BONUS BETS – BEAUTY OR BEAST?

Max has been very tolerant in agreeing to even discuss this topic! Over the years any mention of a bonus bet used or earned has resulted in a bristly comment although I do detect a less powerful response in more recent times.

As I understand it, the reaction relates to a view that bonus bets reflect a “wimpish” {my word not his} approach to a win bet. You should be in with some conviction and not be fussed by any failure that might be redeemed a tad by these gimmicks. And, surprisingly, I would agree with him!

The issue is how one approaches these bet. We are, of course, focusing on bets that if your horse runs second or third you can use the stake again, in whole or split depending on your bookmaker, for another bet in the next one week, or again varying with the offer, even two weeks.

Of course, if that later bet wins you still lose the stake but get the rest of the bet as a return. There are other bonus bets offered to open accounts or matched to deposits but these are under some threat from possible legislation so the focus here is on the result of a race bet. And where I would say Max is quite right is in the motive for the bet.

If you have placed the bet expecting the bonus but would not otherwise have played the horse then you have been seduced by the promotion. The selection should be made first, and then you seek out a possible bonus bet to back it up if you are wrong in your judgement but the horse rune runs well enough to place.

In a previous role as a Trustee on the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund I saw research we commissioned into gambling patterns and from this it was noted that most bonus bets are placed on longshots that usually fail.

This is because they are seen as free bets, so what the heck. Place them on something at a long price and you night get lucky! Buried in that philosophy, if that is the right word, is one streak of wisdom. If you gain a bonus bet it should be placed on the longer priced of your selections. Clearly, if you place it on a winner at $3 and you collect, the return is only 66% of the wager. If you place in on a horse at $10 that you really like the return is 90% of the bet.

But the crucial word here is “like”. I tend to use any bonus bets on my longest price selections for that reason. They are less likely to win but provide a nice return if they do even if it is lessened by the bonus bet stake coming out.

The $3 chance is more likely to win or provide a bonus bet to use. The proof is in the outcome. I have finished in front for each of the last five years. Luck or skill? More likely the former! As I used to write in another forum there is no Ferrari out the front as I am a small punter that enjoys the challenge of just trying to finish each financial year ahead even if it is a trifling amount.

But in three of those years I would not have crossed the line ahead if it was not for the use of these bets as outlined. My views are not just my own. I read that in Britain some punters are labelled as “bonus bet abusers” as they play these bets to profit and so have accounts cancelled or limited. This can happen over here but different approaches are in play.

Not all bookmakers offer these bets. When I started out the bets were for 2-4 place but now are 2-3. It was possible to get bets on all races in my venues of Sydney and Melbourne on Saturdays- now there are limits to races 1-4 or 1-6 mostly. I bet more on the later races so my options are restricted. Also, I like to bet soon after the fields come out. A review of four years of my punting showed a better price on 140 winners taken on Wednesday versus a better price being obtained had I waited until Saturday -106 collects. However, the wider margins came from Wednesday betting and usually only small gains from the Saturday prices, But now the offers may come later in the week depending on the bookmaker.

Still, not complaining too much! The chance is still there for many bets and should be taken. I suggested Max should open a beer to drink while reading this. Perhaps a whole sixpack has now gone?

Presnell replies: The eyes John Rouse, the former Australian Jockey Club CEO and, like Clive, very much a turf enthusiast roll with ecstasy when he gets a result from a bonus bet. So who am I to be a sourpuss? Why follow the advice of “beware of bookmakers bearing gifts”? I have been reared on a live kill. Want to see their blood on the ground or just the crisp counting of bucks from the bookmaker’s clerk before being placed in your claw. Backing a winner is the ultimate. Today matters. Clive gets the kick out of the successful figures at the end of the season. John figures he is getting something for nothing. May the joy continue for them.

Dr Clive Allcock is the resident shrink for the Punt Drunks Protective Association of which I am the President and Treasurer.   It’s harder to crack than the Australia Club. Rouse has been granted honorary membership.