I had a bit of a read of what is citybest plus.
It seems that a bookmaker will pay the Winning Punter the best dividend out of all 3 totes.

Is that right?

If it is , then surely there must be a downside to it, otherwise every Punter would be placing their bets with them.
I mean, wouldn't it be silly not to?

Last month i was looking for another option for my Stable Runner bets as i needed to free up my betfair account for other things but wanted the best prices i could get and since i have runners any day of the week i wanted best tote every bet so i had to have a look around and this is what i found.

IAS

CITY SuperPrice
CITY SuperPrice is the final payout offered by IASbet at the close of betting that always guarantees to pay better than the 3 totes/TABs. Available for Win bets only on all metropolitan horse racing in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth.

SuperPrice
Australian SuperPrice is the final payout offered by IASbet at the close of betting that always guarantees to pay higher than at least 2 Australian TABs. In fact SuperPrice often exceeds the payout of all Australian TABs.




SportsBet

City Best Plus

Select City Best Plus when placing your thoroughbred Win, Each-Way & Place wagers online for Metropolitan meetings (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) and you will receive the better of the dividends declared by the three Australian TAB's or the Starting Price (SP), whichever is the best payout.

For Each Way wagers select City Best Plus and you will receive the best dividend declared by the three national TABs for both the Win and Place portion. Only one company offers best of the three TAB's or 1/4 SP for the place portion of Each Way wagers - Sportsbet!

Country Best

Country Best is available for all non-metropolitan thoroughbred races including New Zealand race meetings for Win, Place and Each-Way wagers.

Country Best is the best dividend of the Vic and NSW TABs for Win, Place and Each-Way wagers.


And for Place only wagers, select City Best Plus knowing your dividend will be the best place dividend going!






Sportingbet

Maxidiv

MaxiDiv guarantees a dividend that is at least the better of the highest official Win dividend paid by the three national TAB’s or the official Bookmaker Starting Price.
MaxiDiv is available on both the Internet and telephone for all Metropolitan Thoroughbred races for Win only and Win/Place wagers until the advertised start time.
If a Win/Place wager is placed at MaxiDiv, the Win portion of the bet will be paid in accordance with the MaxiDiv guarantee. Subject to conditions of the race, the Place portion will be paid at either:
¼ of the official Starting Price
the place dividend corresponding to the highest official Win dividend paid by any TAB
the TAB Place dividend declared in the state in which the race is run

Best Odds

Win Only or Win/Place Best Odds wagers placed on either the Internet or Telephone, guarantees the better of the official Bookmakers' Starting Price (SP) and the official Win dividend declared by the customer selected National TAB.
Subject to conditions of the race, the Place portion will be paid at either:
¼ of the official Starting Price
the official Place dividend of the customer selected National TAB






Luxbet

Best Of The Best

Best Tote+ top Fluc on all Saturday metro races only up to 30 minutes before the race, Best Tote + SP available on all metro races up to the jump

Luxtote

Best of NSW or VIC totes on all non metro races







Tom Waterhouse

Best Tote

Best Tote guarantees a Win Dividend to be equal to highest official Win dividend paid by any of the three major totalizators (T.A.B) that are governed by an Australian State Governments regulations ("TAB").


Conclusion


There were a lot of other bookies out there to check out but some i found hard to find the info i wanted and did prefer to stay with a well known bookie.

On metro racing most offered the same product but i found Sportsbet had the best options as they paid best of the 3 tabs or SP on all metro races but also had the best options for place punters paying best of the 3 tabs for the place.

If you are after best tote and top fluc in the one bet for metro then Luxbet would be a good choice.

When you are looking at none metro races there are a lot of different options to choose from and some of them i found a bit lacking but the best option i found for midweeks racing was Tom Waterhouse who offers best tote on all races also have to point out i loved the online registration and ID verification, nothing to send them as they verify using Database like phone book and electoral roll.

