The simple guide to greyhound betting

Some of us were born with mini-pens in our mouths and our houses are littered with old copies of the Racing Post but if you’re a novice at the dogs, the array of betting options can seem a little bewildering.

But don’t worry, JOE is here to take you by the hand and guide you through betting at the Tote, with a little help from some of the girls from the Tote counter at Harold's Cross and Shelbourne Park. The simplest way to bet on greyhound racing is to back a dog to win. Pick one of the six runners and just tell the Tote how much you want to put on. It’s as simple as that and if the dog wins, you win. Happy days.

You can also back a dog to finish in the top two (called a place bet) but the odds will be much shorter and you can back a dog to win or place, called an each-way bet but that does mean doubling your stake.

These bets are more than enough to ensure you have a great, and hopefully profitable, night at your nearest greyhound stadium.

But there are other ways to improve your odds and boost your potential returns. The first of these is called a forecast and it involves picking the winner and the runner-up. Just tell the Tote you want to back Dog A and Dog B in a forecast and the job is done. If you are not sure which dog is better, go for a reverse forecast, covering those two dogs in any order in the top two but this will mean two bets, so will cost at least two euro.

If you are feeling really adventurous, you can go for what’s called a trio. This is very similar to a forecast but you select the top three dogs. Again you can bet on them to finish in any combination but because there are six possible combinations, this will cost at least six euros. To do that bet, just name the three dogs and ask for a trio all-ways.

The trio all-ways is practically guaranteed to have you in profit for the night if it comes in, but as you will soon learn, backing a winner is tricky, so picking the top three is a very stiff challenge.

And if you really want to make a splash, go for the jackpot, essentially picking six consecutive winners. It is very long odds but if you win, you are in position to buy your own dog and still have change for a limo ride home.

Don’t worry if you don’t know one end of a dog from another, the Tote offers a quickpick function like the Lotto to help you hit that particular jackpot. And if you are really stuck, just ask any of your fellow punters. They will be only too happy to help, and they will probably offer you a tip as well. We can’t guarantee the tip will be any good though.