For as long as gambling has existed - so for at least four thousand years, and probably longer - punters have been doing their level best to give themselves an edge.

The trouble is, bookies have a number of advantages over the average bettor. They’ve got enormous resources, software designed specifically to keep them making money, and a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-house-edge">profit margin</a> built into everything they offer.

But there are ways to give yourself a leg up, making it possible to gain a statistical advantage for yourself, or even to guarantee a <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">profit through Matched Betting</a> (so long as you do it right).

In this article, we’ll take you through the main techniques to beat the bookies for once and for all! By the time you reach the end, you’ll be ready to start claiming a share of their profits for yourself.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting" target="_blank" title="">Beat The Bookies With Matched Betting</a>

The safest, and arguably therefore the best, way to beat the bookies is through Matched Betting.

Done right, Matched Betting is a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/is-matched-betting-risk-free">risk-free technique</a> to profit from <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports betting</a>, and it can make you hundreds of pounds a month.

Matched Betting is the strategy of betting both for and against the same outcome. So for example, you might bet that Manchester United win a match, and also that they don’t win a match.

These two types of bet are called a ‘back bet’ and a ‘<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-lay-betting">lay bet</a>’ respectively. Your back bet is your bet that something will happen (i.e. Manchester United winning) and your lay bet is a bet that something won’t happen (that Manchester United won’t win).

Between the two bets, you cover all outcomes.

The trick to turning this technique into profit is by taking advantage of bookie promotions.

Bookies give out free bets like candy when they’re trying to lure new customers, and Matched Betting allows you to transform those free bets into profit that goes straight in your pocket.

For example, you might see an offer where you have to place a £10 bet (known as a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/qualifying-bet-guide">qualifying bet</a>) to receive a £10 free bet.

If you match both bets, you can roughly break even on the first bet, and then use your free bet to make a guaranteed profit.

You don’t get quite the same excitement from Matched Betting as you would from a straightforward sports bet, where an unexpected win at high odds could mean a huge windfall - but taking uncertainty out of the equation makes for a much better long-term strategy.

Many matched bettors are able to <a href="https://outplayed.com/news/matched-betting/how-much-can-you-make-from-matched-betting">make £300 - £1000 in profits</a> consistently each month, making Matched Betting one of the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/side-hustle-ideas">best side hustles</a> out there!

And there’s no better way to beat the bookies than by taking a small slice of their profit for yourself.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/why-you-need-to-do-casino-offers" target="_blank" title="">Beat The Bookies With Casino Offers</a>

It’s important to be aware that taking advantage of casino offers isn’t risk free in the same way as Matched Betting - but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing!

Casino offers work on a similar principle to Matched Betting - use casino bonuses and other freebies to put yourself in a position to make a profit.

Most people who play casino games online end up losing significant amounts of money, partly because casino games can be especially addictive, and partly because a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-house-edge">casino’s margin</a> is baked right into the game software, giving the casino a huge long-term advantage.

Each game has a specified <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-does-rtp-mean-in-gambling">return to player (RTP)</a>, which tells you the percentage of money staked that is returned to players in winnings on average.

So for example, for a slots game with a typical RTP of 95%, you’d win £95 for every £100 staked - meaning an average loss of £5.

Because of this, to make any sort of reliable profit from casino play, you need to find a way of gaining a statistical advantage over the game - and that’s where casino offers come into play.

Online casinos are always trying to attract new customers, and one of the most effective ways for them to achieve this is to offer up freebies.

Those offers give savvy bettors the chance to gain an advantage over the casino, improving their chances of coming out in profit.

With the benefit of the free extras, many offers can result in an RTP of over 100% - i.e. on average, you can expect to win more than you lose. This is usually referred to as <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-expected-value">positive expected value</a>, or +EV.

For example, if you complete the offer shown below from Betfred on slots games with an RTP of roughly 95%, you would expect to lose 50p on average from your £10 initial wagering, and to make around £9.50 from your free spins (as each of your 200 spins is worth 5p).

You’d therefore end up with an average overall profit of £9 by completing this offer.

