No More Burlington Bertie...

[Trigger]

Looks like racing/betting in this country could be having a shake up of the odds system which would see the disappearance of any current odds that don't end in a /1 for example 10/3 would be replaced with 3.33/1 and 15/8 with 1.9/1 etc...

Why can't they just ruddy leave things alone?!

 

[porkypie]

Will confuse people 4 a while, but they will get the hang of it!

 

[porkypie]

I find betfair easy, 4, is 3/1 and so on!

 

[Trigger]

I find betfair easy, 4, is 3/1 and so on!

I don't understand why if they are changing the don't do it betfair style, with 10/3 as 4.33 and not 3.33/1... I'd rather they just didn't change it in the first place though!

 

[porkypie]

I don't understand why if they are changing the don't do it betfair style, with 10/3 as 4.33 and not 3.33/1... I'd rather they just didn't change it in the first place though!

That would be too easy mate, you know how the powers that be like to make things hard 4 us!

 

[8ace]

Looks like racing/betting in this country could be having a shake up of the odds system which would see the disappearance of any current odds that don't end in a /1 for example 10/3 would be replaced with 3.33/1 and 15/8 with 1.9/1 etc...

Why can't they just ruddy leave things alone?!

What a shit idea

 

[Jim D]

But on the bright side - does that also mean no more McCririck?

 

[crasher]

What a shit idea

Isn't there an argument for it - making horse-racing more accessible for people who aren't steeped in the jargon? I imagine goons like McCririk put a lot of people off watching with all his double-carpets on the shoulders nonsense.

 

[8ace]

Isn't there an argument for it - making horse-racing more accessible for people who aren't steeped in the jargon? I imagine goons like McCririk put a lot of people off watching with all his double-carpets on the shoulders nonsense.

I can see what you are saying but I think it's all part of the fun.
People can enjoy a day at the races without knowing all the jargon, tictack, backslang, rhyming slang etc. If they are interested then it's not hard to find out what it means. It just adds to the colour of the sport - knowing all the jargon does not help you pick out any more winners believe me!

 

[Trigger]

It's going to be a little off putting for all the grey haired brigade that occupy betting shops every afternoon too, be a bit of a shock to their system having been gambling for years to suddenly have their price structure change!

 

[Gazwag]

why wait nearly 40 years since decimilisation to do it though, its not that hard to understand, if I see 15/2 I work out 7½ to 1 in my head or 15/8 is just under 2/1

 

[Jim D]

One thing it should do is make it easier to spot the best odds on the footie coupons. If one bookie has 8/5 and another has 13/8 it's a pain to work it out sometimes.

 

[8ace]

One thing it should do is make it easier to spot the best odds on the footie coupons. If one bookie has 8/5 and another has 13/8 it's a pain to work it out sometimes.

Oddschecker is your friend - best price in bold.

Brighton v Brentford Betting Odds

 

[Mtoto]

I don't understand why if they are changing the don't do it betfair style, with 10/3 as 4.33 and not 3.33/1... I'd rather they just didn't change it in the first place though!

That IS what's being proposed. It would make no sense to do it any other way.
I'm fond of fractions too, but even something relatively simple like 6-4 is still much easier to understand as 2.5.

 

[Nigella's Cream Pie]

That IS what's being proposed. It would make no sense to do it any other way.
I'm fond of fractions too, but even something relatively simple like 6-4 is still much easier to understand as 2.5.

Or even as 3-2

 

[jezzer]

apparently, its cos alot of people cant tell which is the better price say between 6-4 and 11-8, its a real shame cos I think its great and I think it shows more that alot of people arent taught fractions sufficently at school, to me it is the essence of most maths anyway. When I interviewed staff at my previous job I asked each applicant "what is 10% of 100?" and you not believe how many people got it wrong!! One girl who got it wrong had O Level maths but her excuse was that " the exam was a lot of coursework"!!

 

[Mtoto]

Or even as 3-2

Still don't think it's as simple as knowing that if you put £1 on, you get £2.50 back. With decimal odds, it's always one process, if you're putting on £7 or £13 or £232.50 or whatever. You just multiply by the odds.

 

[cunning fergus]

One thing that is for sure is that if the bookies are in favour of decimalisation then it is bad news for punters.

Decimals give bookies greater ability to make small incremental adjustments that fractions don't.

I go racing a lot and in my experience those who dont punt regular are just as baffled by the tote system as they are with fractions.

Frankly if this is because 'young people' can't understand fractions then its a shocking state of affairs and just another example of how we reduce standards to the lowest common denominator (did you see what I did there).

 

[Tooting Gull]

Racing does have this sporadic bouts of navel-gazing where they start thinking they're old-fashioned and panic about how to react, it's about once every five years. This sounds like one of those, although it could be standardised at least one way or the other, there is little point in Tote/Betfair being different.

The problem they have is that although there are some younger, more forward-thinking racecourse managers and marketing types, the real power still lies with all the old chinless duffers in the background, stewards, and whatever the Jockey Club is called now etc. And for them, as long as they can treat everyone like serfs, and talk about India and tweed suits over a good free lunch at a track of their choosing, there really is no problem.

 

[New Carpet?]

I am going to miss fractional odds if they do disappear, as that's what I've been brought up with, but in the age of Betfair, it will certainly make things a lot easier for people new to betting to understand how it all works.

It's something I frequently see on a day at the races, some young first-time racegoer looking disappointed about their returns when they go to collect on an 11/8 shot that's just come in for them.