CHAPTEK TX. 



BETTING. 



PRINCIPLES OF BETTING AND BOOKMAKING LOTTERIES PAR! MTJTFEL9 

 AND TOTALISATORS RACE POOLS. 



Principles of betting and bookmaking The 



" odds " against an event occurring is the ratio which 

 the number of the unfavourable ways the event may 

 happen, bear to the favourable ones. Thus, it is 5 to 1 

 against any particular number (from 1 to 6 inclusive) 

 being thrown with a single die, which, I need hardly 

 say, has six faces. Eegarding certainty as unity, we 

 may represent the chance of an event occurring as a 

 vulgar fraction, of which the numerator is the 

 favourable way or ways, and the denominator, the sum 

 of all the ways, both favourable and unfavourable. 

 Hence, in the case just cited, the chance of any 

 particular number being thrown, is . 



Although the sum of the chances of any undecided 

 event is, when correctly calculated, equal to unity, 

 that of "price list " chances are larger; the difference 

 between it and unity being the theoretical profit to the 

 bookmaker. Thus, to take the following two lists : 



(1) 3 to 2 on A. (2) evens X. 



3 to 1 against B. 2 to 1 against Y. 



3 to 1 against C. 3 to 1 against Z. 



