The pros and cons of multiple bets

The good, bad and ugly of perms, accumulators and multiples

 

Many years ago…

I worked with a professional horseracing gambler, who frequently put his bets into doubles, trebles, accumulators… all sorts.

Not so much his public bets (he was operating a premium rate 0898 phoneline back then and kept it to win singles, by and large)… no, this practice was more for his own private betting.

Now I never saw the full profit-loss sheet for his punting, so this is more a gut-feeling as to how he got on…

But my belief is that these multiples, perms, trixies and patents… they more than paid their way over time.

For sure, he wasn’t landing gambles every day of the week – but who does?

That said, he seemed to pick up a tidy bundle every now and then. Four figures plus, and in cash. Those were the days!!

However, what I firmly believe with his bets, both individually, and therefore collectively, when put together… they were all value.

His 5/2 shot should have been nearer 2’s, the 5/1 on offer really was more like 7/2 in his book.

So whether his treble was done in the last leg, or he scraped a small profit on a Lucky 15, or on those occasions when the jackpot was landed (as he did from time to time)… the bets were always good ones.

He was on the right side of the market and, as we know, if you have the value, then taken over the long haul, you will beat the bookies.

And in this way, used correctly, multiples clearly have some significant advantages…

The pros of multiple bets

Most obvious is that for small stakes you can potentially win very large sums of money.

So, for example, to win £500…

You’d have to wade in with a eye-watering £500 wager on an even money shot…

Or place a not insignificant £250 on a bet at 2/1…

Now they’re hefty amounts of money for any pocket.

But piece together three winners at 3/1, 4/1 and 5/1 and you only need place £5 (as a win treble) and you’d win not just £500… but £595!

These three winners would combine to make a 119/1 treble and return you a cool £600.

And added benefits from such small stakes are that you will get your bets on more easily (bookies won’t sweat too much on a small stakes accumulator)…

Keep accounts open for longer, which is useful more than ever these days…

And make your betting bank go further, with maybe some extra enjoyment along the way, as you split your capital into lots of small investments, rather than one all-in, potentially-bank-clearing, stick-on job.

Furthermore, if you choose to back bets such as Yankees and Lucky 15’s (explained below) then you can even withstand a loser, or two, within your selected number of bets… and still make a profit.

The cons of multiple bets

Well, the pin which will most often burst your bubble is losing bet, or two.

If you’re backing a straight double, or win treble, then if one leg goes down… that’s it, you’re toast.

And sod’s law when this happens the other bets go and win, just to rub salt in the wounds.

So were you to bet them all as singles, you’d have made a profit… as a multiple bet you’ve done your money.

Also, let’s not forget that picking one winner is often hard enough. To pick two or three, and back them altogether, that’s even harder.

Hence your strike rate will drop, you’ll back more losers, and while your bank balance might still remain positive… your confidence and belief may start to evaporate.

This is why bookmakers love to lay multiples, and create all sorts of fancy hybrid bets…

Because they know that when the number of variables in a bet is increased…

The chances of it getting rolled are increased. Exponentially.

So despite some definite plus points, there are also some noteworthy downsides to aggregating your bets.

And just in case you’re wondering, here are some examples of the type of bets I’m talking about…
 

DOUBLE : A bet on two selections, both of which must win to gain a return. TREBLE : A bet on three selections, all three of which must win to gain a return. ACCUMULATOR : A bet on four or more selections, all of which must win to gain a return. Accumulators are often named after the number of selections they contain; thus we can get a fourfold, fivefold or sixfold accumulator (or even higher). TRIXIE : A wager on three selections and consisting of four separate bets: 3 doubles and a treble. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return. YANKEE : A wager on four selections and consisting of 11 separate bets: 6 doubles, 4 trebles and a fourfold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return. CANADIAN / SUPER YANKEE : A wager on five selections and consisting of 26 separate bets: 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds and a fivefold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return. HEINZ : A wager on six selections and consisting of 57 separate bets: 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds and a sixfold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return.  It is named for the ’57 varieties’ advertising slogan of the company Heinz. SUPER HEINZ : A wager on seven selections and consisting of 120 separate bets: 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, 7 sixfolds and a sevenfold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return. GOLIATH : A wager on eight selections and consisting of 247 separate bets: 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, 8 sevenfolds and an eightfold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return. PATENT : A wager on three selections and consisting of 7 separate bets: 3 singles, 3 doubles and a treble. Equivalent to a Trixie plus 3 singles. One winning selection will guarantee a return. LUCKY 15 : A wager on four selections and consisting of 15 separate bets: 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles and a fourfold accumulator. Equivalent to a Yankee plus 4 singles. One winning selection will guarantee a return. The ‘Lucky’ part of the name of this and other similar bets comes from the bookmaker’s practice of offering bonuses for one or more winners; usually including ‘double the odds’ for only one winning selection. LUCKY 31 : A wager on five selections and consisting of 31 separate bets: 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds and a fivefold accumulator. Equivalent to a Canadian plus 5 singles. One winning selection will guarantee a return. LUCKY 63 : A wager on six selections and consisting of 63 separate bets: 6 singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds and a sixfold accumulator. One winning selection will guarantee a return.