Dutching calculator
Split one stake across two to six mutually exclusive outcomes so the return is the same whichever of them wins. Enter your total stake and the odds for each selection. Free, no account, runs in your browser.
Split across every outcome below.
| Outcome | Odds | Stake | Returns | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3.00 | $42.55 | $127.66 | $27.66 |
| 2 | 4.00 | $31.91 | $127.66 | $27.66 |
| 3 | 5.00 | $25.53 | $127.66 | $27.66 |
The implied probabilities add to less than 100 percent, so this book returns a profit on any of the listed outcomes. Prices move, and the split only holds if every leg is placed at the odds entered.
What dutching is
Dutching covers a bet sideways instead of covering it on an exchange. Rather than backing one selection and laying it, you back several selections in the same market, sized so that whichever one wins you get back the same amount.
Every leg is a back bet, so nothing is tied up as exchange liability. That is the practical appeal: it works when there is no exchange price worth taking, when the exchange market is too thin for your lay to match in full, and when a promotion is simpler to cover across a handful of selections than to lay.
The catch is that dutching only equalises the outcomes you actually backed. If the winner is a selection you left out, every leg loses and the total stake is gone.
The formula, in plain language
Odds carry an implied probability: one divided by the decimal odds. Odds of 4.00 imply 25 percent. Each outcome takes a share of the stake in proportion to its implied probability, so the shorter the price, the bigger its share.
Stake on one outcome
stake = total stake x (1 / its odds) / sum of (1 / odds) across all outcomes
Return, identical on every covered outcome
return = total stake / sum of (1 / odds) across all outcomes
That sum of implied probabilities is the number to look at first. Below 100 percent, the book returns a profit on every covered outcome. Above 100 percent, the excess is the bookmaker margin and dutching it loses money whichever selection wins. The calculator shows the total so you can decide before you place anything.
A worked example
You have $100 to split across three selections priced at 3.00, 4.00 and 5.00.
- Implied probabilities: 1 divided by 3.00 is 0.3333, 1 divided by 4.00 is 0.25, 1 divided by 5.00 is 0.20. They total 0.7833, or 78.33 percent.
- Stake on the 3.00: 100 multiplied by 0.3333, divided by 0.7833, which is $42.55.
- Stake on the 4.00: 100 multiplied by 0.25, divided by 0.7833, which is $31.91.
- Stake on the 5.00: 100 multiplied by 0.20, divided by 0.7833, which is $25.53. The three stakes add back to exactly $100.
- Return whichever wins: 42.55 x 3.00, 31.91 x 4.00 and 25.53 x 5.00 all come to $127.66, which is a profit of $27.66 on the $100 staked.
The equal return is the check: if the three payouts do not match, the split is wrong. A book totalling 78.33 percent is unusually generous and would normally only appear across different bookmakers or with a promotion attached. Move the prices to 1.90 and 2.10 on a two-way market and the total implied probability comes to 100.25 percent, so the same $100 loses 25 cents whichever side wins.
What the calculator cannot do for you
- It cannot confirm your selections are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them has to be able to win, or the equal return does not hold.
- It cannot hold the prices for you. Every leg has to be placed at the odds you entered, and odds move between the first bet and the last.
- It cannot cover a selection you left out. Check the field, including late scratchings and any dead heat rules.
- It cannot read the promotion terms that made the book worth dutching in the first place.
If you are covering a bet on an exchange rather than across selections, use the matched betting calculator instead.
Other calculators
- Matched betting calculator: back and lay, with commission.
- Bonus bet calculator: turn a bonus bet into cash.
- Odds converter: decimal, fractional, american, probability.
- All free calculators: the full list with an explanation of each one.
Frequently asked questions
What is dutching?
Dutching is splitting one total stake across several mutually exclusive outcomes so that the return is the same whichever of them wins. Instead of covering a bet on an exchange, you cover it across the other selections at the bookmaker.
What is the dutching formula?
Each outcome takes a share of the total stake in proportion to its implied probability. The stake on an outcome is the total stake multiplied by one divided by its odds, then divided by the sum of one divided by the odds of every outcome. The return is the total stake divided by that same sum.
How do I know if a set of odds is worth dutching?
Add up the implied probabilities, which the calculator does for you. If they total less than 100 percent, the set of outcomes returns a profit whichever one wins. If they total more than 100 percent, that excess is the bookmaker margin and dutching the book loses money on every outcome.
When would you dutch instead of laying on an exchange?
When there is no exchange price worth taking, when the exchange market is too thin for your lay to match in full, or when a promotion is easier to cover across several selections than to lay. It also avoids tying up liability on the exchange, because every leg is a back bet.
Do all the outcomes have to be in the same event?
They have to be mutually exclusive, which in practice usually means selections in the same market of the same event, where exactly one of them can win. Dutching outcomes that could both happen, or where none of your selections wins, does not produce the equal return the calculator shows.
What happens if one of my selections is not covered?
You lose the total stake. Dutching only equalises the outcomes you actually back, so if the winner is a selection you left out, every leg loses. Check the field before you place anything, particularly on races with late scratchings.
Written by the YAUPICKS team. Last reviewed July 2026.
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