Of course, these average figures apply over millions of spins, rather than a couple of hundred. It’s perfectly possible (if fairly unlikely) for a player to lose their initial £10 and win nothing at all from their free spins.

However, when you complete an offer like this, the odds shift from being against you to in your favour.

And the more offers with positive EV you complete, the more your profits are likely to correlate to the overall theoretical EV from everything you’ve done.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/our-membership-levels-explained">Outplayed Diamond members</a> completing casino offers usually make anything from a few hundred to a thousand pounds on average each month - a huge boost to your income!

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-value-betting" target="_blank" title="">Beat The Bookies With Value Betting</a>

Once you’re comfortable with Matched Betting and casino betting, you can consider expanding into value betting.

It’s important to note that this is an advanced technique, and not risk-free. We therefore recommend that only experienced sports bettors with a substantial initial bankroll embark on value betting.

Value betting is a betting strategy that gives you an edge over the bookmakers by finding odds that are higher than they should be.

Unlike Matched Betting, you won’t lock in a profit when placing a value bet.

But, if you can consistently find bets that have value to you – known as positive expected value (+EV) bets – you can make fantastic long-term profits from value betting.

The chief difficulty is identifying bets where the odds you see with the bookie are higher than they should be. Without collating huge amounts of information yourself, it can be very difficult to work out what the real likelihood of any particular outcome might be.

Outplayed offers a number of tools for Pro members that highlight valuable selections for you, which can result in significant profits in the long run.

It’s commonly held that ‘the house always wins’ - but that doesn’t have to be the case!

Depending on your expertise and comfort with risk, you’re sure to find a strategy that suits you, which will allow you to beat the bookies and make some extra money for yourself!

And whether you prefer Matched Betting, casino offers or value betting, Outplayed has a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/our-membership-levels-explained">membership level</a> for you, with handy tools to keep the profits coming.

If you’re new to the idea of Matched Betting and want to find out more, check out our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">beginner’s guide</a> - or dive straight into <a href="https://outplayed.com/user/register#1">our free trial</a> and start making your first profits today!

Stephanie Sorrell

How To Beat The Bookies

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/horse-racing-history">Horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the world</a>, and people have gambled on it for almost as long as it’s existed.

It’s also one of the most popular sports in the country for betting on, with on course race betting alone accounting for £283 million in revenue in the year 2022-2023, while <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-does-off-course-betting-mean">off course betting</a> revenue was an incredible £3.33 billion.

Source: <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/469796/gambling-turnover-horses-on-course-in-great-britain-uk-betting/#:~:text=The%20annual%20turnover%20of%20on,of%20151.86%20million%20British%20pounds.">Statista on course horse race betting revenue</a> and <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/203411/revenue-of-off-course-betting-in-the-uk/">off course betting revenue</a>

Clearly, there’s no shortage of punters keen to bet on horse racing - and most of them will, on average, end up losing money.

So how can you become the exception to the rule, the bettor that actually makes a profit from horse racing?

In this article, we’ll talk you through how to calculate true odds and use them to inform your own betting strategies, as well as alternative methods of making more reliable profits from <a href="https://outplayed.com/horse-racing-betting">horse racing betting</a>, such as <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Matched Betting</a>.

True odds are odds that indicate the actual chance of a selection winning.

True odds are different from the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-read-betting-odds">odds offered by bookies</a> in that they represent only the real chance of a win, whereas bookie’s odds include their profit margin and adjustments to influence bettors’ decisions.

This means that you cannot reliably gauge the probability of a particular horse winning its race from the odds you see - even if you can get a general idea of its comparative chances.

In order to get the best possible picture of the horses that offer bettors the best chance of a win, and hopefully a sizeable profit, punters and tipsters will try to work out the true odds for each horse in a race, which can then be compared against the odds offered by the bookies.

Of course, it isn’t really possible ever to be sure of whether the odds you’re looking at are in fact the true odds or not - when we talk about ‘true odds’, we mean our best guess.

However, that doesn’t mean that making an effort to calculate true odds isn’t worth your time. There’s an enormous amount of information out there that can be used to inform calculations of true odds, which can potentially give you a leg up over the bookies when it comes to placing your bets.

