There are many ways of placing a bet on an event. Most
commonly, punters begin by putting a single bet, simply picking one selection
and putting money on it. In fact, a large number of punters have been so
successful with placing straightforward single bets that they see no reason
trying other types of bets. But while the single bet is quite easy and simple
to play, and comes with minimal risk, knowing other types of bets can help you
maximize your profits. Here is a look at the major types of sports bets.
(a) Single bet
A single bet is the most basic and core standard of all
types of sports betting. In single betting, a punter runs through various prices
provided and picks one. The punter then puts a wager on that choice and waits
for the event to run and finish. If the event goes as predicted, the punter has
won. Examples are placing a bet on a football team winning, a golfer finishing
in the top ten of an ongoing event, a tennis player landing a title or a
country winning the FIFA World Cup. A single bet is so simple, you just make
one pick that you are confident in, strike your bet and then wait for the
outcome.
(b) Accumulator bet
Accumulators are treated with skepticism by many punters
because of the increased risk they have. Some experienced punters avoid
accumulators completely, but others see them as a great way to boost profit.
The major attraction of an accumulator is that it gives a huge profit for a
smaller stake, offering a low risk/high reward. But what is an accumulator? It
is a bet made up of two or more selections in different events. For example, a
punter may predict with confidence that teams 1, 2 and 3 will win their
respective football matches on a league weekend. Instead of placing wagers on
the teams separately, the punter combines them into one bet. This is an
accumulator.
Accumulators are named according to the number of selections
in a bet. Examples are:
(1) Double or
twofold: Accumulator with two selections i.e. Chelsea win and Manchester United
draw.
(2) Treble or
threefold: Accumulator with 3 selections i.e. Liverpool win, Arsenal draw and
Swansea win.
(3) Fourfold:
Accumulator with 4 selections i.e. Manchester United win, Manchester City draw,
Spurs win and Watford draw.
Others are fivefold, sixfold, sevenfold, eightfold, ninefold
and so on.
Now let us compare 3 single bets against just 1 treble
accumulator. Let us take our three selections to be Chelsea win @1.70,
Manchester United win @1.50 and Liverpool win at 1.80.
If we do three separate singles each with a stake of Ksh
100, we will make:
1st single: Chelsea win, 1.70 x 100, gives Ksh 170
2nd single: Manchester United win, 1.50 x 100, gives Ksh 150
3rd single: Liverpool win, 1.80 x 100, gives Ksh 180
Our total return from the three single bets is Ksh 500, a
profit of Ksh 200 on our Ksh 300 stake.
But what if we created an accumulator? In this case we will
make:
Chelsea win, Manchester United win and Liverpool win, 1.70 x
1.50 x 1.80 x 300, gives Ksh 1377, a profit of Ksh 1077.
The huge difference in the return from an accumulator is
that the winnings are rolled over from one selection to the next and used as
the stake for the next selection until the bet is complete. This indeed sounds
great. However, you should remember that if one prediction fails then your
entire bet fails.
(c) System bet
If you are considering doing an accumulator, then the system
bet may also be a worthy option to consider. A system bet is a full coverage
bet where you not only accumulators but ensure that you guarantee some return
should one or more of your selections fail (depending on the size of the bet).
In system betting, you have to pick at least 3 selections and then combine them
in various ways to cushion yourself in case a selection fails. The most common
types of system bets are the Trixie, Yankee, Lucky 15 and Canadian. The Trixie has 3 selections, Yankee has 4
selections and Canadian has 5 selections. These selections are combined into
doubles, trebles and accumulators. In Lucky 15, 4 selections are used to build
all possible singles, doubles, trebles and an accumulator. Punters tend to put
more money in system bets than in accumulators because the system bets don’t require
all the selections to win in order to get a return.
There is more to various types of sports bets than has been
covered in this article. For more information, visit the sports betting
strategies section and read further articles in the betting guide section for
different perspectives.