pack. Most importantly, you’re looking for horses that combine a small qualifying loss with a big potential return. That may mean there are no suitable horses in some races.
There are two ways you can find suitable horses – either using an automated tool or finding them manually.
Using an Extra Place Matcher
Whilst it’s perfectly possible to find extra place opportunities manually, most matched bettors eventually choose to use an Extra Place Matcher.
An Extra Place Matcher compares bookmaker and exchange odds, helping you quickly identify horses where the bookmaker’s extra place terms may provide additional value. It can also calculate important figures such as the qualifying loss, potential profit and implied odds.
Using a dedicated tool can save a significant amount of time, particularly during busy race meetings where multiple bookmakers may be offering extra places across several races.
That said, you don’t necessarily need an Extra Place Matcher to get started.
Each day, we publish a list of the latest extra place races on our Extra Place Offers Today page, making it easy to see which bookmakers are offering enhanced place terms.
If you’d like to discuss specific opportunities, ask questions or learn from other matched bettors, our Discord community is also a great resource, with thousands of members sharing insights and experiences.
As you become more comfortable with extra place betting, you may decide that an automated tool is worthwhile. However, understanding the principles behind extra places is far more important than the tool itself.
The manual method
Even if you won’t be manually looking for horses, it’s still helpful to understand what is happening behind the scenes when using a tool like an Extra Place Matcher.
To show the manual method, I’ll walk you through an example of a bet I placed on the 15:40 Royal Ascot on Saturday 24th June 2023. Coral paid 4 places instead of 3, with the place part paid at 1/5 odds.
Always be aware of the minimum amount of runners required for the bookmaker to pay the extra place(s). This particular race required a minimum of 11 runners; otherwise, the standard each way terms would apply. There were 16 runners in this race, so it met the requirements. Runners can drop out between you placing your bets and the race starting, so if you’re placing your bets far in advance, it’s best to choose a race where the number of runners is comfortably above the minimum requirement.
Alternatively, you could wait until closer to the race starting so there’s less chance of non-runners being declared. Focusing on one race at a time also gives you the advantage of your bankroll being freed up after each race, ready for the next. The downside is that the odds fluctuate much more as you get closer to the start of the race. That means you must be quick; otherwise, the odds you saw will soon get snapped up.
When selecting manually, you want to find a horse with close back and lay odds for both the win and place parts. Start by looking for close ‘win’ odds, as they’re most easily compared at a glance.
After browsing the odds on the bookmaker and exchange, I chose The Astrologist. As you can see below, I got close odds on both the win (50.00 & 60.00) and place (11.00 & 13.00) parts of the bet. Remember, when doing this manually, you need to work out the place odds yourself. Both of these combined made it a profitable opportunity.
Once you’ve done some extra place offers, you’ll eventually get used to spotting the profitable horses at a glance.
To work out the ‘Win’ and ‘Place’ lay stakes, complete the fields on my Each Way Calculator using the ‘Extra Place’ setting.
As you can see, the calculator tells me I need to lay £8.50 on The Astrologist ‘To Win‘ and £8.47 on The Astrologist ‘To place (top 3)‘.
You can see a profit breakdown at the bottom of the calculator for all outcomes of your matched bet. Your ‘win’ back and lay bets will always cancel out, but if your horse finishes in the extra place, both your back and lay ‘place’ bets win. It is the only outcome where three out of the four bets win, resulting in a healthy profit.
I stood to profit £106.63 if The Astrologist finished exactly 4th. Otherwise, I’d lose a maximum of £3.37. I was effectively risking £3.37 to make a potential profit of £106.63. That gave me implied odds of 32.64, making it a profitable bet in the long run.
I recommend always working out your implied odds, as it’s the only way to gauge whether or not a bet is worth placing. As a guide, aim for implied odds of 20.00+ for single extra place races (e.g. 5 places instead of 4) and 10.00+ for multiple extra place races (e.g. 6 places instead of 4).
It’s worth noting that the above example is based on an each way stake of £10. If you increase your stake, you stand to make an even bigger profit. However, only stake an amount you’re comfortable with and that your bankroll allows. As your stake increases, so does your exchange liability.
Additional tips
- Place as many bets as you feel comfortable with. Extra place offers are a long-term strategy, so the more bets you place, the sooner you’ll hit those profits.
- Don’t be afraid to bet on multiple horses in the same race as long as your overall implied odds are favourable. To calculate your overall implied odds, you would divide your minimum potential profit by your maximum total qualifying loss and then add one. If you’re betting on multiple horses, limit yourself to one horse per bookmaker.
- Your bets may be eligible for ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’, depending on the bookmaker and your account status. That is where winning bets are paid out at either the price you placed your bet at or the price of the horse when the race started, whichever is greater. Best Odds Guaranteed is usually available from a specific time each morning, and it varies per bookmaker, so have that in mind when placing your bets.
Final thoughts
Working through this guide should have equipped you with everything you need to profit from extra place offers.
More often than not, you’ll incur a small loss when placing your qualifying bet. However, when a selection finishes in one of the extra places offered by the bookmaker, the resulting profits can be substantial.
You can find the latest opportunities on our Extra Place Offers Today page and discuss potential selections with other matched bettors in our Discord community.
Remember, extra place offers are available to everyone. Even if a bookmaker has restricted your account for other promotions, you’ll usually still be able to take advantage of extra place races.
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Matt Kirman – Matched Betting Blogger
Since 2014, I’ve blogged over £100,000 worth of profit, and made it my mission to make matched betting accessible to everyone.