Starting Price vs Fixed Odds: What Is the Difference?
Most football bettors never think about starting price. It's primarily a horse racing concept. But it can appear occasionally in football ante-post betting, so it's worth understanding how it differs from fixed odds and when it matters.
What Are Fixed Odds?
Fixed odds are the standard in football betting. When you place a bet, you see the current odds. You accept those odds. They lock in. They don't change.
If you bet on a team at 2.50 fixed odds, that's your price. If the odds shorten to 2.20 before kickoff, you keep the 2.50. If they lengthen to 2.80, you still have 2.50.
Fixed odds give you certainty. You know exactly what you'll win or lose at the moment you place the bet.
Example:
You back a team to win at 2.50 fixed odds with a £10 stake.
If the team wins: you profit £15 (or get £25 back including stake) If the team loses: you lose £10
These amounts are guaranteed at the moment you place the bet.
What Is Starting Price?
Starting price (SP) is the official odds at the moment the event begins.
For a football match, it's the odds in effect at kickoff. For a horse race, it's the odds when the race starts.
If you place a bet with the starting price condition, you don't know your exact odds when you place the bet. You accept the official starting price instead.
Example:
You place a bet "at starting price" on a team to win. You see current odds of 2.50, but you're betting at starting price, not 2.50 fixed.
At kickoff, the official starting price is 2.20. Your bet is settled at 2.20, not 2.50.
If the team wins: you profit £12 (or get £22 back including stake)
The difference seems small here, but starting price can move significantly between when you place the bet and when the event starts.
When Does Starting Price Apply?
Starting price is primarily relevant in horse racing, where it's the standard format for off-course betting. If you bet with a bookmaker on a horse race, it's often at starting price unless you specify fixed odds.
In football betting, fixed odds is the overwhelming norm. Modern bookmakers don't really offer starting price for football. It's fixed odds or nothing.
Starting price appears occasionally in football ante-post betting (betting weeks or months in advance on league winners, for example), but even then, most bookmakers now offer fixed odds as the standard.
Starting price is becoming less relevant because betting exchanges offer better pricing and more options. Few bettors choose starting price when fixed odds is available.
Fixed Odds: The Pros
Certainty: You know exactly what you'll win or lose before you place the bet.
No surprises: You can calculate your potential profit or loss instantly and make informed decisions.
Planning: You can plan a betting strategy based on specific odds. If you want to back a team at 2.50 or better, you can accept that specific price.
Locking in value: If you identify value at certain odds, you lock it in immediately. You don't have to worry about the odds moving against you before the event starts.
Fixed Odds: The Cons
Missing better prices: If you back a team at 2.50 and the odds lengthen to 2.80 before kickoff, you're stuck with 2.50. You can't get the longer price.
Price movement against you: If the odds shorten from 2.50 to 2.20, you've actually done well (locked in the better odds before they shortened). But if you had waited, you'd have got 2.20. The lock-in is an advantage only if odds move in your favour.
Starting Price: The Pros
Better prices if odds drift: If you place a starting price bet at 2.50 odds, and the price drifts (lengthens) to 2.80 by kickoff, you get 2.80, not 2.50. You benefit from the price movement.
Advantage in volatile markets: In markets where odds change rapidly, starting price can sometimes give you better value.
Starting Price: The Cons
Uncertainty: You don't know your exact odds when placing the bet. This creates planning difficulty.
Surprise movements against you: If odds shorten from 2.50 to 2.20 by kickoff, you're stuck with 2.20, not the better 2.50 you saw when placing the bet.
Outdated information: By kickoff, new information (an injury, a late team news) might emerge that contradicts the starting price. You're locked in at an outdated price.
Starting Price In Horse Racing vs Football
In horse racing, starting price is the standard. It's how the sport is structured. The official starting price is set by course officials at the moment the race starts.
Off-course bettors (betting on a phone or online) place starting price bets. They don't know the exact price when placing the bet. They accept the official starting price.
This made sense historically (before digital communication, odds weren't instantly available). It persists in horse racing.
In football, it never became the standard. Football betting developed with fixed odds. By the time this was standardised, digital communication meant odds were available instantly. There was no need for starting price.
Football bettors expect fixed odds because that's what football betting has always offered.
Why Fixed Odds Is Now Universal In Football
Fixed odds is simpler. Bookmakers set odds, bettors accept them or don't. No ambiguity. No disputes about what the starting price was.
Betting exchanges made fixed odds even more standard. Exchanges show both back and lay odds in real-time. Fixed odds is the only sensible option.
Starting price requires identifying an official starting price. On an exchange or digital bookmaker, there's no single official price. Odds are constantly changing. Fixed odds is the only framework that makes sense.
The Rare Case: Ante-Post Football Betting
The one place starting price occasionally appears in football is ante-post betting (betting weeks or months before an event like backing the league winner before the season starts).
An ante-post bet might be offered "at fixed odds" (you know the price upfront) or "with the option of starting odds" (you accept the official odds when the event begins, e.g., when the season officially starts).
Modern bookmakers almost always offer fixed odds, making this distinction rare.
If you encounter starting price in ante-post betting, understand that you're accepting the official odds at event start, not the price you see when placing the bet.
In Summary
- Fixed odds are the standard in football betting.
- You see the odds, accept them, and they lock in.
- You know exactly what you'll win or lose.
- Starting price is the official odds at the moment the event begins.
- You place the bet accepting that whatever the starting price is, that's your odds.
- Starting price is primarily relevant in horse racing.
- It's rare in modern football betting.
- Fixed odds offers certainty.
- You know your price upfront.
- You can calculate profit or loss instantly.
- Starting price offers the chance of better odds if prices drift in your favour, but the uncertainty and risk of prices shortening make it less attractive.
- For football bettors, starting price is not a concern.
- Fixed odds is the standard.
- Accept it and move on.
FAQs on Starting Price and Fixed Odds
Can I choose between fixed odds and starting price at a bookmaker?
Rarely. Most modern football betting is fixed odds only. Some horse racing bookmakers offer both. If you see the option, fixed odds is the safer choice unless you have specific reasons to use starting price.
Why would a horse racing bettor choose starting price?
Historical preference and familiarity. In horse racing, starting price is the standard. Some bettors prefer it because of how the market works. But most modern bettors prefer fixed odds for the certainty.
Can starting price ever be worse than fixed odds?
Yes. If you back a horse at 5.0 starting price and the odds shorten to 3.0 by race time, you're stuck with 3.0, not the 5.0 you saw. You've lost value. This is the key risk of starting price.
Is starting price still used in modern betting?
Declining. Most modern bookmakers and exchanges use fixed odds. Betting exchanges have made starting price obsolete because odds are constantly updated. You're better off accepting fixed odds when you see value, not waiting for a starting price.
What if the starting price is never officially set?
In football, this doesn't happen because kickoff is the starting time. In horse racing, the official starting price is set by course officials. In digital-only betting (exchanges), there's no single starting price. The concept doesn't apply.
Should I worry about this distinction as a football bettor?
No. Fixed odds is the standard. Starting price is irrelevant to modern football betting. Unless you're betting on ante-post events in unusual circumstances, accept fixed odds and move on.
Is there an advantage to seeking starting price if offered?
Only if you have strong reason to believe odds will drift in your favour. Otherwise, fixed odds is simpler and safer. The certainty is worth the potential to miss better prices.