What About Fair Odds And Implied Probability?

It’s extremely common to confuse fair odds and true odds, so we’ll take a moment to explain exactly what this <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-terminology-101">terminology</a> means.

‘<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-implied-probability">Implied probability</a>’ simply means the probability of any competitor winning implied by the odds you see. This can be calculated from any set of odds by performing some fairly simple maths - for decimal odds, the formula is simply 100/odds.

For example, for decimal odds of 4.0, you would do the following calculation:

Implied probability isn’t, of course, the same thing as the true probability of an outcome occurring - it just tells you what chance of a win is implied by the odds you see.

The term ‘fair odds’ refers to the odds offered by a bookie without their profit margin. We’ll take a quick look at an upcoming horse race to illustrate how you can work out the fair odds from the odds you see on a bookie’s website.

First of all, we need to work out the implied probabilities for all the horses in a race.

As you can see, when you add the implied probabilities together you get a total of more than 100%, which ought to be impossible. That extra 10% is the bookie’s margin, or ‘overround’.

To work out the fair odds, we need to subtract that 10% from the implied probabilities (which we can do by dividing the implied probability by 110, and then multiplying by 100). We then convert the fair probabilities back into decimal odds format to get the fair odds.

Fair odds are easy enough to calculate, but you should bear in mind that they aren’t the same as true odds. They remove the bookie’s margin, but bookies adjust their odds beyond a straightforward profit margin.

Their profit is safer if the volume of betting on all sides of a race is roughly even, meaning that they may increase or decrease odds on certain selections to encourage or discourage punters to bet on them.

This is why it’s important to have an idea of the true odds of a selection, in order to make an informed decision as to whether it’s worth betting on.

Attempting to establish the best system for working out true odds has occupied some of betting’s finest minds for decades, if not centuries.

A huge number of variables go into the calculations bookies make to determine the likelihood of each horse winning its race, and they have the advantage of extremely powerful software on their side.

That said, it is possible to work out your own true odds, it just takes a lot of industry knowledge and research - and ideally, a good head for mathematics.

If you’re a comparatively new bettor on horse racing, this is likely to be an off-puttingly complex process, so we’d recommend this approach solely to experts.

To decide for yourself what the true odds for each horse in a race might be, you’ll need to consider and weigh a number of factors, which can be roughly divided into a few categories:

You’ll need to settle on a way of converting all these factors into hard data, to allow you to rate each horse accordingly, before establishing the percentage chance of success for each horse on that basis.

Having done so, simply convert those percentages into your preferred odds format to produce your own set of true odds.

The more you do this, the more you’ll be able to refine your system and, hopefully, improve its accuracy - but keep in mind that no system is perfect, including the bookie’s.

How To Use True Odds To Find Valuable Bets

Once you’ve got your own set of true odds, you’re in a great position to track down bets that offer positive value.

Simply put, wherever a bookie’s odds are higher than the true odds you’ve produced, it’s probably worth placing a bet, as you should, on average, end up making more in profit than you lose.

It must be said, though, that working out your own true odds is a laborious process. Realistically, unless you’re a professional sports bettor, it’s probably not going to be worth your time.

Fortunately, there are tools available to help you track down valuable bets without expending hours and hours on research and number-crunching.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/our-membership-levels-explained">Outplayed’s Pro subscription</a> allows you access to some of our most powerful <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-value-betting">value betting</a> tools for horse racing, which compare bookie odds to the true odds calculated by our software to identify valuable selections.

Matched Betting - An Alternative Strategy To Make Money From Horse Racing

For a less risky alternative to value betting on horse racing, you can’t go wrong with Matched Betting.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Matched Betting</a> is the strategy of betting both for and against the same outcome. So for example, if we consider the race we were looking at earlier in the article, you might bet that Regalion wins, and also that it doesn’t win.

You make your profit by combining this technique with the many promotions bookies use to lure new customers. For example, you might see an offer where you have to place a £10 bet (known as a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/qualifying-bet-guide">qualifying bet</a>) to receive a £10 free bet.