In the end i decided 2 accounts would be best and went with Sportsbet and Tom Waterhouse.

This is my own personal opinion that suited my betting style as i was not playing exotics you would have to check out each site to find the best options for you.

It amazes me that some otherwise intelligent Punters will place there bets at SP, or with an individual TAB, when they can have BEST OF 3 TOTES "OR" SP, whichever is greatest, isn't it what they call a "no brainer"?

Another point that have I have made MANY times is that if you are backing mostly favs, especially for the place (my beef) then best tote beats BF HANDS DOWN and I mean by a landslide. For the longer priced runners ,.... mmm yes there is a case for the astute.(especially for those with the time)

At this point in time (in my opinion) the best product for win betting is BOB, i.e best of 3 totes or TF (whichever is greatest) and for the place Maxi Divi or Sportsbet.

Don't even bother looking at IAS, eg NSW $1.20c. Super tab $1.80c, Unitab $1.25c, they will pay you $1.26c, SB or Maxi will pay you $1.80c

Where would you bet?

The only reason i can see people not using it is ignorance of what they offer or not being able to get on for what ever reason that might be.

Or as the case for some is the nice rebate they get from the TAB.

I have a sportsbet, IASbet, Luxbet and UNItab account for the most part I only use either IAS or UNITab because I found the other sites very annoying to use, maybe it is just me but I hate the way the Sportsbets site is layed out I tried to put up with it but just found it very annoying navagating your way through the site.

As for why punters choose to use a TAB rather than betting with online bookies and so forth the answer in alot of cases is simple you can bet at a TAB with a few mates have a good time and while you maynot get the best odds available you get the company of friends and a cold brew if it is a pub tab.

Another thing most of these guys are quite happy for you to keep loading up your account from your credit card for funds to go over automatically yet to actually put cash in there it will take you 3 days to get it transfered over, you can go straight down to a local TAB and put some cash in their if you want to go back home and bet from the computer it is all about convenience

These are my current accounts, The Odds Broker is a new product i am looking at they have been around awhile and let you bet with several agencies from the one account, might be useful for those that want multiple TAB accounts with out opening 3 different accounts.

[NSW Tab]

[VIC Tab]

[QLD Tab]

[Centre Racing]

[Sportsbet]

[Tom Waterhouse]

[The Odds Broker]

[IAS]

[Betfair]

[Ladbrokes]

Thanks guys.
I just figured that the bookies providing the service couldn't be making a Profit on this service.
I guess my confusion is because of the often extreme variance of dividends , but I probably been noticing more on the smaller Pools and not the City gallop Meetings.
This Service is not provided for Harness and Greyhound Punters.
OR IS IT?

Yes they do but none will offer best tote but they will offer a similar product, here is Sportsbets offer.

Midi Div Explained.
Sportsbet offers Midi Div for all Harness and Greyhound races.

Midi Div pays the second highest dividend declared by the 3- TABs for all Win, Place and Each Way wagers on Harness, Greyhound and International thoroughbred meetings covered by 3-TABs. If less than 3-TABs offer wagers on a meeting the S-TAB tote dividend will apply. If no TABs offer wagers on a meeting Starting Price (SP) will apply. Odds displayed are indicative prices of the middle TAB pools odds.

Centrebet were offering best tote all codes 7 days a week, presume they still do.

Raw Instinct,as far as deposits are concerned yes you are right; it is dare I say ....... "horses for courses"

Personally I find it much more convenient to load up using the CC (i.e instant and FREE, depending on your bank)

Years ago I also enjoyed the Pub Tab scene and the shouts of "you beaut" truth was I was loser; now, for me the difference IS the better odds.

Since they changed the website they offer a wide range of bet types depending on the day and where it is, still below the others IMO.

Centre Racing also offer a service called concession betting, they will give you a smaller price on your selection but will return you money back if it runs a place, could be good for runners below the $2.50 mark.