Multiple Bets

The bet types discussed in the last section can generally be combined into more complicated bets, known as multiples. There are only a few basic types of multiple bet, but these can be further combined to create much more complex bets. Here we will start off looking at the types of multiple bet, then discuss some of the more popular ways of combining them.

Double

A double is a bet of 2 independent selections. In a standard win double, both selections must be winners for the double to be a winner. In essence, the full return from the first selection is rolled over to the second selection. However, the selections can take place simultaneously, in which case the return can be worked out by multiplying together the odds from each selection. This can be done using either decimal odds or fractional odds, but you are about to see why one type is much easier than the other!

Example 1 (decimal odds):

Selection 1 – 4.0
Selection 2 – 3.5

Bet size £10.

Potential return:

= £10 x 4 x 3.5 = £140.

Simple as that.

Using fractional odds is not quite so straightforward, you need to add 1 to each before multiplying it. This is because fractional odds do not include the stake and this is rolled from the first bet into the second.

Example 2 (Same odds as above, but denoted in fractional odds):

Selection 1 – 3/1
Selection 2 – 5/2

Odds for the double:

= (3/1 + 1) x (5/2 + 1)

= (3 + 1) x (2.5 + 1)

= (4 x 3.5)

= 14

This includes the stake, so to convert it back to fractional odds you need to subtract 1. Therefore, the fractional odds for the double are 13/1.

A winning bet of £10 returns a profit of £130, plus the £10. As above, you can see the total return is £140.

You can probably also now understand why the preference is to do these calculations using decimal odds! From this point forward, the examples will only be conducted using decimal odds.

Treble

A treble is a bet of 3 independent selections. In a standard win treble, all three selections must be winners for the teble to be a winner. As with the double, the full return from the first part of the selection is rolled over to the 2nd selection, and then all of this is rolled into the final selection. Again, the selections can take place simultaneously, and again, the return can be worked out by multiplying together the odds from each selection.

Example:

Selection 1 – 4.0
Selection 2 – 3.5
Selection 3 – 2.2

Bet size £10.

Potential return:

= £10 x 4 x 3.5 x 2.2 = £308.

As you can see, the profit has increased significantly from the extra selection. The more selections in your multiple, the more lucrative the potential return. Of course, there is a corresponding difficulty in landing the bet!

Accumulator

An accumulator is a bet of 4 or more independent selections. As per the other multiple bets above, all selections in the bet must win for the accumulator to be successful.

Example:

Selection 1 – 4.0
Selection 2 – 3.5
Selection 3 – 2.2
Selection 4 – 1.5

Bet size £10.

Potential return:

= £10 x 4 x 3.5 x 2.2 x 1.5 = £462.

Again, the profit has increased significantly from the extra selection, even though in this case it is an odds on price. If you think about it a different way, adding the extra selection is the same as betting the entire return from the treble, on a single selection at odds of 1.5. E.g.

£308 x 1.5 = £462.

For this reason, it does not always make sense to combine bets into a large accumulator. Consider a scenario whereby an accumulator involves 3 football matches on a Saturday afternoon, then one more on the following Monday evening. If the first 3 matches win, you are rolling the entire profit onto the Monday evening game. What if a key player is injured in the warm up? You could just as easily place a treble on the Saturday, then roll the profit into a single bet on the Monday. Maybe not as much fun as landing a huge accumulator, but it always pays to think about your betting style.

In the next section we will look at further combinations of multiple bets.