I have recently taken to betting on greyhounds, with predictably poor results. However, I put on a Forecast/Tricast Extra the other day in which my three dogs came in an order that I hadn't selected. As I also had a single on the winner I handed in the slip, and to my surprise was given a fair wad in exchange. Apparently this Forecast/Tricast Extra was arranged differently to how I'd imagined. (I have, of course, since lost the winnings.)

Anyway, today I put on another FORECAST/TRICAST EXTRA on traps 5, 3 and 6 at the 14:47 at Romford. The race finished 5-6-1. I assume that as the forecast was for 5 and 3 I don't win at all, or are the twelve bets placed inclusive of a 5-6-(3) outcome?

I would have asked in the shop but they would have thought that I was a bit mental placing a bet that I didn't understand. I got home and realised that I'd spilled houmous on myself during lunch so in fact I looked as if I'd been a little bit sick on myself anyway.

Have you been drinking?

Dearie me....

No, I haven't.



Look, I know what a forecast is, and I know what a tricast is. What I don't know is what these twelve bets are.

Unit stake 50p, total stake £6. You see the problem here?

I don't know what either of them are.

Forecast is betting on first and second in order; tricast is betting on first, second and third in order.

I don't know what the "Extra" means. That's the problem. I selected 5-3-6, as I said, so obviously I didn't win based on my forecast, nor my tricast. But that's just two bets accounted for. There are a further ten bets (10x50p to take it up to the £6 total stake) that are, as far as I'm concerned, decipherable only by a genius.

Ah right, I was just thinking about the houmous.

It was really good. Normally I put it in toasted pitta bread but today I bought a granary "baton" out of tesco and dipped that in the houmous. With this I had a glass of orange/mango smoothie and a packet of ready salted crisps.

As I say a small amount appeared on my hoodie and as it's dried it looks a wee bit like sick, or at the very least lentil soup.

edit: not the whole baton, obviously

Would it maybe be this?

5-3 forecast
5-6 forecast
3-5 forecast
3-6 forecast
6-3 forecast
6-5 forecast

5-3-6 tricast
5-6-3 tricast
6-5-3 tricast
6-3-5 tricast
3-5-6 tricast
3-6-5 tricast

Have I missed any eventualities out here? If this is correct this is 12 units, which is what I paid for. It also means that I could go in and claim the 5-6 forecast's winnings, which I would love to do, as it'd give me a chance to prove that I'm capable of putting on clean clothes.

If it's 12 bets then what I think it is will be 3 reverse forecasts (6 bets) and a permed tricast (your 3 dogs in the first 3 finishers in any order - also 6 bets)

You'll have one winning bet, a 5-6 forecast.

That's what I was starting to think as well. Cheers

On the basis that this isn't a fishing trip, yes, the 12 bets are made up of a combination forecast and a combination tricast.

There is another novel way to find this out, it involves reading the slip that you are filling out, it clearly states on it what the bets are.

It isn't a fishing trip.

The back of the slip is extremely vague, and in any case once I'd handed it in I was no longer able to refer to it. The printed receipt I have says the following:



Hardly the most enlightening, is it?

I don't even know what the tricast dividend is! I treat a tricast the same way I would a treble on three football results.

A tricast is a dividend decided using the SP's on the dogs. They are not accumulated, it's like a tote dividend you would get on the horses.

You do realise though that now you know what you're doing, you'll stop winning

Swampy

Send me £6 every day which I will invest in a wee punt for you.

Naturally I will keep you fully apprised re wins / losses.

the combination does indeed cover all your selections in any order. The extra bit is that if your dogs come in the order you put then on the slip, then you will get double the winnings on the tri cast.

also, please note that if it was a greenock bookies you were in, then if you had humous for lunch then you are probably a wee bit out of place - stain or no stain

Have we not already established that you know f**k all about gambling, Carlton?

Who's Carlton?

I was only have a jibe, Swampy.

Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Fair play.

Re the point you were making, sadly you couldn't be further from the truth.

Were you an addict like?

Moi?

, although, to be fair, the same could be said of almost any bookies anywhere.

I cashed in my £6 slip and got £6.44 back for the forecast. Result