Ante-post Betting Explained - All You Need To Know - BettingOnline


Ante-post Betting Explained

Let’s take a look at what you need to know about ante-post betting. Modern gambling is all about speed, ease and convenience for the punter. There are a number of ways to get your money down on dozens of sports, all with hundreds of exciting markets attached.

Go down the traditional route and visit a betting office on your local high-street. Hear the sounds, speak to fellow punters, interact with staff and deal in hard cash. You can choose to stay at home and complete the entire transaction through your desktop computer, keeping dry, warm and your business personal. It’s becoming less popular these days, but you can still contact a well-staffed call centre and place a wager that way, but there’s no doubting the king.

Betting through a mobile app on your phone or tablet device is fast-becoming the most popular way to have your say on sports, play casino, bingo, lotto and more. If you have a reliable internet connection you can bet pre-match and in-play on the sport of your choice from your sofa, bed, on the commute to work, from the pub, at the arena, or anywhere you fancy. Betting apps allow you to turn everyday situations into a thrilling gambling experience.

What You Want When You Want

Getting what you want, when you want is key and is now what bettors expect. Download and visit any respected betting app and you’ll see a number of quick links that allow you to bet on one of the first three favourites from the next horse race due off anywhere in the world. A quick interest is always possible, allowing you to work your gambling around your hectic schedule.

Not all of us are obsessed with the here and now, however, and those looking beyond the quick-fix will see ante-post betting continues to thrive with 21st-century punters. Access any website or app of any major online bookmaker and look beyond the homepage and you’ll find the number of markets you can bet on ante-post is growing.

Choose your sport of choice – horse racing, football, greyhounds, tennis, golf, boxing, whatever grabs your attention – click the link and you’ll find today’s fixtures, tomorrow’s fixtures and those priced up for the near future. You’ll also uncover ante-post betting opportunities that will give you a long-term interest, a bet to follow over the course of a week, month or even a contest that’s not due to take place until next year.

What It Is

If you don’t already know, let us give you a brief explanation of what ante-post betting is, the benefits of using it and how to place an ante-post bet on your favourite sport.

Antepost betting is the act of gambling on markets played in the future, often long-term. Doing so gives the backer access to a bigger price as you are jumping the queue and getting in early on popular selections before the rush. That’s the rewards associated with ante-post betting, but there are also a few more risks than you may be used to.

When betting ante-post there’s often no form to go on as it’s a game, race or fight that’s taking place months down the line. Anything can happen between now and the bet being active. If you’re betting on Sergio Aguero to be top Premier League goalscorer 2019/20 you’ll get a better price than waiting until he’s scored a few goals, but he could also be transferred in the summer, suffer an injury early in the season, or fall off the pace in training and be replaced by a younger player in the starting line-up. You also don’t yet know the final field – who he’ll be competing against – with rival teams, and even his current employers, splashing the cash to improve their attack.

More Risk

There’s more of a reward, but also more of a risk and many see the value in that. It’s an exciting bet that’ll keep you glued to games, transfer gossip, injury news and form from the moment you place your bet through to the end of the season.

If you place an ante-post bet on horse racing – next year’s Cheltenham Festival, for example – the same rules apply. You will get more of a price than those waiting patiently for the day of the race as they have to contend with the floods of late money coming from casual backers, but you’ll also have to contend with a number of risks. Your horse could fall anytime in the build-up and be forced out of action, either short-term or indefinitely, the yard could suffer from a dip in form or even sickness, or connections may not enter your pick in the race you backed it to win. Antepost is like a bet within a bet and it’s a standoff between punter and bookie long-term.

The Definition of Ante-post Betting

Here’s how ante-post betting is defined in different sports…

  • Horse Racing is a bet placed on the outcome before the final declaration stage.
  • Greyhounds are outright bets placed up to and including the semi-final stage of a competition.
  • Sports events prior to the start of the first game in a tournament or league.
  • All non-sporting events are considered ante-post betting.

Horse racing followers will know no rule4s are ever applied to ante-post selections, but a bet will be settled as a loser if a horse doesn’t go in the race you predicted it to win. If it’s a non-runner, you will drop your cash on any bet placed before the non-runner, no bet comes into effect.

Risks on Horse Racing Antepost Betting

  • Stakes are lost on runners, riders, jockeys and trainers if they are withdrawn from the contest.
  • The stakes will be returned if your selection takes no further part in a tournament, as long as they haven’t been eliminated. If your pick gets through a round but then has to withdraw, your cash will be refunded.
  • Antepost betting has maximum winnings on most occasions.
  • Special bets, such as Lucky 15 and Yankees, cannot be placed on ante-post events and if they are accepted in error, your stake will be returned, regardless of results.
  • If a race is postponed and doesn’t take place at a later date at the same track your bet will also become void.
  • Antepost bets have a price quoted and this can’t go up or down, so the best price guaranteed promotion doesn’t apply here. On many occasions, your selection’s price may shorten as we approach the off, but your quote will stay the same. It works both ways, however, if the price drifts, your odds will remain what they were when the bet was placed.

