Different Bet Types Explained For Multiples & Accumulators

In this section of the site titled “Bet Types Explained” we will run you through all of the different bet types across a number of sports including football, horse racing, greyhound racing, tennis, golf and others.

Everybody has their favourite “go-to” bet type. Many punters just like backing singles, while others like to bet on straight accumulators or even multiples and combination bets.

All of the various bet types will be explained on the page with sections covering all of the common bets. This page will take a look at the basic workings of each bet, and then if you need more in-depth information, you will find links to each bet type on its own page if you feel you want specific bet types explained in more advanced detail.

Single Bet Types Explained

Single bets are where you would place a bet on one participant or one team to achieve a specific result.

Most single bets are either a win bet or an each-way bet, and these can be placed across many sports

With the win bet you are betting on a result where your selection must win or else you lose your stake and your bet is a loser. Let’s look at some popular “win” bets from across different sports.

Example Single “To Win” Bets

Let’s look at some win bet types explained below. These are examples of simple win bets on different sports.

• Football – You could back Liverpool to beat Manchester City in a Premier League game. You are basically backing Liverpool to win by any score. A draw would mean your bet loses.
  
• Football – You might back Erling Haaland to score the first goal in a game. This is another type of win bet. If he scores first, you are a winner, if he doesn’t then you lose your stake. (Some bookmakers will offer money back as a free bet if he scores at any point in the game.)
  
• Horse Racing – You could back Galopin Des Champs to win The Gold Cup. It doesn’t matter how far he wins by, as long as he passes the post first, the most common win bet in horse racing.
  
• Horse Racing – You might want to back a certain jockey or trainer to be the leading jockey/trainer at the meeting. For example, The Cheltenham Festival. Harry Cobden as the top jockey and maybe Willie Mullins as the top trainer. If Harry rides the most winners during the meeting, you win. The same goes for Willie Mullins training the most winners.
  
• Tennis – You may back Novak Djokovic to win a tournament outright as a single-win bet. If he wins the tournament then you collect. If he gets knocked out then you lose.
  
• Tennis – The tournament bet on Djokovic is a long-term bet, but you can also do win bets on the short-term markets. As an example, you can now place a bet on any player to win the next point, game or set.
  
• Golf – Of course, the most straightforward win bet in golf is for a player to win the tournament. So if you fancy Rory McIlroy to win the Masters, then you place your bet, and if he tops the leaderboard after the four days, you have a winner.
  
• Golf – Another type of win bet on Golf is to predict the first-round leader. This is a bit of a lottery, and because it is so difficult you usually find that the betting can be 20/1 the field (we’ll explain that terminology further down the page)
  
• Cricket – Simple win bets in cricket include match betting where you choose which team will win the match (could be a 20/20 match) or the series like you get in test match cricket where the two teams play over five matches.
  
• Cricket – If we talk about individual players then you can place a win bet on who will be the top bowler or top batsman. This again can be for a single match or a test match series.

The examples above are just a few of the simple win bets, and we cover more advanced win bets on other areas of the site.

Example Each Way Single Bets

Let’s look at some each way bet types explained below. These are examples of simple ew bets on different sports.

• Football – One of the most common each-way bets in football is on the first goalscorer market. The fact is you used to only be able to bet on the first goalscorer only. Now, if you place an each-way bet you get paid if your player scores later in the game. Some bookmakers pay 1/3 the odds up to 5 goalscorers.
  
• Football – One of the most popular each-way bets in football is to back your favourite team to win a tournament. For example, you might want to back Brighton, Fulham or Leicester City for the FA Cup. So if they reach the final but lose, you are still a winner. The majority of each way betting on football tournaments is 1/2 the odds for 2 places.
  
• Horse Racing – Each way betting is most popular in horse racing where you have big fields of runners. Depending on the size of the field, will determine how many places are paid if you place an each-way bet.
  
• Horse Racing – You might want to back a certain jockey or trainer to be the leading jockey/trainer throughout the season. This is another bet you can place so you have an interest for the whole year, and if your bet is performing well, you may well be able to cash out and take a profit early.
  
• Tennis – You may back Iga Swiatek for Wimbledon as a single each-way bet. If she wins the tournament then you collect. But you also collect at 1/2 the odds for 2 places, even if she is beaten in the final.
  
• Tennis – The tournament bet on Swiatek is a long-term bet, but you can also do each-way bets on other markets. For example, XXX.
  
• Golf – Of course, the most straightforward EW bet in golf is for a player like Dustin Johnson to be placed. The beauty about each way betting on the outright market in golf is that many bookmakers will pay 8 or even 10 places at either 1/5 or 1/6 of the win odds. The only caveat is that you must place your bet before the tournament starts.
  
