This article walks through worked payout examples for Win, Place, and Show parimutuel pools, both with and without a House Fee. For setup instructions and House Fee configuration, Click Here.
How Payouts Are Calculated
Payouts are calculated based on the total number of winners for the pool. There can be up to three pools per Event/League (Note: if using divisions or flights, each division or flight maintains its own pools):
Win: Only one potential winner.
Place: Up to two potential winners.
Show: Up to three potential winners.
Note: Bets for Win, Place, and Show are not aggregated. All bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool, and payouts are calculated by sharing that pool among the winning bets.
For Place and Show, the Calculate Place / Show Share Value setting determines how the pool is allocated among winners (as shown below).
Allocate total pool to winners independent of amount bet: The pool is divided evenly across all winning Players/Teams, regardless of how much was wagered on each. See Section 2 below.
First return amount bet to winners, then allocate remaining pool to winners: Each winning bettor's original wager is returned first, and only the remaining pool is divided evenly across winners. See Section 3 below.
The examples below when a House Fee is taken use a House Fee of $1 + 3% (as shown below).
When a flat amount is used, it's split across the Win, Place, and Show pools proportionally, based on each pool's share of the total amount wagered across all three pools. The formula for each pool's fee is:
Fee = (Pool × 3%) + ($1 × Pool ÷ Total Wagered Across All Pools)
Note: These examples use the "Calculate odds after the house cut" setting, meaning the House Fee is subtracted from the pool before the payout calculation. If "Calculate odds before the house cut" is selected instead, the House Fee is not subtracted before calculating odds and payouts. For details on both options, Click Here.
Sample Tournament Data
Let's look at a sample parimutuel betting summary by competitor to illustrate a typical Win, Place, Show payout (as shown below).
Based on this graphic, the total wagers for each pool are:
Win: $65
Place: $100
Show: $75
For a combined total of $240 wagered across all pools. Odds are only calculated for the Win pool; teams with no Win wagers (such as Tom Cooksey / Steve Bland) display N/A.
For this same tournament, we can see the results were the following (as shown below).
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack finished 1st, Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi finished 2nd, and William Montgomery / Wayne Stevenson finished 3rd. The Win, Place, and Show payout calculations below use each of these teams' wager amounts from the summary table above.
We can also look at the sample parimutuel betting summary by bettor, to see how each individual bet contributed to the pools above (as shown below).
Calculating for Win Payouts
Only one Player/Team can win the Win pool. To calculate a Win payout, follow these directions:
Identify the Pool (total amount wagered to Win) and the Wager (total amount wagered on the winning Player/Team).
Calculate the Odds using Odds = (Pool - Fee - Wager) / Wager (subtracting the House Fee, if applicable).
Add 1 to the Odds to determine the payout multiplier per dollar wagered.
Multiply each bettor's individual wager by the payout multiplier.
Without House Fee
Pool: $65 | Wager: $10
Odds: 5.5:1, where 5.5 = (65 - 10) / 10
Multiplier: 6.5, where 6.5 = 5.5 + 1
Simon Gigi: $5 × 6.5 = $32.50
Travis Fowler: $5 × 6.5 = $32.50
The entire $65 pool is paid out. The Tote Board confirms the $6.50 return on a $1 bet and the $65.00 total to distribute (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi and Travis Fowler (as shown below).
With House Fee
Pool: $65 | Total Wagered Across All Pools: $240
House Fee: $2.22, where 2.22 = (65 × 0.03) + (1 × 65 / 240)
Wager: $10
Odds: 5.28:1, where 5.28 = (65 - 2.22 - 10) / 10
Multiplier: 6.28, where 6.28 = 5.28 + 1
Simon Gigi: $5 × 6.278 = $31.39
Travis Fowler: $5 × 6.278 = $31.39
The house retains $2.22; the remaining $62.78 is paid out.
With the House Fee applied, the odds for Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack shift to 5.28:1 (as shown below).
The Tote Board confirms the $6.28 return on a $1 bet and the $62.78 total to distribute (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi and Travis Fowler (as shown below).
Allocate the Total Pool to Winners Independent of the Amount Bet
With this method, the pool is divided evenly across all winning Players/Teams, regardless of how much was wagered on each. Refer back to the Odds by Team summary above for each winning team's Place and Show wager amounts (as shown below).
Note: Wager amounts for Place and Show do not change based on the House Fee setting — only the resulting payout does. The same wager amounts apply to both the "Without House Fee" and "With House Fee" examples below.
To calculate a payout using this method, follow these directions:
Identify the Pool (total amount wagered) and subtract the House Fee, if applicable, to determine the Remaining Pool.
Divide the Remaining Pool evenly across the number of winning Players/Teams to determine the Share per team.
For each winning Player/Team, divide their Share per team by their total Wager to determine the Multiplier.
Multiply each bettor's individual wager by their Player/Team's Multiplier to determine their payout.