If you match both bets, you can roughly break even on the first bet, and then use your free bet to make a profit - if you do it right, there’s no risk at all.

Between sign up offers and reload offers, you can <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-much-can-you-make-from-matched-betting">make £300 - £1000+ a month</a>. A few people even make a living this way!

As horse racing is hugely popular for sports betting in the UK, you’ll find a wide variety of offers available most of the time, with festivals such as <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/matched-betting-cheltenham">Cheltenham</a> being particularly profitable.

Working out the true odds for a horse race can be a very useful means of profiting from <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports betting</a> - but it’s time consuming, relies on expert knowledge, and even after all your effort you’ll never be able to completely rely on your results.

For an easier way to track down high value bets, Outplayed Pro members have access to our Extra Place Master and Lucky Finder tools, which create thousands of pounds in profit for our members every single month.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer a less risky way of profiting from horse racing, Matched Betting is the way to go! Check out our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">beginner’s guide</a> to find out more, or alternatively test out our software with a <a href="https://outplayed.com/user/register#1">7 day free trial</a> and start making your first profits today.

How To Calculate True Odds For Horse Racing

Many of us can find ourselves quite intimidated when we first try our hand at betting in-play, especially if we’re relatively new to <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports betting</a>.

Everything seems to happen so fast - and the moment you settle on a suitable selection, the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-read-betting-odds">odds</a> change on you, leaving you to decide whether to accept worse odds or to start again from scratch.

With all this high-pace confusion, you could be forgiven for thinking <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/in-play-betting-explained-in-depth">in-play betting</a> isn’t worth your while, and that the risks of ending up with a poor value bet are too high.

However, there are ways to take advantage of the in-play odds you see, while minimising the risk of unfortunate odds changes.

In this article, we’ll run you through how in-play odds work, and give you our best tips to get the most value for money out of in-play betting.

In-play betting (sometimes known as live betting) is, as it sounds, the practice of betting on an ongoing event.

It can apply to pretty much any sport (although not all bookies will have in-play markets for every sport, especially niche ones), including <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-bet-on-horses">horse racing</a> - though for racing-related sports, it can also be referred to as in-race betting.

Because you’re betting in the midst of the action, in-play betting is usually fast-paced, with the odds changing constantly depending on what’s going on in the game.

That means you’ll probably have to act quickly when you decide you want to place a bet, as the odds for your selection won’t stick around for long.

There’s often a delay on in-play bets being placed, which is designed to neutralise any advantage bettors may have if they’re physically present at a fixture, as opposed to watching a live feed, which is usually subject to a delay of a few seconds.

In-play betting hasn’t always been around, and even now not every bookie offers it. From a bookie’s view, it can be a logistical challenge to update odds as frequently as needed for an ongoing match or race, especially as they could compromise their profits if their software failed to keep up with events.

Usually, a bookie will therefore offer a limited range of in-play markets on an event, with less popular or more obscure markets being available only up to the start of the match or race.

They’ll also suspend some markets at crucial moments within a match (e.g. when a goal is scored, or when a red card is shown), so that it isn’t possible to bet for or against an event that might already have happened.

All this effort is well worth it, because in-play betting can be a huge money-spinner for bookies, and they will often heavily promote betting in-play, with many promotions being specific to in-play betting.

Not that they exactly have to persuade most bettors to get on board with in-play betting.

A lot of regular punters love to bet in-play, basing their decisions on small swings of momentum between the opposing sides - and many of those punters might not have the expertise or detachment to make the wisest choices, especially at moments of high excitement.

Odds in sports betting are based on the simple principle of telling the bettor how much they stand to win if their bet is successful. High odds mean they’ll win a large amount, while low odds mean a relatively small amount, when compared to their original stake.

Inevitably, odds also correspond (sometimes more loosely than others) to probability. A bookie is always going to be willing to pay out more if an outcome is considered unlikely to occur, and less for what is considered a highly likely outcome.

For this reason, odds can also be viewed as an indication of probability. Low odds indicate a high chance of something happening, whereas high odds indicate a low chance of something happening.

