Betting

[the g man]

How do you bet in a bookes ? Do you have to know what bet you putting on before you walk in and just write it down on the paper or are they some type of thing you can look at with a bets on it?

[Shannon07]

When you go into a bookies there will be papers pinned up on the magnetic boards. i.e.racing post You can see the runners for the races i.e 2.05 Newmarket. and there will be the form against it. There are lots of small square betting slips all around the shop and loads of pens. Simply write on the slip in your handwriting 'Redrum 2.05 Newmarket �5.00 Win' for example. Then take it to the cashier who will scan your slip and take your money. Ask the cashier if you are unsure on how to write an accumalator or example'

(my dad is area manager of corals and i grew up in a bookies when he owned one when i was a kid)

[arburgirl]

dont bother its a mugs game- you lose more than you win.
put your money in a savings account instead ( no im not employed by a bank or anything!) and watch it get bigger , not dissappear.

[Shannon07]

On the contrary my dad and brother have both won big and are never at a big loss. my brother bets and wins loads but he has always been a lucky s0d

�5 and under bets are harmless and a bit of fun

[lankeela]

If you want to bet on horses most daily newspapers carry the race cards. If it is a particular horse, then you need to find out where and when it is running.

On one of the betting slips you will have to write the racecourse, the time of the race and the horses name. Then you have to put how much you want to bet. This can be a 'win' (where the horse has to come first for you to get any money) or a 'place' where the horse can be 1st or 2nd (or 3rd or 4th if there are enough runners). You would write �'2 win' on the slip or '�2 place'. You can also do a 'win and place', so you would get two lots of winnings if the horse wins, as you would get the 'win' money and the 'place' money (this is sometimes known as an 'each way' bet) so you could write on the slip '�2 each way' (or �2 e/w). There are then many other 'combination' bets where you can choose several runners and have any winnings go forward to the next runner. I'd steer clear of these if you are a novice though!

You can write several bets on one slip, either for the same race (such as the Grand National where you might pick three or four horses), or for different races.

You then take your completed betting slip to the counter and one of the cashiers will put it through the machine and give you a printed receipt, which you will need to produce to claim your winnings.

If the race is due to be run at the time you are in the bookies, you can usually watch it on one of the TV screens, and then collect your winnings straight away!