Calculating Place Payouts (up to 2 winners)
Without House Fee
Pool: $100 | Share per team: $50, where 50 = 100 / 2
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $25, Multiplier: 2.0, where 2.0 = 50 / 25
Simon Gigi: $10 × 2.0 = $20.00
Tom Cooksey: $10 × 2.0 = $20.00
Travis Fowler: $5 × 2.0 = $10.00
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $15, Multiplier: 3.33, where 3.33 = 50 / 15
Steve Bland: $15 × 3.33 = $50.00
The entire $100 pool is paid out. The Tote Board confirms the $2.00 and $3.33 returns on a $1 bet, along with the $50.00 total to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Tom Cooksey, Travis Fowler, and Steve Bland (as shown below).
With House Fee
Pool: $100 | House Fee: $3.42, where 3.42 = (100 × 0.03) + (1 × 100 / 240)
Remaining Pool: $96.58, where 96.58 = 100 - 3.42
Share per team: $48.29, where 48.29 = 96.58 / 2
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $25, Multiplier: 1.93, where 1.93 = 48.29 / 25
Simon Gigi: $10 × 1.9316 = $19.32
Tom Cooksey: $10 × 1.9316 = $19.32
Travis Fowler: $5 × 1.9316 = $9.66
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $15, Multiplier: 3.22, where 3.22 = 48.29 / 15
Steve Bland: $15 × 3.2193 = $48.29
The house retains $3.42; the remaining $96.58 is paid out.
The Tote Board confirms the $1.93 and $3.22 returns on a $1 bet, along with the $48.29 total to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Tom Cooksey, Travis Fowler, and Steve Bland (as shown below).
Calculating Show Payments (up to 3 winners)
Without House Fee
Pool: $75 | Share per team: $25, where 25 = 75 / 3
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $20, Multiplier: 1.25, where 1.25 = 25 / 20
Simon Gigi: $15 × 1.25 = $18.75
Travis Fowler: $5 × 1.25 = $6.25
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $5, Multiplier: 5.0, where 5.0 = 25 / 5
Steve Bland: $5 × 5.0 = $25.00
William Montgomery / Wayne Stevenson — Wager $15, Multiplier: 1.67, where 1.67 = 25 / 15
Wally Munz: $15 × 1.67 = $25.00
The entire $75 pool is paid out. The Tote Board confirms the $1.25, $5.00, and $1.67 returns on a $1 bet, along with the $25.00 total to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Travis Fowler, Steve Bland, and Wally Munz (as shown below).
With House Fee
Pool: $75 | House Fee: $2.56, where 2.56 = (75 × 0.03) + (1 × 75 / 240)
Remaining Pool: $72.44, where 72.44 = 75 - 2.56
Share per team: $24.15, where 24.15 = 72.44 / 3
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $20, Multiplier: 1.21, where 1.21 = 24.1467 / 20
Simon Gigi: $15 × 1.2073 = $18.11
Travis Fowler: $5 × 1.2073 = $6.04
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $5, Multiplier: 4.83, where 4.83 = 24.1467 / 5
Steve Bland: $5 × 4.8293 = $24.15
William Montgomery / Wayne Stevenson — Wager $15, Multiplier: 1.61, where 1.61 = 24.1467 / 15
Wally Munz: $15 × 1.6098 = $24.15
The house retains $2.56; the remaining $72.44 is paid out.
The Tote Board confirms the $1.21, $4.83, and $1.61 returns on a $1 bet, along with the $24.15 total to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Travis Fowler, Steve Bland, and Wally Munz (as shown below).
First Return Bet Amount to Winners, Then Allocate the Remaining Pool to Winners
With this method, each winning bettor's original wager is returned first, and only the remaining pool is divided evenly across the winning Players/Teams. Refer back to the Odds by Team summary above for each winning team's Place and Show wager amounts (as shown below).
Note: Wager amounts for Place and Show do not change based on the House Fee setting — only the resulting payout does. The same wager amounts apply to both the "Without House Fee" and "With House Fee" examples below.
To calculate a payout using this method, follow these directions:
Identify the Pool (total amount wagered) and subtract the House Fee, if applicable, to determine the Remaining Pool.
Identify the Total Returned — the sum of the amounts wagered on all winning Players/Teams.
Subtract the Total Returned from the Remaining Pool to determine the Remaining Share Pool.
Divide the Remaining Share Pool evenly across the number of winning Players/Teams to determine the Remaining Share per team.
For each winning Player/Team, divide their Remaining Share by their total Wager to determine the Additional Multiplier.
Add 1 to the Additional Multiplier to determine the Total Multiplier — this accounts for the bettor's original wager being returned in full, plus their portion of the remaining share.
Multiply each bettor's individual wager by their Player/Team's Total Multiplier to determine their payout.
