Dave lives with his dog, Bruno, in Western Australia. When he can be persuaded away from horse racing news-following and writing, he enjoys spending time with his family and taking Bruno on long walks that exhaust them both.
Dave has written for At The Races, provided betting previews for the 2010 World Cup via a website he owned. It was the first time they had covered any football event. He also appeared weekly on Sing When You’re Winning – football and general sports betting show on MUTV to provide odds and tips alongside former Manchester United striker Lou Macari.
Pick 6 Work in Horse Racing
When it comes to betting, the pick 6 in horse racing offers potential monster payouts that can look eye wateringly attractive to punters. However, with sometimes high stakes and slim odds, pick 6 is often thought of as a lotto that even experienced punters can struggle to crack, let alone your novice punters.
But is there a winning pick 6 horse racing strategy? We’re going to help you find out how to improve your chances of cashing in on a bumper payday!
Key Takeaways
How does pick 6 work in horse racing?
How many runners in each race?
Forming a syndicate
Knowing your horses
Crunching those numbers
How does pick 6 work in horse racing?
Pick 6 betting is usually run by a tote on course, but can be offered by bookies. What this means is all bets are put into a pool and the tote takes a cut, therefore incurring no risk themselves and leaving the punters with a potential monster payout drawing them in.
A pick 6 horse racing bet requires you to pick the winners of 6 consecutive horse races. This stacks the odds heavily against you, but does offer potential massive payouts. We are talking hefty sums, as winning pick 6 bets have been known to create instant millionaires.
The odds of pick 6 accumulate from leg to leg. With six selections, it leads to very few winners and subsequent rollovers, which is what creates life-changing amounts you stand to win. In the rare case that there are multiple winners, the prize fund is divided up evenly between them, which is why forming a syndicate is an advisable pick 6 horse racing strategy.
How does pick 6 work in horse racing here in Australia?
Here in Oz, pick 6 horse racing is available at all the big meets and sometimes for midweek racing as well. While pick 6 – and pool bets in general – aren’t as popular here as they are in other countries, such as the UK and the USA, they are growing in popularity, and consequently so is the size of the payouts.
So how does pick 6 really work in horse racing?
Its long odds twinned with a potential bumper payout have led people to compare pick 6 horse racing bets to the lotto.
This comparison most certainly has an element of truth to it; this is a lotto, however it’s a lotto where a bit of savvy and skill can significantly narrow your odds and increase your chances.
Read on to find out our pick 6 horse racing strategy tips.
1. Check the amount of runners in the race
It may sound obvious, but the less runners there are in the race, the higher your chances of winning are going to be. That makes it much easier to select the winner of a 6-runner race than one with 16 in it.
The downside to going for a pick 6 bet in races with less runners is that the odds are narrower and therefore the payouts are lower. That makes this particular pick 6 horse racing strategy more viable for individual punters who are looking for low stakes and a lower risk, but are happy to settle for a smaller payout.
If you want to increase your chances of winning a pick 6 horse racing bet on races with more runners and slimmer odds, you might want to consider getting more people involved. That leads us nicely onto our 2nd pick 6 horse racing strategy tip…
2. Form a syndicate
When reverting back to the question ‘how does pick 6 work in horse racing?’, it’s important to remember that you must select the winners of 6 consecutive races. If you don’t pick the winner correctly in the first race, then your selections for the following 5 races don’t count, and both your money and the excitement are gone.
So, what’s the best way to reduce the chances of this happening? By selecting more than one horse in each race of course! The problem with this strategy is that the more horses you bet on, the higher your overall stake becomes, which is why you might want to consider forming a syndicate.
This is a popular pick 6 horse racing strategy as it lowers your outlay while increasing your chances of scooping up the big prize. The only downside being that you have to divvy the spoils with your crew.
But ask yourself, what would you rather have; a one in a million chance of becoming a millionaire or a 1 in 50 chance of winning a potentially life changing amount of money?
So, how does pick 6 work in horse racing with a syndicate?
