What is a straight forecast bet?

 

A straight forecast bet is a prediction bet usually used in raced based sports where you select the runners you believe will finish in first and second place in the correct order. 

Straight forecast bets are an incredibly popular way of betting as they provide the punter with the chance of increased winnings and are a little bit more interesting than the usual outright betting markets. 

That being said, straight forecast betting comes with its own unique set of challenges and can be an extremely difficult type of bet to get right. 

For those of you who are new to the concept of straight forecast betting, we here at Bonus Bets have compiled the following guide to help you get to know the ins and outs of this betting type. 

Calculating odds and an example

 

A straight forecast bet is one of the most straight forward bet types to place and almost every major bookmaker online will offer the bet in the same way. 

The first thing you should do is head on over to your prefered bookmakers. Once you have logged in, you should head on over to the sport you want to bet on, whether it be horse racing, dog racing, motorsport, or any other racing-related sport. 

Once you have done this, head over to the event you are looking and make your two selections. It may sound obvious, but make sure that the two selections you make are both from the same race. 

Once that has been done, you can click on your selections and add them to your betting slip. 

DIfferent bookmakers will operate in slightly different ways, but what happens next is the most common way of placing the bet. 

On your bet-slip, underneath the singles option, you should see an option that is specifically for forecast type bets. You can then place your stake in the straight forecast betting box.  Those who don’t operate this way will probably have the forecast betting markets in their special bets section of the race. 

Straight forecast bets are a single stake bet, so the amount you place in that box will be the amount you will wager on the race. 

Let’s take a look at an active example of what a straight forecast bet would look like: 

You are only required to place one bet in a straight forecast bet. Here’s an example using horse racing: 

1) Horse A to win the race, Horse B to finish second. 

The bet will be as simple as that. If Horse B wins the race and Horse A finishes second, then you will not win your bet. 

Just to make things even easier, you don’t even need to worry about calculating the odds for your bet, as some bookmakers will simply offer you a straight price for your bet when you enter your stake into the box. 

That being said, a lot of bookmakers won’t give you this option, and instead, it may say ‘N/A’ when you enter your stake into the box. This is because your returns will be calculated after the match and you will often see them presented in a decimal form, instead of the classic fractions. Some bookmakers will offer you fixed odds though, and this can be useful if you like to know how much you are likely to win. 

Another thing you should be careful of is bookmakers terms and conditions when it comes to non-runners. Most bookmakers will just place the single stake on the remaining horse to win if one of your horses fails to run, while others may offer to return the stake to you, depending on how soon it is before the start of the race. 

If you have any trouble deciding which bookmakers to use for betting, you should check out our detailed bookmakers reviews at the top of the page. 

Advantages of placing a straight forecast bet

 

As with any type of betting, straight forecast betting comes with its own unique set of pros and cons. 

Picking a horse to win a race can be incredibly difficult, so picking the top two horses, and in the correct order no less, can appear impossible. 

A straight forecast bet is a single stake bet, however, which does mean that it doesn’t have to be too costly a bet to place, and it can be a very good bet to place if you feel strongly about a clear favourite and the runner-up. 

They do also offer high payouts for a lower stake and are arguably easier to win than something like an accumulator, for example.

Disadvantages of placing a straight forecast bet

 

To put it simply, the biggest issue with placing a straight forecast bet is that it can be incredibly difficult to win. 

While you can place lower stakes and win big money, you are probably going to lose more of these bets than you win and probably end up with a loss in the long run. 

As we’ve mentioned before, most bookmakers won’t offer you fixed odds on a straight forecast before the race is run, which can be quite frustrating for those who like to keep track of all of their potential winnings. 

Types of sports you can place a straight forecast bet on

 

Despite being an extremely difficult type of bet to win, the straight forecast bet is still an incredibly popular one to place in racing based sports. 

Horse racing and dog racing are by far the most popular sports to place this bet on, and a lot of bookmakers may only offer forecast odds on these sports, though, most will also offer it on motorsports as well. 

In theory, however, a straight forecast bet can be placed on any sports which involve final league standings, and most bookmakers are likely to allow you to place the bet if you contact them directly or use their request a bet feature if they have one. 

If you are unsure as to how to bet on an individual sport, you can check out our detailed how-to guides by clicking the link at the top of the page.