Of course, probability isn’t the only <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-are-betting-odds-determined">factor bookies use to determine their odds</a> - they have to make a profit too. This is accomplished through their margin, a certain percentage added to a bookie’s odds to ensure a profit.

They’ll also adjust their odds to encourage customers to bet on particular selections, with the aim of achieving a balanced volume of bets on both (or all) sides of an event.

In-play odds work in exactly the same way, just at a much faster pace, which is why in-play betting can be such a dramatic, fast-paced activity.

As with pre-match betting, finding good odds relies to a great extent on having knowledge and experience of the game.

It’s certainly wisest to watch the match or race live if you’re planning on betting in-play (something many bookies facilitate on their own sites), to ensure you understand what’s going on in the match and why the odds might be shifting.

It can be a good tactic to do your research in advance of a match or race, and to decide on what you think would be worth betting on at what odds.

Then when the event has started, you can wait to see odds that you’d consider good, depending on the way the game has gone, and immediately place a bet as soon as the odds hit that target.

Because in-play betting moves so quickly, it’s difficult to compare odds between all bookies to find the very best available, because the chances are they’ll have changed by the time you come to place your bet.

However, it is still possible to keep an eye on a smaller number of bookies, keeping track of whose odds tend to be the best, and choose your bookie on the grounds of which is usually offering odds at the higher end.

You might not manage to find the very best odds available anywhere, but you’re likely to end up with better than average odds.

The most obvious pitfall of in-play betting is the fact that everything moves so quickly. If you’re a bettor who likes to take their time, think through their decisions and double check their selections, you’re likely to find in-play betting a struggle.

Acting decisively is therefore necessary for successful in-play betting - but it can also be a risk. It can result in emotional rather than logical decision-making, which is rarely the most successful for sports betting.

Bettors can also find that the high pressure and excitement of in-play betting can make them more likely to fall prey to <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/gamblers-fallacy">gambler’s fallacy</a>, or to chasing their losses.

If you’ve placed a couple of in-play bets and then immediately seen their chances of winning drop, you’re at risk of falling into this trap.

In a desperate attempt to salvage your likely losses, you might end up making hasty, poorly thought out bets, which, if anything, are going to make your situation even worse.

If you’re going to engage in in-play betting, it’s wise to work out a plan before you start and then stick to it, to ensure you don’t make a decision in the heat of the moment that’s likely to be to your detriment.

In-Play Betting When <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting" target="_blank" title="">Matched Betting</a>

The fast-paced nature of in-play betting makes it much harder for matched bettors too.

You see quite a lot of in-play offers, and it’s natural to want to take advantage of those. But while play is ongoing, it’s often the case that what initially appears to be a great match will have shifted, sometimes substantially, between placing your back bet and <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-lay-betting">lay bet</a>.

Sometimes, this can be to your advantage - it’s perfectly possible for the odds to shift in your favour after your back bet, meaning you could end up with an <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-arbing-or-arbitrage">arbitrage bet</a> when you place your lay bet, resulting in an instant profit.

However, it’s just as possible for the odds to shift against you, meaning that you may no longer be available to find any kind of reasonable match at all.

In that scenario, you’re forced to choose between placing a lay bet that guarantees you a more substantial loss (or lower profit) than you’d like, or simply leaving your original bet and hoping that it goes on to win.

Of course, you could also wait and see if the odds shift back again over the course of the match - but as there’s no guarantee of that happening, this isn’t much better than leaving your original bet and hoping for the best.

There are ways to minimise this risk when Matched Betting in-play, though, which we’ll explain below.

Tips And Tricks To Get The Most Out Of In-Play Betting

Especially if you’re Matched Betting, waiting until half time, or set breaks for sports like <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/tennis-betting-guide">tennis</a>, can be the best way to avoid running into issues caused by odds changes.

Although you’ll typically still see some odds movement during breaks in play, there’s much less going on, so those odds tend to be steadier.

If you really know what you’re doing, there’s scope to capitalise on bookies being slow to update their odds in response to events in a game or race.