Calculating Place Payouts (up to 2 winners)
Without House Fee
Pool: $100 | Total Returned: $40, where 40 = 25 + 15
Remaining Pool: $60, where 60 = 100 - 40
Remaining Share per team: $30, where 30 = 60 / 2
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $25
Additional Multiplier: 1.2, where 1.2 = 30 / 25
Total Multiplier: 2.2, where 2.2 = 1.2 + 1
Simon Gigi: $10 × 2.2 = $22.00
Tom Cooksey: $10 × 2.2 = $22.00
Travis Fowler: $5 × 2.2 = $11.00
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $15
Additional Multiplier: 2.0, where 2.0 = 30 / 15
Total Multiplier: 3.0, where 3.0 = 2.0 + 1
Steve Bland: $15 × 3.0 = $45.00
The entire $100 pool is paid out. The Tote Board confirms the $2.20 and $3.00 returns on a $1 bet, along with the $55.00 and $45.00 totals to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Tom Cooksey, Travis Fowler, and Steve Bland (as shown below).
With House Fee
Pool: $100 | House Fee: $3.42 | Remaining Pool after fee: $96.58
Total Returned: $40, where 40 = 25 + 15
Remaining Share Pool: $56.58, where 56.58 = 96.58 - 40
Remaining Share per team: $28.29, where 28.29 = 56.58 / 2
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $25
Additional Multiplier: 1.13, where 1.13 = 28.29 / 25
Total Multiplier: 2.13, where 2.13 = 1.13 + 1
Simon Gigi: $10 × 2.1316 = $21.32
Tom Cooksey: $10 × 2.1316 = $21.32
Travis Fowler: $5 × 2.1316 = $10.66
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $15
Additional Multiplier: 1.89, where 1.89 = 28.29 / 15
Total Multiplier: 2.89, where 2.89 = 1.89 + 1
Steve Bland: $15 × 2.886 = $43.29
The house retains $3.42; the remaining $96.58 is paid out (subject to rounding). The Tote Board would confirm the returns and total to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab would confirm the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Tom Cooksey, Travis Fowler, and Steve Bland (as shown below).
Calculating Show Payouts (up to 3 winners)
Without House Fee
Pool: $75 | Total Returned: $40, where 40 = 20 + 5 + 15
Remaining Pool: $35, where 35 = 75 - 40
Remaining Share per team: $11.67, where 11.67 = 35 / 3
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $20
Additional Multiplier: 0.58, where 0.58 = 11.67 / 20
Total Multiplier: 1.58, where 1.58 = 0.58 + 1
Simon Gigi: $15 × 1.58 = $23.75
Travis Fowler: $5 × 1.58 = $7.92
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $5
Additional Multiplier: 2.33, where 2.33 = 11.67 / 5
Total Multiplier: 3.33, where 3.33 = 2.33 + 1
Steve Bland: $5 × 3.33 = $16.67
William Montgomery / Wayne Stevenson — Wager $15
Additional Multiplier: 0.78, where 0.78 = 11.67 / 15
Total Multiplier: 1.78, where 1.78 = 0.78 + 1
Wally Munz: $15 × 1.78 = $26.67
The entire $75 pool is paid out (subject to rounding). The Tote Board confirms the $1.58, $3.33, and $1.78 returns on a $1 bet, along with the $31.67, $16.67, and $26.67 totals to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab confirms the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Travis Fowler, Steve Bland, and Wally Munz (as shown below).
With House Fee
Pool: $75 | House Fee: $2.56 | Remaining Pool after fee: $72.44
Total Returned: $40, where 40 = 20 + 5 + 15
Remaining Share Pool: $32.44, where 32.44 = 72.44 - 40
Remaining Share per team: $10.81, where 10.81 = 32.44 / 3
Zackis Sara / Zackis Jack — Wager $20
Additional Multiplier: 0.54, where 0.54 = 10.8133 / 20
Total Multiplier: 1.54, where 1.54 = 0.54 + 1
Simon Gigi: $15 × 1.5407 = $23.11
Travis Fowler: $5 × 1.5407 = $7.70
Zack Johnson / Simon Gigi — Wager $5
Additional Multiplier: 2.16, where 2.16 = 10.8133 / 5
Total Multiplier: 3.16, where 3.16 = 2.16 + 1
Steve Bland: $5 × 3.1627 = $15.81
William Montgomery / Wayne Stevenson — Wager $15
Additional Multiplier: 0.72, where 0.72 = 10.8133 / 15
Total Multiplier: 1.72, where 1.72 = 0.72 + 1
Wally Munz: $15 × 1.7209 = $25.81
The house retains $2.56; the remaining $72.44 is paid out (subject to rounding). The Tote Board would confirm the returns and total to distribute per team (as shown below).
The Bettor Payments tab would confirm the individual payouts to Simon Gigi, Travis Fowler, Steve Bland, and Wally Munz (as shown below).
