It is at all time the value of a horse which determine the stake, and the assessment of chances of winning or placing which determines the type of bet.
It is all about getting value, and judging your risk. Get the most of your returns when you are very confident, and to reduce your losses when not.
Generally, there can only be single selection per day. If this is a value bet a decision will be made to bet win or each way depending on the evaluation of the possibilities of the horse winning or placing.
Two or more selections will indulge doubles and trebles etc. In this case hardly ever will we bet singles as it can be established that placing several bets is more lucrative than single win betting. Hypothetically you would want to bet at level stake on win singles. But in reality this is not practical. If there are 4 selections and your normal stake is £100 win, then on days when you cannot attend the track, you will have to place 4 x £100 win bets in your local betting shop.
Exotic bets such as Forecasts, Trifectas, Jackpot and Placepots are played quite often. Pool bets which rollover can give excellent value especially when the favourite has a low chance of winning.
Keeping a log of every bet is indeed essential. This will help you determine your nature of success.
Win or Each Way Singles
A typical mistake punters make is to bet win on favourites and each way on anything above a certain price, say 5-1. Initially this makes sense, because if the 5-1 horse is placed you will have your money returned in races paying 1/5 the odds a place, and make a small profit if it pays a 1/4. Remember, the trick is to maximise your returns when you are very confident, and to minimise your losses when not. Another punters fallacy is to bet more money on lower price horses and less on outsiders. It is always the price of a horse which determines the stake, and the assessment of possibilities of winning or placing which judges the type of bet.
Doubles
Many a times we place doubles if there are two selections in one day and disregard betting singles. Once again, an each way bet may be placed if the probability of winning is low, and probability of placing is high. Note that the chances of the double being accomplished is the probability of each horse winning multiplied together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Anthony is a recognized authority on the subject of horse racing system,having helped over 1,288 people worldwide to this date. He is the Director of Sure2Profit.com, a website where he provides a wealth of informative free articles and resources.