• Golf – Predicting the first-round leader is tough but not impossible, and you can place an each-way bet on this market as well as the outright winner. The great thing about this bet is that it gives you a fun interest on the first day of the tournament.
  
• Cricket – A simple EW bet on Cricket would be on the outright winner market in one of the big tournaments. If we take the 2023 World Cup as an example, most bookmakers are 1/2 the odds a place 1-2. However, at the time of writing, Bet365 were 1/2 the odds a place 1-2-3-4-5.
  
• Cricket – A very different type of each-way bet on cricket is the top bowler and top batsman markets. Using an each-way bet you can bet on either a bowler or batsman to finish in the top three in that market.

The examples above are just a few of the simple each-way bets and we cover more advanced ew bets on other areas of the site.

Multiple Bet Types Explained

A multiple bet is where you have more than one selection in your bet, (multiple selections) therefore, two selections (known as a double) would be classed as a multiple. The same goes for three (known as a treble), four, five or more (known as accumulators) and these bets can be placed as win or each-way bets.

• Double – Two selections on a variation of sports can be bet as a win or each-way double. Both selections must either win or be placed to generate a return.
  
• Treble – Three selections on a variation of sports can be bet as a win or each-way treble. All three selections must either win or be placed to generate a return.
  
• Accumulator – Four or more selections on a variation of sports can be bet as a win or each-way accumulator. All selections must either win or be placed to generate a return.

Full Cover Combinations

Full Cover Combinations or Full Cover Perms as they are also known are bets that you use to pick out a number of horses and then you have not just an accumulator like in our example above, but you have singles, doubles, trebles and accumulators in one bet.

The main full-cover combination bets are below.

• Trixie (3 selections – 3 Doubles and 1 Treble)
  
• Patent (3 selections – 3 Singles, 3 Doubles and 1 Treble)
  
• Yankee (4 selections – 6 Doubles, 4 Trebles and 1 Accumulator)
  
• Lucky 15 (4 selections – 4 Singles, 6 Doubles, 4 Trebles and 1 Accumulator)
  
• Canadian (5 selections – 10 Doubles, 10 Trebles, 5 Fourfold Accumulators and 1 Fivefold Accumulator)
  
• Lucky 31 (5 selections – 5 Singles, 10 Doubles, 10 Trebles, 5 Fourfold Accumulators and 1 Fivefold Accumulator)
  
• Heinz (6 selections – 15 Doubles, 20 Trebles, 15 Fourfold Accas, 6 Fivefold Accas and 1 Sixfold Acca)
  
• Lucky 63 (6 selections – 6 Singles, 15 Doubles, 20 Trebles, 15 Fourfold Accas, 6 Fivefold Accas and 1 Sixfold Acca)
  
• Super Heinz (7 selections – 21 Doubles, 35 Trebles, 35 Fourfold Accas, 21 Fivefold Accas, 7 Sixfold Accas and 1 Sevenfold Acca )
  
• Goliath (8 selections – 28 Doubles, 56 Trebles, 70 Fourfold Accas, 56 Fivefold Accas, 28 Sixfold Accas, 7 Sevenfold Accas and 1 Eightfold Acca )

These are the main types of full cover combination bets and range from 3 selections right up to 8 selections. Clicking on any of those will take you through to a full explanation and example of that bet.

Full Cover Bets With Singles

Full Cover Bets with singles are very popular bets with punters, and we covered a few above including the Lucky 15, Lucky 31 and the Lucky 63.

But these are not the only types of bets including singles. There is a more advanced type of bet called a “Flag Bet” which is for more advanced punters.

The different types of Flag bet are listed below.

• Flag (4 selections – 6 Single Stakes About, 6 Doubles, 4 Trebles, and 1 Accumulator)
  
• Super Flag (5 selections – 10 Single Stakes About, 10 Doubles, 10 Trebles, 5 Fourfold Accumulators and 1 Fivefold Accumulator)
  
• Heinz Flag (6 selections – 15 Single Stakes About, 15 Doubles, 20 Trebles, 15 Fourfold Accas, 6 Fivefold Accas and 1 Sixfold Acca)
  
• Super Heinz Flag (7 selections – 21 Single Stakes About, 21 Doubles, 35 Trebles, 35 Fourfold Accas, 21 Fivefold Accas, 7 Sixfold Accas and 1 Sevenfold Acca )
  
• Goliath Flag (8 selections – 28 Single Stakes About, 28 Doubles, 56 Trebles, 70 Fourfold Accas, 56 Fivefold Accas, 28 Sixfold Accas, 7 Sevenfold Accas and 1 Eightfold Acca )

These are the main types of bets and range from 4 selections right up to 8 selections. Clicking on any of those links above will take you through to a full explanation and example of that bet.

