How to use the lay bet calculator
Choose what you want to work from. Lay stake is the backer's stake you accept, which is also the most you can win before commission. Liability is the most you can lose. Then type the lay odds and your exchange's commission rate.
The lay bet calculator shows the liability, the lay stake, your result if the selection loses (you win) and if it wins (you lose), plus the commission on a winning lay. Lay £10 at 5.0 with 5% commission: the liability is £40, you keep £9.50 if the horse gets beaten and you pay out £40 if it wins. Commission is charged on your net winnings in the market; when the lay is your only bet there, that is 5% of the £10 lay stake.
New to exchanges? The basics of backing, laying and the ladder are in our guide to lay betting.
Lay to a set liability
Many layers start from the most they are willing to lose. Switch to Liability and the calculator divides it by the lay odds minus one: lay stake = liability / (lay odds - 1). To risk £30 at 7.0 you lay £5, because £5 x 6 = £30. To risk £20 at 3.5 you lay £8, and at 2% commission that wins £7.84 if the horse loses.
Exchanges ask for the lay stake on the bet slip, so this is the number to type in. Make sure the liability is in your exchange balance first, or the bet won't be accepted.
Liability across prices
| Lay odds | Liability per £10 lay stake | Lay stake for £50 liability | Win at 5% for £50 liability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | £5 | £100 | £95 |
| 2.0 | £10 | £50 | £47.50 |
| 3.0 | £20 | £25 | £23.75 |
| 4.0 | £30 | £16.67 | £15.83 |
| 6.0 | £50 | £10 | £9.50 |
| 11.0 | £100 | £5 | £4.75 |
| 26.0 | £250 | £2 | £1.90 |
Laying a short price is cheap to cover: £10 at 1.5 carries only £5 of liability. Laying an outsider is the opposite. With a fixed £50 at risk, the further out the price, the less you stand to win, because the market thinks the horse is less likely to win. Type fractional odds into the calculator if that is what you have, or convert them first with the odds converter.
Back and lay together
A lay on its own is a bet that something won't happen. If you are laying to cover a bookmaker bet, for a free bet or a qualifying bet, the lay stake depends on the back stake and both sets of odds. Use the matched betting calculator for that: it balances the back and the lay so the result is close to the same whichever way the race goes.
Whichever calculator you use, check three things on the exchange slip before you confirm: that you are laying the right horse, in the win market rather than the place market, at the odds and stake the calculator gave you. A lay left unmatched covers nothing.