It must be said that this is definitely a tactic for experienced bettors, as you need to be in a position to confidently identify situations where a bookie hasn’t caught up with events.

However, if you know what you’re doing, there’s a lot of potential value to be had from getting one step ahead of the bookies.

This is why practices such as <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-courtsiding">courtsiding</a> (having a representative physically present at a game or match and passing on significant events before the odds can be updated) and <a href="https://outplayed.com/products/steam-chaser">steam chasing</a> can be so profitable - and why bookies do their very best to prevent them.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-hedge-betting" target="_blank" title="">Hedge betting</a>

This is another tactic best used by experienced bettors, but the changes in odds over the course of a match can sometimes put you in a position to benefit from hedging an existing bet.

For example, if you’d placed a bet before the match on Chelsea to win, and Chelsea then go on to score the first goal, you might well find that you can bet in-play on their opponents at great odds, putting yourself in a position to profit from a win for either team.

This does depend on the course of a match or race, though, and it won’t always be possible to hedge your bet. Even so, once you’ve gained some experience of in-play betting, it’s worth keeping your eye out for hedging opportunities.

In-play odds are volatile and fast-moving, which can make in-play betting a stressful experience, especially for newer sports bettors. And if you’re Matched Betting, trying to find a close match that stays put long enough for you to back and lay it can be a real nightmare!

Betting during half time, or during breaks in play, can help to mitigate this problem - although the chances are you’ll still have to move fairly quickly.

For more experienced bettors, exploiting delays in odds changes or looking for opportunities for hedge betting can make for excellent value bets - but do be careful! In-play odds changes can result in rushed, emotional decision-making, which is never a good thing for your profit.

If you’d like to find out more about Matched Betting, check out our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">beginner’s guide</a> or <a href="https://outplayed.com/user/register#1">sign up for our free trial</a> to start making profits today!

A Guide To In-Play Odds

Ollie Hickmore

Golden Chips are a freebie dished out by online casinos as part of their promotions; they're basically the casino equivalent of a sports free bet.

Where a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-casinos">casino</a> might give out <a href="https://outplayed.com/free-spins">free spins</a> for slot games, they'll instead give you free Golden Chips for table games and live games (e.g. Blackjack, Roulette or Gameshow games).

Golden Chips are completely risk-free;&nbsp;if your chip loses, then you haven't lost any of your own money. On the flip side, if the chip is placed on a winner, then you'll get to keep all the profit!

In this article, you'll learn how Golden Chips work, how to use them, and what strategy to use to maximise your profits.

They're incredibly simple to use, however, they come with one small catch:&nbsp;the value of the chip itself isn't paid out, only the profit. This is exactly the same concept as most sports free bets. Let's look at what that actually means to you:

If you place a £1 bet on Red on Roulette with real money and it wins, you receive £2 back. This is your £1 stake + £1 winnings. You've doubled your money.

Now here's where Golden Chips are slightly different. If you place a £1 golden chip on Red on Roulette and it's a winner, you'll receive £1 cash. This is because you don’t get the stake value of the golden chip as part of the payout, only the £1 winnings.

This subtle difference impacts what betting options are best for placing your chips. It's only a slight change to playing the game with your own cash, but it makes a big difference in strategy to get the best possible value out of your Golden Chips.

We'll go into more detail on strategy and <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-expected-value">value</a> later!

After you've had Golden Chips credited to your account, start by simply opening up an eligible game. The Outplayed offer guide/casino terms and conditions will tell you which games will allow you to play with the chips.

The Golden Chips will appear in the section where you can select which value chip to use. This will look like a gold-coloured casino chip with the monetary value written on it. If you have multiple Golden Chips then this will also be indicated next to the chip.

Select the golden chip here, and you can then click on what you want to bet on, whether that be a hand of Blackjack or a single number on Roulette for example.

For those of you who are familiar with <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting" title="">Matched Betting</a>, you'll know that you can make more profit and gain much more value by placing a free bet at higher odds. Golden Chips are no exception!&nbsp;

The lower the chance of an event happening, the higher the return from the golden chip will be. For example, betting on Red in Roulette will happen roughly 50% of the time (a relatively high chance), but only give a £1 profit from a winning £1 golden chip (a low return).

