Dutching calculator: how to split a stake for an equal return

The dutching calculator

Enter the decimal odds of each selection and your total stake; a comma or a full stop both work as the decimal mark. The example values are the three selections at 4.00, 5.00 and 6.00 with €100 from the worked example below.

What dutching is

Dutching means backing several selections in the same market and sizing the stakes so that each winning selection returns the same amount. You might back three horses in a race, or three correct scores in a football match. If any one of them wins, you get the same payout; if none of them wins, you lose the whole stake.

The name is usually traced back to the American gangster Arthur Flegenheimer, known as "Dutch Schultz", who is said to have spread his money over several horses this way. Whatever its origin, the method is plain arithmetic.

The formula: equal return over n selections

For each selection, take its implied probability 1/odds. Add them up. Each stake is the total stake times that selection's share of the sum:

S = 1/odds₁ + 1/odds₂ + … + 1/oddsₙ
stakeᵢ = total × (1/oddsᵢ) / S
return = total / S  ·  combined odds = 1 / S

In effect, you have turned three bets into one bet at odds of 1.62 on "one of these three". Whether that is a good bet depends entirely on whether "one of these three" really happens more often than 61.7% of the time.

Calculate dutching stakes in four steps

1. Write down the odds of every selection you want to back, in decimal format.
2. Add up 1/odds for all of them. That is S, the combined implied probability.
3. Split the total stake: stake = total × (1/odds) / S for each selection. Round to the cent, or to a round amount if the result stays close.
4. Check the return: stake × odds should give roughly the same figure for every selection, and that figure minus the total stake is your profit if one of them wins.

The calculator at the top of this page does exactly this split, and so does a sure-bet calculator. In ArbVantage's manual calculator you can enter the odds of every outcome and see the stakes, the return and whether the combination is a sure bet. Rounding works as described in rounding arbitrage stakes.

Dutching vs sure bets: when it is a sure bet and when it isn't

A sure bet is dutching on every possible outcome of a market, at prices whose 1/odds add up to less than 1. Two conditions, both necessary:

• All outcomes covered. If any result is left out, that result loses your whole stake. Three horses out of ten is not a sure bet, however good the prices are.
• S below 1. At a single bookmaker, S across all outcomes is always above 1, because of its margin. Only by taking the best price for each outcome at different bookmakers can S fall below 1.

Our guide to sure betting covers this case in depth, including the risks that remain even when S is below 1.

Assumptions: decimal odds, all bets accepted in full and not voided, no betting fee, amounts rounded to the cent.

Correct score and horse racing examples

Correct score. You expect a tight home win and back 1-0 at 7.00, 1-1 at 6.50 and 2-1 at 9.00 with €50. S = 0.1429 + 0.1538 + 0.1111 = 0.4078, combined odds about 2.45. Stakes: €17.52, €18.86 and €13.62 (rounded to the cent, adding up to €50). If one of those scores is the final result, you get back about €122.60 (+€72.60); any other score loses €50.

Horse racing. In a field of twelve you back the three horses you rate highest. The method is the same, and so is the catch: the bookmaker's margin sits inside every one of those prices. The combined odds are only good value if your judgement is better than the market's.

Limits of dutching

• It doesn't create value. Dutching changes how your stake is spread, not the expected value of the bets. Dutching three poor prices gives you one poor price.
• The margin adds up. Each selection carries the bookmaker's margin. The more selections you add, the closer you get to paying the full margin of the market for a fairly likely outcome.
• More selections, lower odds. Each extra selection raises S and lowers the combined odds. With very many selections the potential profit gets small, while one uncovered outcome can still lose everything.
• Price changes. If one of the prices drops before you place it, the split no longer gives an equal return. Recalculate before each bet.

To judge whether a price is good, convert it into a probability: our value betting guide shows how to remove the bookmaker's margin. Value bets in ArbVantage are coming soon; sure bets and middles are live today.

FAQ

Is dutching profitable?

Not by itself. Dutching only spreads a stake so that every selected outcome returns the same amount. It is profitable in the long run only if the combined odds are better than the real chance that one of your selections wins, or if it covers every outcome at prices that make a sure bet.

What is the difference between dutching and a sure bet?

A sure bet is a special case of dutching: it covers every possible outcome, and the 1/odds of the prices add up to less than 1. Ordinary dutching leaves some outcomes uncovered, so you can lose the whole stake.

How many selections should I dutch?

As few as your view needs. Every extra selection lowers the combined odds and adds the bookmaker's margin again. Two to four selections are common; beyond that the potential profit gets small.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Arbitrage betting
• Wikipedia: Dutch Schultz
• RIS: Gebührengesetz 1957, § 33 TP 17 (Austrian betting fee)

As of October 2026. The calculations are illustrations under the stated assumptions. Not betting, legal or tax advice. 18+.

Betting involves risk, sure bets included: odds move, bets get voided and accounts get limited. Only stake money you can afford to lose. If betting stops being fun, our responsible gambling page lists free help in Austria and Germany.