Outright

An outright market lists every possible winner of the competition, and that is why the prices are usually bigger than in a single match. A football match has three outcomes; a championship or a big handicap can have twenty or thirty runners, and the odds spread across all of them.

The sum works the same as anywhere else. A price of 4/1 implies a probability of 1 divided by 5, which is 20%, and a price of 10/1 implies 1 divided by 11, or about 9.1%. Add up the implied probabilities of every selection in the market and the total comes to more than 100%.

That excess is the bookmaker’s margin, or overround, and on outright markets it tends to be wider than on a single match, simply because there are more prices in which to build it. Take an illustrative market where the implied probabilities across the field add up to 125%: the bookmaker’s built-in edge is a quarter of a book, spread across the selections. Operators do not publish one standard figure, so the only reliable way to see the margin is to add the market up yourself before deciding whether a price is any good.

Prices also move as the competition runs, because results, injuries and draws change the picture.

On most betting sites, outrights sit in their own tab within each sport, separate from the match-by-match lists. Typical markets include the overall winner, top goalscorer, finishing position such as top four or relegation, and in racing the winner of a named race.

Many winner markets carry each-way terms. An each-way bet is two equal stakes, one on the win and one on the place, so €5 each way costs €10 in total. If your selection finishes in the paid places but does not win, only the place half returns, at the fraction of the odds stated in the market, such as 1/4 or 1/5. The number of places paid and the fraction vary by operator and by market, so the terms on the bet slip are the ones that count.

Dead-heat rules apply when selections tie for a position, which happens often with joint top scorers or golfers level on the same score. Your stake is divided by the number tied, the full odds are paid on that portion, and the rest is lost. Two selections dead-heating for first means half your stake wins at full odds.

Free bets on outrights follow the usual rule: a winning free bet returns the winnings only, without the stake, and some promotions exclude outright or ante-post markets altogether.

Cash-out on outrights, where it is offered at all, is at the operator’s discretion.

The term most often confused with outright is ante-post, and the two overlap without being the same thing. Outright describes what you are betting on, the final result of a competition. Ante-post describes when you bet, well in advance, and in racing usually before the final declaration stage.

So an outright placed before a season starts is also an ante-post bet, while an outright placed on the morning of the final round of a golf tournament is not.

Why the difference matters at settlement

Ante-post terms often treat a non-runner as a loser rather than voiding the bet, under what bookmakers call all in, run or not. If your horse is withdrawn or your golfer fails to qualify, the stake can be lost. Some markets are advertised as Non-Runner No Bet, which returns your stake if the selection does not take part, and in racing a Rule 4 deduction may then be applied to winning bets to reflect the withdrawal. Which rule applies differs between operators and between markets on the same site, which is why we read the settlement section of each sport’s rules rather than assuming one standard.

The longer wait carries a cost of its own, because your stake is tied up until the competition ends.

Check the non-runner rule before you bet early.