Types of bets explained, from a single to a Heinz

The single bet

A single is one selection and one outcome. If it wins, you are paid at the odds you took, and if it loses, you lose the stake. Every other bet type is a way of combining singles or of changing what counts as winning. A single is the easiest bet to understand and to budget for, because the most you can lose and the most you can win are both visible when you place it.

Singles can be win bets on a horse or a team, or they can be on a market such as the number of goals or a player to score. The odds describe how the market sees the chance of the outcome, and they include the bookmaker’s margin. Our odds converter turns fractional odds into decimals and shows the chance a price implies.

Doubles, trebles and accumulators

A multiple joins two or more selections into one bet. A double has two, a treble three, and anything larger is usually called an accumulator. Every selection has to win. The odds are multiplied together, so the return grows quickly, and so does the chance that one selection lets the bet down.

The table uses evens for every selection to keep the arithmetic plain. At each step the return doubles and the chance of every selection winning halves, and the bookmaker’s margin multiplies along with the odds. A coupon of six selections at evens returns £640 on £10, and wins only if all six are right. That asymmetry is why accumulators are popular with bookmakers and why a bettor should work out the stake before the excitement of the coupon. Our accumulator calculator multiplies any set of odds and shows the implied chance of every leg winning.

Each way bets

An each way bet is two bets of equal size on one selection, one to win and one to place. The place part pays a fraction of the odds if the selection finishes in the places. It is the usual bet in horse racing for horses at longer prices. Ten pounds each way costs twenty. Our each way guide explains the place terms and the sums.

Full-cover bets: Trixie, Yankee, Lucky 15 and others

A full-cover bet spreads a set of selections across all the combinations of a given size, so one losing selection does not end the whole thing. A Trixie covers three selections with three doubles and a treble, four bets. A Patent adds the three singles for seven bets. A Yankee covers four selections with six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold, eleven bets. A Lucky 15 adds the four singles to a Yankee for fifteen. A Canadian is five selections in twenty-six bets, a Heinz six in fifty-seven. Each has a Lucky version that adds the singles.

The stake is the amount on each bet, so the total is that amount times the number of bets. A £2 Lucky 15 costs £30, and an each way version costs £60. The trade-off is plain: you give up some of the return that an accumulator would pay if everything wins, and in exchange the bet keeps paying when a selection loses. With singles included, one winner at a decent price can return something. Without them, as in a Trixie, one winner returns nothing. Our bet calculator works out any of them win only or each way.

How the margin builds up in a multiple

Every price in a market includes the bookmaker’s margin, and in a multiple the margins multiply with the odds. Take three selections that are each priced at 1.90 in a two-way market where the fair price would be 2.0. As a treble, 1.90 times 1.90 times 1.90 is 6.86, against 8.0 at fair prices. The treble pays about 14 per cent less than the same bet at fair prices, while each single selection pays about 5 per cent less. The more selections you add, the bigger the gap becomes.

This does not make multiples a bad bet, and it does not make singles a good one. It is the reason a bettor who likes multiples should know what the extra legs cost, and the reason our odds converter shows the implied chance of every price.

Reading a bet slip before you confirm

A bet slip shows the selections, the odds, the stake and the potential return. Check four things. First, the bet type: a slip with four selections can be an accumulator, a Yankee or four singles, and the totals are very different. Second, whether the stake box is the amount per bet or the total. Third, whether each way is ticked, which doubles the cost. Fourth, the odds format and whether the prices have changed since you added the selection.

If the total is not what you meant to spend, change it before you confirm. A bet is binding once it is accepted, and a mistake in the slip is the bettor’s to bear.

Special bets and outright markets

Outright markets are bets on a winner of a whole event, such as a tournament or a league. Many are each way, with several places paid. Specials cover things outside the usual markets, such as the number of corners or cards in a match. The terms of a special are written for it and are worth reading, because the way a bet settles is not always obvious from its title. Look for what happens if the event is postponed, if a player does not start, or if there is a tie, since each of these can void a bet or split its payout. Our method page says why we leave offers and market depth out of our tables: they change faster than a page can keep up with.

Forecasts and tricasts

These are racing bets that ask you to name the finishing order. A forecast names the first and second horses, in the right order, and a tricast names the first three. The prices reflect how hard that is. There are reversed and combination versions that cover several orders at the cost of several bets. A forecast is a different thing from a double: both horses are in the same race, and the bet is on how they finish relative to each other.

Ante-post bets

An ante-post bet is a bet on a future event, often weeks or months ahead, such as a race run in March or a league decided in May. The price may be bigger than the price on the day. The risk is that your selection does not take part: in most cases the stake is lost if a horse is withdrawn before the race, where a bet struck on the day would be void and returned. Ante-post bets are generally outside Best Odds Guaranteed.

Football bets and the bet builder

In football the common markets are the match result, also called 1X2, both teams to score, total goals over or under a line such as 2.5, correct score and double chance. Match result settles on ninety minutes plus stoppage time unless the market says otherwise. Handicaps give one side a head start. Goalscorer markets and outright markets, such as who wins the league, are further types.

A bet builder combines several outcomes from the same match into one price, such as a team to win, a player to score and over 2.5 goals. The bookmaker prices the combination, not the sum of the separate prices, because the outcomes are linked. Every part has to land. Some bookmakers do not offer cash-out on a bet builder, and some limit the payout. Our football betting sites guide compares the ten bookmakers on our card.

In-play betting and cash-out

In-play bets are placed while an event is under way. Prices move as the event develops, markets are suspended after key moments, and bets are accepted after a short delay. Cash-out lets you settle a bet before the event ends for an amount the bookmaker works out from the live market. It is offered on selected bets and events, is rarely the full value of the bet, and can be withdrawn at any moment. A cashed-out bet may also lose a promotion, such as Best Odds Guaranteed.

Choosing a bet type

Start from the amount you are happy to lose. A single is the simplest way to stake it. A multiple pays more if every selection wins and costs you everything if one does not. A full-cover bet spreads the stake and multiplies its size. An each way bet suits longer prices. A bet builder is for a view of one match, and a forecast is for a view of how a race finishes. There is no best bet type, only the one whose shape fits what you think and what you are prepared to spend, and the one whose total cost you have already added up.

Whichever you choose, work out the total stake first. The number of bets in a full-cover bet is easy to overlook until the total is on the screen. Set a deposit limit in your account, keep to a budget you can afford to lose, and take a break if betting stops being fun. Betting is for people aged 18 and over. For free, confidential help, contact GambleAware; GamStop blocks every licensed UK site at once if you want a break. The method page sets out how the cards and tools on this site are put together.