Any To Come & Speciality Bet Types Explained

Any To Come and Speciality Bets are still popular with some punters, although not all bookmakers now accept these types of bets.

Below, you can find a list of some of the speciality bets that are available.

• Single Stakes About (Up & Down) – This bet requires a minimum of two selections. You place a bet on selection A and if that wins you take your profit but roll over your original stake as a bet on selection B. This is the same if B wins, you then have a single on selection A
  
• Round Robin – (3 selections – 6 Single Stakes About, 3 Doubles and 1 Treble)
  
• Union Jack Trebles – ( 9 selections – 8 Trebles)

Make sure to click the links above to see how each of these bets works in more detail.

Forecast Bet Types Explained

Forecast Bets are still very popular with some punters, especially fans of horse racing and greyhound racing. They are one of the most popular bets in local betting shops and online, as they can pay out big dividends for a reasonably low initial stake.

The basic principle of a forecast is to pick the 1st and 2nd in any particular sports event.

Below, you can find a list of the various forecast bets you can place on horse and dog racing.

• Straight Forecast – The straight forecast requires you to pick two selections and “forecast” which will come first and which will come second.
  
• Reverse Forecast – The reverse forecast requires you to pick two selections and “forecast” which will come first and/or second. In this bet, your two selections will provide a winning bet in whichever order they finish.
  
• Combination Forecast – A combination forecast requires three or more selections and all you have to do is have the first and second in any order from your group of selections.
  
• Forecast Doubles – A very popular bet with greyhound racing fans. You need at least two forecasts for a forecast double. This means you have to pick the 1st and 2nd in two races.
  
• Forecast Trebles – Another very popular bet with greyhound racing fans. You need at least three forecasts for a forecast double. This means you have to pick the 1st and 2nd in three races.

These are the main types of forecast bets. Clicking on any of those will take you through to a full explanation and example of that bet.

Double Examples

Let’s look at football and a simple example of a double featuring two key games in the Premiership.

So these were two massive games and if you decided to bet on Manchester Utd 4.6 (18/5) and Tottenham 3.4 (12/5) in a double, then that would give us a good return on our bet.

However, at the time of these games in early January 2023, it was Arsenal and Manchester City who were at the top of the table. Many football punters may view this as an attractive double even though they are favourites. Let’s look at both doubles and see what the odds are on both.

Man City & Arsenal

• We’ll use £1 as a mythical stake here. so we have £1 @ 1.80 (4/5) on Manchester City which if they won would give us £1.80 going onto the second leg of our double.
  
• £1.80 @ 2.20 (6/5) on Arsenal would give us £3.96 back for our £1 stake.

This means the odds for this double are 3.96 or just a little less than (3/1).

Man Utd & Tottenham

• We’ll use £1 as a mythical stake here. so we have £1 @ 4.6 (18/5) on Manchester Utd which if they won would give us £4.60 going onto the second leg of our double.
  
• £4.60 @ 3.4 (12/5) on Tottenham would give us £15.64 back for our £1 stake.
  

This means the odds for this football double are 15.64 just a little less than (15/1).

Treble Examples

Let’s look at golf and a simple example of a treble featuring three key players in the tournament’s three ball markets.

So these were three balls and if we decided to bet on McKenzie Hughes 3.6 (13/5) and Adam Scott 3.5 (5/2) and Zach Johnson 4.5 (7/2) in a treble, then that would give us a good return on our bet.

However, at the time of the Sony Open in 2023, it was Tom Kim, Sungjae Im & Jordan Spieth who were leading the early player rankings. Many golf punters may view this as an attractive treble even though the three players are short-priced favourites. Let’s look at both trebles and see what the odds are for each one.

Threeball Treble – Tom Kim, Sungjae Im & Jordan Spieth

• We’ll use £1 as a mythical stake here. so we have £1 @ 2.2 (6/5) on Tom Kim which if he won would give us £2.20 going onto the second leg of our double.
  
• £2.20 @ 2.5 (6/4) on Sungjae Im would give us £5.50 going onto the third leg of our treble.
  
• £5.50 @ 2.1 (11/10) on Jordan Spieth would give us £11.55 back for our £1 stake.

This means the odds for this treble are 11.55 or just a little over (10/1).

Threeball Treble – McKenzie Hughes, Adam Scot & Zach Johnson

• We’ll use £1 as a mythical stake here. so we have £1 @ 3.6 (13/5) on McKenzie Hughes which if they won would give us £3.60 going onto the second leg of our double.
  
• £3.60 @ 3.5 (5/2) on Adam Scott would give us £12.60 going onto the third leg of our treble.
  