Let’s take a look at an example:
Your syndicate has selected the following number of horses in each race:
1st race: 3
2nd race: 2
3rd race: 5
4th race: 3
5th race: 1
6th race: 2
To calculate the number of bets here we simply multiply the numbers as follows:
3 x 2 x 5 x 3 x 1 x 2 = 6 lines = 180 bets
If we calculate this with the usual minimum stake of $2 per line that gives us a total stake of $360
At only $2 a line you’ve got a small personal outlay, narrower odds, a higher stake and a potential 5 or 6 figure payout coming your way – not to mention you’ve made the raceday that bit more interesting.
Much more exciting than the lotto, right? That’s how pick 6 works!
But we said that this is a lotto with savvy and skill involved, didn’t we?
The following points will highlight a couple of skills you should develop yourself and look for in potential members of your syndicate…
3. Know your nags!
It may seem like an obvious point when it comes to betting on horse racing generally, let alone pick 6, but knowing your horses can significantly increase your chances of slimming your odds and making your selections smarter and more accurate.
Horse racing bets of any type are a tough minefield to cross for any novice punter, but when it comes to pick 6 horse racing, the odds and amount for selection required makes this type of bet a daunting task even for the more experienced punters out there.
Getting to know your horses well does take time and dedication, but the benefits can be massive when it comes to your pick 6 horse racing strategy, especially if you fancy going it alone without a syndicate when your personal stake is going to be much higher.
If you have a horse that you’re pretty certain about in one of the races, then you only need to bet on one horse in that race, keeping more of your budget to hedge your bets on a race you might not feel so certain about. The more you know and can slim down your choices in each race the better, for example, if you can narrow it down to just two horses in one of the races, stick ‘em both on!
If you personally don’t feel too certain about your own horse racing knowledge, then you might want to look at forming a syndicate with a bunch of mates who do have the knowledge. If you still want to go it alone, then you can always try to keep an ear out for people who have some decent tips.
Once you’ve gotten to know your nags, it’s time to brush up on those maths skills…
4. Know your numbers!
If you really want to increase your chances of getting your hands on a big money pot, then being a math whizz will most certainly help you heaps!
Betting in general is a game of odds, fractions and percentages that can all get a bit overwhelming. The numbers involved in pick 6 horse racing can be even more flummoxing, especially once you get a syndicate involved, as you’ve got multiple people, bets and odds to take into account. To make it even more interesting the odds in pick 6 horse racing change right up until the race starts!
But it’s vitally important you know your numbers and can calculate your win probability accurately; miscalculate and you’re as well throwing your strategy out the window and treating it like the lotto.
Not the best with numbers?
Thankfully in the modern age that’s not too big an issue in this modern world.
Betting apps and websites are awash with odds and percentage calculators, and if you look hard enough you’ll even be able to find a calculator specifically designed for pick 6 horse racing!
That said, you’ll still need to use some of your own savvy and you’ll want to flip your odds into a percentage and know your win probability accurately, so it’s best to use a variety of calculators wisely to keep your numbers correctly crunched.
What other horse racing betting strategies are there?
When it comes to betting on horse racing, pick 6 is just one strategy you can use to make your gambling pay. From considering bets in-running – horse racing’s in-play markets on the exchanges – to seeking a saver bet each-way, the emphasis is on you as a punter to find a system that works for you and your gambling style. Remember, it can be worth hedging your bets on big field handicaps in Australia like the Melbourne Cup.
If, you have never heard of these betting types, be assured that we have you covered on this site. Read our reviews on Each-Way Betting Explained and many more helpful articles to become a master of the game.
How can I put it all together to form our pick 6 horse racing strategy?
So you have a better idea of what pick 6 is and how it works in horse racing, now it’s time to pull all of your newfound knowledge together.
Just remember the following points:
Pick your races well
Know your horses and hedge your bets
Keep on top of those numbers
If forming a syndicate, choose your mates wisely!
Pick 6 might be the lotto of horse race betting, but with a little bit of knowledge and a group of like minded mates, you’ll have more than just your luck to ride on!
