What are the Top Sites for Pools Betting?

Introduction to Pools Betting

If you are new to the world of online betting, you might be wondering what pool betting means. It is essentially a method of betting in which all the bets are placed in a pool. After all the stakes are combined, the pool is then divided among the people (from the pool) who predicted the correct outcome. This method of betting has been a favourite among punters for many years.

Pools betting is a variation of the parimutuel style of betting. The only difference is that it does not involve a VIG, which is the commission received by a sportsbook. In this betting strategy, you place a bet on a sport of your choice with a pool selection, which consists of the wagers placed by several other gamblers. This type of betting is very different from the traditional style of sports betting, as there are no fixed odds for placing the bets. The punters who make the winning bets will get an equal part of the combined winnings of the pool. This means that the profit will be dependent on the number of gamblers in the pool and the number of winning wagers. This strategy can be used to make easy and fast winnings, as you do not need to invest a large amount to place your bets.

Punters can play around with a variety of pool bets like –

·      Win Pool Bets

·      Place Pool Bets

·      Jackpot

·      Placepot

·      Exacta Bet

·      Trifecta

Example of How Pool Betting Works

To develop a better understanding of pool betting, we’ll provide you with an example which explains how it works. Let’s take the example of a pool betting scenario in horse racing, which is one of the most popular sports for this type of betting. You decided to place bets on some of the races at Cheltenham. As we stated before, the winnings in pool bets will differ according to the number of lines and the size of the bet. We assume that you placed a £2,000 Placepot bet with a stake of £1. There are four winning lines for £0.20. This means that the total winning bets would be around £0.80. The amount that can be won is almost £1,600.

With fixed odds betting, you would always know the potential return you can get from the bet. If you place a £10 bet for an outcome with the odds at 3.00, you can earn as much as £30. There are no odds in pool betting, which makes it difficult to determine how much you can win. To avoid any confusion, let’s take another example of pool betting in multiple games. For instance, in a 6-game bet, a total of £10,000 are staked. There are a total of 6 different outcomes from the bet. If we assume that you have managed to make all the correct predictions, it means that you will get a share of the pool. Besides you, 20% of the other participants also made the correct guesses. The pot will then be split according to the success rate of 20%, and it is then distributed in proportion.

The Best UK Pool betting sites

Pool betting is not as common as fixed-odds betting, however, there are many bookmakers which offer a variety of bets for this betting style. Here are some of the best online betting sites in the UK for pool betting –

BetFred

When it comes to pool betting, Betfred is widely regarded as the best bookmaker. But before we get to their offerings, we’ll first take a look at how they got into the world of pool betting in the first place. Since 1928, the British government was responsible for looking after tote betting, which is pool betting on horse racing. Betfred was the first bookmaker to gain the rights to tote betting. This sole ownership, however, ceased to exist from 2018, which is why you’ll find many sportsbooks offer tote betting. But it can be safely said that Betfred is the leader in the industry when it comes to pool betting.

Betfred offers a great variety of options in pool betting. With the Tote Win, all you have to do is make a selection and the money will be placed into a pool. Tote Place is another option, which works almost the same way, with the only difference being that the winning field is increased. This means that you stand a chance at winning in a race of seven horses even if your prediction comes in first or second. With Tote Exacta, if you predict the correct order of horses, you can win. The site offers two options here – Single Exacta and Combination Extra. There are also two other varieties in Tote betting – Tote Trifecta and Jackpot.

What sets Betfred apart?

·      Where tote betting originated.

·      Significant jackpots.

·      Horse racing pools can be found almost daily.

·      Option of both single and combination bets.

William Hill

Many of the offerings from Betfred can be found on William Hill too. This is because the owner of Betfred has invested in some of the William Hill shares. Just like Betfred, William Hill also offers a world of options for Tote betting. It also consists of the popular Scoop 6, in which punters get a chance to win big with a small stake. This betting experience is the best example of the wealth of opportunities that can be found in pool betting. The other options for pool betting in William Hill are exceptional too. William Hill’s reputation precedes its name, as it has been around the betting community for generations. With tote betting, it is able to catch the interest of a wider audience.

What sets William Hill apart?

·      Reliable sportsbook.

·      Plenty of tote betting options.

·      Live streaming availability.

·      Dedicated customer service 24/7.

BoyleSports

This is another great platform for punters interested in pool betting. The biggest advantage of using BoyleSports for pool betting is that punters who narrowly miss out on the jackpot winnings can win other prizes, which are called consolation prizes. For instance, if you get 7 out of 8 predictions right, you will be able to win a consolation prize. Another major selling point of these sites is the variety of pool betting options available for horse racing, football, ice hockey and basketball. BoyleSports also provides a cash-out feature to its users.

What sets BoyleSports apart?

·      Availability of a variety of sports.

·      Cash-out feature.

·      Dedicated customer service 24/7.

·      Ease to use.

Betfair

Most punters know Betfair as the largest betting exchange platform in the world. Given the popularity of this site as a betting exchange, it is surprising to see them offering pool betting too. However, Betfair can be considered a jack-of-all-trades of sorts. The site offers a huge variety when it comes to the option of pool betting. The site can be used to place pool bets on all the big football matches across Europe. In some bets, you can select the correct score, while in others, you can select the correct outcome (draw, away win and home win). The site also provides consolation prizes to its punters who come close to a full house. Betfair also offers an option for cash-in.

What sets Betfair apart?

·      Wide variety of pools along with exchange options.

·      Huge variety of sports available besides football.

·      Android and iOS-supported apps.

The Pools

If you are looking for a dedicated online betting site for sports betting, this is your answer. This betting site, which goes by the name of ‘The Pools’ offers the best when it comes to pool betting. You get a one-of-a-kind experience with this site. For starters, The Pools offers an excellent welcome offer to new players when they deposit or stack a total of £10. The welcome offer consists of free bets worth £20. Besides this, you also get a chance to be a part of The Pools VIP program, called the ‘Loyalty Club’. With this, you get an opportunity to win a £5 free bet after every 10 bets.

What sets The Pools apart?

·      Over 25 sports with pool bet offerings.

·      Dedicated site for pool betting.

·      Loyalty Program

·      Excellent welcome offer

Pros of Pools Betting

Here are some of the advantages of using this method of betting –

·      It gives an equal chance to all the punters who participated in the pool.

·      Since there are no odds involved, everyone places a bet with a small fixed amount.

·      If you end up guessing an unlikely outcome correctly, you can get a chance to win a large sum of the pool.

Cons of Pools betting

Here are some of the disadvantages of using this method of betting –

·      Lack of betting odds.

·      The highest value for certain pool bets can vary.

·      The winning amount depends on the number of punters placing bets.

·      The winning from the pool will be split with a lot of punters.

Pools Betting FAQs:

What determines the Pools prize money?

Pools betting is a little different from the traditional style of betting since there are no fixed odds involved with this. This makes it difficult to determine the exact winnings from a pool bet. The pool prize money is dependent on two things –

1.    The total amount in the pool.

2.    The percentage of punters in the pool who guess the same outcome as you.

What is pools betting in horse racing?

Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in pool betting. Since many races take place on a race day, the punters will get an opportunity to bet on a variety of pools. The prediction in horse racing is quite tricky to get right, which means that there is a great possibility that many punters would not succeed. This means that fewer people will end up winning a large percentage of the pool prize.