Antepost in Football

Antepost betting is also particularly popular in football and we’ll use the beautiful game as a good way to explain how to place a bet.

Access the homepage of any major sportsbook – we’ll use Ladbrokes in this instance – and decide on your sports. Clicking football, we’re met by an avalanche of eye-catching betting opportunities crammed into one page. You can bet in-play, on matches today, tomorrow or in future, competitions, coupons, outrights, jackpot and specials.

Antepost backers would be drawn to the outrights betting tab and there they’ll see all major competitions and tournaments that are still to be played or currently in action. The list will include internationals – Euros, World Cup, Nations League – English – Premier League, Championship, FA Cup – Scottish – Premiership, Championship, Scottish Cup – UEFA – Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup – Specials – Transfers, Managers, Players.

Selecting the World Cup 2022 ante-post market we get a long list of all the teams currently in the running to win it, from the favourites like Brazil, France and Germany, to the outsiders, including New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. There will be prices attached to each selection and if you want to add them to your bet slip and gamble on their chances, all you have to do is click the odds, enter your stake and confirm the bet.

Risks v Rewards

The favourites are a great way of explaining both the risks and rewards associated with ante-post betting. Taking Brazil – currently priced at 6/1 by Ladbrokes – they are fully expected to qualify and make the 2020 World Cup. If they do their price will drop, maybe to around 9/2, as they now have a better chance of winning it. Their qualifying form and player form will all be taken into consideration when making their final price, as well as the strength of the group they have been dropped into and how good their main rivals are looking.

If they don’t qualify, however, and you’ve backed them at 6/1 to win the trophy as you thought it was a slice of value, your bet will be settled as a loser and you’ll lose your original stake. That won’t happen too often when backing teams like Brazil, but you get the idea.

England’s Hopes

Let’s take a look at England then, as it makes a little more sense for this example. England handled themselves well at the World Cup in 2018, finishing fourth. Progress has been made by Gareth Southgate and his boys and there will be plenty keen on backing them to improve next time and reach the final. England – at the time of writing – are 12/1 with Coral.

They certainly didn’t look 12/1 shots at the last World Cup and that’s a price many will think is worth having, you’ll probably get about 8/1 if they did qualify. The downside backers of the England national team will confirm, however, is there’s a chance The Three Lions could win the trophy outright, but they are also capable of throwing in a stinker and failing to qualify. As already mentioned, it’s a better price than you’ll get if waiting until nearer the off, but it’s also a gamble within a gamble and you’re betting on how good or bad England will be in three years time.

Ante-posts in League Football

Antepost bets can also be placed in summer on all major domestic competitions, including Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. You can also predict the winner of the Scottish Premiership, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Champions League or Europa League.

Pre-season is a great time to be a follower of club football. There are no fixtures to follow but you can allow yourself to dream of the campaign ahead, making targets, following the latest transfer news and planning how you will support your club. If your favourite lower league team are flying under the radar, making signings and spending cash, it’ll give you an added interest to back them for promotion, or even the league title. You’ll then have the best part of a year to cheer on your pick and, if you’re correct, the gloating will begin, before setting aside time to count your winnings.

FAQs

Can I place a Lucky 15 on four teams to win their respective leagues?

Special bets, such as Lucky 15s and Lucky 31s, aren’t accepted on ante-post bets, including horse racing and football. If such a bet is taken in error by the bookmaker, it will be voided at a later date and your stake returned.

What if my ante-post horse runs in a different race?

If you back a horse to run in the Ryanair at the Cheltenham Festival and it takes part in another race at the same meeting, your bet will be settled as a loser and you’ll lose your stake. This applies unless non-runner no bet is quoted on the market at the time the bet was struck.

What if a race is abandoned?

If a horse or greyhound race is abandoned and doesn’t take place at the same track on a different day your bet will be void and all stakes will be returned to the customer. If the bet does go on a different day at the same track it will remain live until the result.

What if my bet wins at a bigger price, will I get best odds guaranteed?

Best odds guaranteed doesn’t apply to ante-post bets and the price offered when the bet is accepted is the price you will be paid out at if the selection goes on to win. This also applies to the place terms and odds of each-way bets.

Is it a riskier option?

Any form of betting early can be risky. The earlier you bet, the more chance there is of something happening to affect the outcome – that you hadn’t factored in. However, as with most bets, the riskier the bet, the bigger the reward.

Don’t forget to check out our other betting guides such as Accas explained, Cash-out betting, In-Play betting strategies, Over/Unders, Asian Handicaps and much more in our betting basics guide.