This means that you have a decision to make when using Golden Chips:

Do you take a low risk option where you're more likely to have a winning golden chip, but accept that you'll have a smaller payout and a lower EV (Expected Value - the long term average value of each chip)?

Or do you go for a higher-risk option? You'll win less often, but when you do, the payouts are much larger, and it'll have a higher EV.

Win more frequently or bank more value? That's the question. And one that we'll help you figure out!

The image below shows six different potential placements of a chip on a game of Roulette (a pink £0.10 chip in this example):

Each placement has a different chance of winning, payout, and EV, which you can see in the table below:

The payout and EV are based on the Golden Chip having a £1 value.   

Golden Chips aren't always worth £1; they can come in different values. This will always be nice and clear in Outplayed's offer writeups and also on the chip itself.

As you can now see from the table above, the value of a Golden Chip can vary significantly.

A £1 chip has just £0.49 EV when used on a Roulette Even Money Bet (for example, betting on Red). While this is the lowest-risk option, the EV is really low.

In comparison, a £1 Golden Chip is worth £0.95 in value if used on a single number. This is, however, a super high variance option. After all, we expect to win with a single number bet 1 in 37 times!

It's usually a good idea to prioritise long-term value over a higher chance of making small profits in the short term. We would avoid using Golden Chips on Blackjack (where possible) or Even Money Roulette bets. However, it's also often quite a risky approach to just bet on a single Roulette number.&nbsp;Let's find a nice balance!

A great compromise between EV and risk is to use your Golden Chips on a Line Bet (which covers six numbers) or a Four Bet (which covers four numbers). These have a higher chance of winning than a Straight Up bet on a single number and have a very good EV of over £0.80 per £1 Golden Chip.

If you were to place a Line Bet with 5 Golden Chips, you'd expect to hit at least one winner around 60% of the time. While you won't win every time, you'll still win fairly often and bank a nice amount of value.

Can You Place More Than One Golden Chip At A Time?

Sometimes.&nbsp;Some casinos will only allow you to place one Golden Chip per game round (for example, each time the Roulette wheel is spun). This is absolutely fine; it just means you'll place your chips one at a time and wait for the next spin to place another.

If you're allowed to place multiple Golden Chips on the same spin, then even better!&nbsp;This allows you to lower your risk while still taking great value, with each chip being on a higher-risk selection. For example, by placing 5 different Golden Chips, each on different Line Bets on the same spin, you'll cover 30 out of 38 numbers.&nbsp;

Your chance of winning is really high, and since each individual Golden Chip was placed on a Line Bet, they're each great value.

Outplayed will always tell you the details of the value of each offer you're doing, but if you find yourself with a casino offer that you've been exclusively invited to, you can use Outplayed's&nbsp;<a href="https://outplayed.com/calculators/ev-calculator" target="_blank">EV Calculator</a>&nbsp;tool to show you the value of your Golden Chips.

This is a great way to find out if an offer is worth doing.

You should now be very well equipped to know exactly what to do with Golden Chip casino offers.

The placement is simple: click your chip and then click to bet!

The strategy is just as easy: place them on a Four Bet or a Line Bet.

If you want to know the value of your Golden Chips or the overall value of an offer involving Golden Chips then you can make use of our <a href="https://outplayed.com/calculators/ev-calculator">EV Calculator.</a>

Interested In Getting Started Matched Betting?

You can <a href="https://www.outplayed.com/" target="_blank">start learning for free with our free trial and make your first profits today!</a>

Ollie

What Are Casino Golden Chips?

In simple terms, a qualifying bet is the initial bet you place with a bookmaker when taking part in an offer, which allows you to access a free bet or another reward.

Qualifying bets are one of the first and most important concepts you’ll encounter when you first <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">learn about&nbsp;Matched Betting</a>, and it’s important to have a good understanding of how they work.

So we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to take you through every type of qualifying bet, to make sure you’re never at risk of making a mistake.

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