Couple of questions about writing out bets & settling procedure?

Question

Couple of stupid questions, but it's one of those things I'll never know unless I ask!

1) Obviously, I can write £1 win, X, 2.30 Crinklyshire on a betting slip, put £1 as the total stake, and hand it over the counter to be processed. But can I put more than 1 seperate bet on a single slip? eg. I want to back X in the 2.30 (£1 to win) and Y in the 3.00 (£1 to win) Can I just put them on the same slip even though they are seperate bets, and not a double etc. I know 99% this is the case, it's just to be 100% certain

Which brings me on to...

2) How do highstreet bookies "recognise" the bets from a slip? The staff member you hand your slip to just scans it at when you place the bet, and just scans the barcode when you have a winner. So who/what recognises the bet you have placed? I'd have guesssed it would all be done by computer, but what if the handwriting is bad, or there's two horses with a similar name and recognition software might not be able to track it?

Cheers

Answer 1

Part A :  Yes you can make as many different bets on one slip as you wish as long as it is unambiguous. I would suggest that you separate each bet by drawing a line horizontally between them.

Part B : The bet is,as you say,generally scanned into a nationwide computer but the shop manager still runs through the bets to make sure they are clear and able to be settled by the computer. Betting rules apply in all cases and if there are two horses with same name running and you do not distinguish which one you want to bet on then the bet is normally settled on the first one to run. (Normally there is a way to separate horses with same name as they would have country of birth in brackets beside them i.e. (ire) (usa) If british they would have none of these unless of course it was running in Ireland or elsewhere overseas.

Hope that clears it up for you !

Answer 2

yes you can put two bets on one slip just make it clear

Answer 3

You can put as many bets as you can fit on one piece of paper (my dear old mum does especially on Grand National Day!!!).  Just be careful when adding it all up because if you  understake the bet then the hawk eyed bookie will deduct your missing stake from any winnings you may have to come back.

As far as recognising the bets more and more bookies now scan all bets onto computer and can recall any bet placed in any of their shops all over the UK.  When you go to collect it will show your handwritten bet on screen and any returns that you have and you can go into any branch to collect not just your local branch of Ladbrokes for example who have this technology up and running, Corals are behind the times and still ringing branches which is a very slow process.

If two horses with the similar names are running be extremely careful to write meeting, race time etc on your betting slip.

Good luck...hope this confirmed what you already knew...Jacqui x

Answer 4

After each complete bet, you should draw a line before writing the next one. You should precede each bet with the stake you intend.  So long as you do this you can cause confusion neither to a settler nor any other reader.

Answer 5

Part 1. yes you can write as many horses on a betting slip as you  want. Just state clearly that you want win singles. i.e 3 x £1 win singles = £3

Part 2. I was a ladbrokes manager at the time that they introduced their BS2000 system (Betting Shop 2000).

The cashiers will scan the bets but the computer will not actually be able to read the betsor handwriting (as previously stated incorrectly). The staff are still be responsible for inputting all the data.

When they are not taking bets a previously scanned bet will appear on one side of their screen. Also on the screen will appear all the different bets that the computer recognises as been possible. For example if £1.50 is the stake it will give options of 10p lucky 15, £1.50 win single, 75p e-w single etc. The cashier will look at the bet and choose the appropriate bet.

Part of the screen will then change giving a list of race times and a seperate list of the most popular horses in that particular shop on that day(this makes it a bit quicker).

The cashier can either select the race time or do an alphabetical check for the required horse. Once all selections have been found the bet is checked by the computer and then confirmed. As the race finishes headquarters inputs the result and sends the details to each of the shops servers which then works out the returns.

Handwriting can cause a problem occassionally but the shop staff are normally quite experienced in this area and can usually determine which horse is meant.

When i was manager the main problem was caused by customers mixing two names together. IE No. 8 Silver Fox  No.9 Red Bear would be written down as Silver Bear.