What is Ante Post Betting? Full Guide to Placing Ante Post Bets

What is Ante Post Betting?

Also known as futures betting, ante-post betting is one of the bet types that allows you to get more value on your stake. It involves betting on a sports event in advance. You can wager on your favourite horse or team days, weeks, or even months before the event. This is different from the standard betting markets where you place a bet within a few hours of the start of the event.

Ante-post betting is more common in horse racing and football due to the popularity of events such as the Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National, and the Premier League. For instance, you can bet on the winner of the Champion Hurdle during the Cheltenham Festival.

How Does Ante Post Betting Work?

Ante-post betting is straightforward. Follow the steps below to see how it works.

1. Identify a bookmaker: The first step is to select a bookie that offers odds for your preferred event. For example, if you want to wager on the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase at the Grand National, you need a betting site that offers this market. We recommend only bookmakers licensed by the UKGC.

2. Bookmaker opens market early: Your chosen betting site will open the odds to bet on the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase early. Perhaps, about 4-6 weeks before the event. The odds here are bigger and usually based on public opinion and predicted runners.

3. Place your bet: Let's say you stake on Nick Rockets at odds of 20/1.

4. Event buildup: Odds value will change, most probably decrease to 17/1 as the event builds up. This could be a result of injuries or the failure of some horses to qualify.

5. The deal day: On the day of the event, if your horse runs and wins, you'll payout at the initial odds of 20/1, getting more payouts than those who wager at 17/1.

Pros and Cons of Ante Post Betting

Although you get better odds for playing ante-post betting, it comes with some downsides. Find the pros and cons of antepost betting below.

Popular Ante Post Betting Markets in the UK

Ante-post betting is not limited to only a few sports. Discover some of the popular sports where you can use the betting market in the UK.

Horse Racing

As expected, bookmakers provide enough ante-post betting markets for horse racing events. Aside from the Grand National and the Cheltenham Festival, you can also use it for events in the York Ebor Festival and St Leger Stakes. 

Horse racing events are available all year round, giving you options to wager on. You can gain insights into early predictions and insider knowledge for each horse if you place bets in advance. You may also use it to build accumulators for bigger potential payouts by combining horses from different races in the same festival.  

Premier League 

Whether you want to bet on who will win the title or the highest goal scorer, you can use ante-post betting in the Premier League. You can place these bets on most bookmakers months before the start of the Premier League season. 

The odds are usually high if you place your bets weeks or months before the season commences. As the start of the season draws close, the odds on the favourites begin to reduce. The earlier you wager, the better your potential payouts.

Tennis

Ante-post betting also works for tennis. You can bet on the winner of the Wimbledon, Roland Garros, or Australian Open months before the tournament begins. Most bookies also present odds for the nationality of the winner in advance.

Another ante-post betting type is the player to reach the semi-final or final. The odds for these markets are also available before the competition starts. Betting sites offer these odds way before the draws are made, allowing you to get more value on your wager.

Golf 

Outright winners, top 5, top 10, or top 20 are some of the popular ante-post betting markets in Golf. You can also bet on the top debutant, the first-round leader, and the top nationality.

However, you must wager before the first tee shot of the event for the bet to count as ante-post betting. The top events that come to mind include the Open Championship, BMW PGA Championship, and British Masters. You may back top UK player Rory McIlroy in the U.S Open or The Masters weeks ahead of these events.

Tips for Ante Post Betting

Due to the risks involved, the following valuable tips will come in handy when placing ante-post bets.  

• Research form: Research is everything in sports betting. It determines how accurate your predictions can be. Check the form of the horse or team before placing bets on them. If you want to back Manchester United to win the Premier League title, check where they've finished in the table in recent seasons and their performance of late.

• Track injuries: If your favourite horse gets injured before the event and cannot participate, you will lose your wager. Use platforms like Racing Post to check their injury history before placing a bet. Avoid a team or player who has a bad injury record. 

• Hedge bet closer to the event: Use tools like Oddschecker to closely monitor changes in odds and how odds shift in value. You may hedge your bet as the event draws closer. For instance, if you backed Tommy Fleetwood at odds of 40/1 weeks before the start of the PGA Championship, but his odds dropped to 20/1. However, you feared that Rory McIlroy might win at odds of 7/1 just before the event started. You can hedge by also betting on McIlroy to lock in on profit.

Risks and Things to Consider

As appealing as it sounds, ante-post betting can be quite risky. Here are some of the common pitfalls to consider before jumping on this type of bet.

• Non-runners: If your horse will not run due to injuries or illness, you'll lose your stake. 

• Changing lineup: A key football player may injure their ACL before the season commences, leaving them out of the season. This may affect the outcome of your bets. 

• Void bets: There are no void bets in ante-post betting. Once your player, horse, or team does not participate, you'll lose the bet. Ante-post bets are usually nonrefundable. It's part of the rules and terms and conditions of most UK bookmakers.

Difference Between Ante Post and Starting Price (SP) Bets

From our experience, some punters prefer to wait until the event is about to start before placing their bets. Known as Starting Price Bets, it involves betting on the outcome of an event just when it's about to begin. Below is how it differs from ante-post betting.

Is Ante Post Betting Worth It?

The answer to this question depends on whether you're a casual or expert bettor. If you're placing bets as a pastime activity, ante-post betting may be too much of a risk. While it may offer higher odds, you risk losing your stake if your horse or player doesn't participate. 

On the other hand, expert players who are looking for value odds will find it more appealing. They do in-depth research before adding such options to their bet slip. 

Whether you're an expert or casual player, ensure you stay within your means. Set a budget and don't wager more than you can afford to lose.

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Responsible Gambling 

The adverse effects of gambling can be devastating, leading to loss of finances, addiction, and depression. To avoid finding yourself in such situations, we encourage you to practice responsible gambling. 

Use deposit and time limits set by bookmakers to control how much you spend on betting. You can sign up for GamStop self-exclusion if you need to take a temporary or permanent time off.

Additionally, all UKGC-regulated betting sites will also ask for your government-issued ID before betting. You must be 18 and above to place bets in the UK.