The Cheltenham Festival is a popular punters choice for Ante post betting.
Ante post betting is placing a bet on an event that will happen in the future. The word “ante” is the Latin term for “before,”. Ante post refers to betting on a horse before it is at the post for the race. This form of betting started with horse racing where punters would bet on a horse as early as several months prior to the actual race. Although ante post betting is often associated with horse racing, this betting option has also been applied in other sports.
The thrill that comes with betting on an event and watching it take place is without parallel. Of course, it is even more exciting to actually win the bet. However, ante post betting does involve a lot of risk. The two main risks are timescale and incomplete knowledge.
Risk Factors in Ante Post Betting
Timescale is risk associated with betting in the future. Since this type of betting deals with future events, the risks involved with betting on a horse are greater. There are uncertainties involved. What if a horse is injured before the race but the bettor has already placed a bet on that horse in the weeks prior?. This is a simple example of uncertainty that a bettor must take into account. There are other uncertainties like the state of the race track and even the abilities of the jockey.
Lack of Knowledge
The other risk with ante post betting is the incomplete knowledge of bettors. Some bettors would base their picks on information that is still lacking. There are so many variables to consider such as the horse, the type of race track, and the condition of the jockey to name a few. In some cases, bettors base their picks on gut instinct.
Of course, there is an imbalance of knowledge from bettor to bettor. A bettor may know more or less about the race than other bettors but the bookmakers still have the advantage. Bookmakers use betting systems which account for the risks, uncertainties, and other relevant variables to set the odds. Despite the advantage of bookmakers, the odds are inflated and the rewards are greater to balance out the added risk of betting in the future.
Top 3 Tips for Ante Post Betting Success
Research – put in the time to research the team/player/horse/team that you are betting on. The more you can find out through stats about the event you are betting on the more likely you are to place a winning bet.
Odds– take a look at how the market odds are shaping up. It may well be that there's been a fluctuation on your fancy already. If the odds are shortening this could be a good indication that there's beneficial news out there to endorse your pick. It may also indicate that there's inside knowledge on the chances of your choice of bet. Obviously if the opposite happens and you see the odds are lengthening then be wary. There could be some bad news circulating that could scupper your chances of collecting on your bet.
Bookmaker – important – you need to be looking for bookmakers that offer Non Runner No bet (NRNB). I'm using ante post betting on horses as the example here. If the horse you have backed ante post is withdrawn before the start of the event then you will lose your stake money. Unless this happens on the day of the race or you have backed with a bookmaker that offers NRNB you lose out.
Not just on Horse Racing
As mentioned earlier, ante post betting is not exclusively for horse racing. In fact, bookmakers offer this type of betting on almost any sport. The risks are still the same. However it provides more options for bettors who are more interested in football, basketball, and other sports.
An example is choosing Novak Djokovic to win the US Open in 2016. The conditions remain the same as in horse racing. Bettors still have to place a bet sometime in the future and so the risks mentioned are still the same. Bookmakers have made it more fun for bettors but at the same time this setup has provided more opportunities for the bookies.
Ante post betting does not necessarily have to be on a potential champion but it can be on other things such as predicting the rookie of the year in sports such as basketball. There are many options available for bettors; it’s just a matter of making the right picks and winning money!.