• £12.60 @ 4.5 (7/2) on Zach Johnson would give us £56.70 back for our £1 stake.

This means the odds for this treble would be 56.70 or nearly (56/1). It is interesting how these shorter prices when combined in trebles, can actually give you a decent potential ROI (Return On Investment) on golf betting.

Accumulator Examples

Let’s look at horse racing and a simple example of a fourfold accumulator based on the four championship races (The Cheltenham Gold Cup, The Champion Hurdle, The Champion Chase and The Stayers Hurdle) coming up at the forthcoming Cheltenham Festival in March 2023.

So we’ll look at two accumulators. A win accumulator will include the favourites as highlighted in GREEN in the images below, and an each-way accumulator including bigger prices highlighted in RED in the images below.

Win Accumulator

So our four fancies in our win accumulator are Galopin Des Champs at 2.63 (13/8), Constitution Hill at 1.33 (1/3), Energumene at 1.8 (4/5), and Flooring Porter at 7.0 (6/1)

That looks like a pretty solid bet, so let’s calculate what the return would be for a £10 win stake.

• We have £10 @ 2.62 (13/8) on Galopin Des Champs which if the horse won would give us £22.62 going onto the second leg of our double.
  
• £22.62 @ 1.33 (1/3) on Constitution Hill would give us £30.16 going onto the third leg of our accumulator.
  
• £30.16 @ 1.8 (4/5) on Energume would then give us £54.28 running onto the fourth leg of our accumulator.
  
• £54.28 going onto Flooring Porter would give us a total return of £379.76 for our £10 stake.

This means the odds for this accumulator would be 37.97 or nearly (37/1). It is interesting how these shorter prices when combined in multiples like accumulators, can actually give you a decent potential ROI (Return On Investment) on horse racing.

Each-Way Accumulator

So our four each-way fancies in our each-way accumulator are Noble Yeats at 8.0 (7/1), Vauban at 10.0 (9/1), Blue Lord at 7.0 (6/1), and Buzz at 21.0 (20/1)

That looks like a fun bet, with all four of these holding chances, if they turn up on the day. So let’s calculate what the return would be for a £5 Each-Way stake.

• So we have £5 @ 8.0 (7/1) or place odds of 2.4 (7/5) on Noble Yeats, which if the horse won would give us £40.00 going onto the second leg of our bet, or if the horse only places, we would have £12 going onto the second leg of our bet.
  
• £40.00 @ 10.0 (9/1) on Vauban, which if the horse won would give us £400.00 going onto the third leg of our bet, or if the horse only places, we would have £33.60 going onto the third leg of our bet.
  
• £400.00 @ 7.0 (6/1) on Blue Lord, which if the horse won would give us £2800.00 going onto the fourth leg of our bet, or if the horse only places, we would have £73.52 going onto the fourth leg of our bet .
  
• £2800.00 @ 21.0 (20/1) on Buzz, which if the horse won would give us a return of £58,800, or if the horse only places, we would have a return of £367.60.

This means the odds for this accumulator if we had 4 winners would be 11760.0 or (11759/1). And even if our four horses were just placed, it means the odds of our place accumulator would be 73.52 or close to (73/1)

It is interesting how these bigger prices when combined in multiples like accumulators, can actually give you a decent ROI (Return On Investment) just for picking four placed horses.

Bet Types Frequently Asked Questions

This section covers some of the questions we have answered for other visitors to Ontheballbets, hopefully, they will help you.

We’ll be constantly adding to this list over time, so make sure to bookmark the page so you can find it easily in the future.

We will continue to add more questions and answers to this section, so keep an eye out or let us know if you’d like a specific question answered.

Conclusion

Our aim for this page was to give you a brief overview of bet types explained. The above information gives you a quick glance at the number of selections and how each bet works.

We have also calculated some of the bets to show you how the potential winnings are calculated for some of the common bets.

All of the lists we have on the page have links to in-depth explanations of each bet if you feel you want to learn more. We have aimed to make these understandable for both beginners and experienced punters.

Each of these advanced pages has a series of tables so that a lot of the information can be seen in an easy-to-understand visual format.

Understanding the different bet types is important. It helps you to manage your betting bank, but more importantly, it allows you to learn and build a betting strategy that suits you.

Responsible Gambling

The information on this page and across the Ontheballbets website is meant for entertainment purposes and should be viewed as such.

If you are betting on horse racing or any other sport then please make sure to bet responsibly. Only bet an amount that you can comfortably afford to lose.

If you feel you have a friend or relative has an issue with gambling, then there are groups and organisations that can offer support, such as BeGambleAware, GamStop and The National Gambling Helpline