One selection, or several
Singles and Multiples
A double, a treble, a Trixie, a Yankee, a Lucky 15. What each one costs, what each one pays, and why the named bets are more stake than most people expect.
British betting has a set of named multiple bets inherited from the racing shops, and the names tell you nothing at all about what they contain. LadBet carries the full set, and this page is a plain translation of them, because the one mistake worth avoiding in this corner of a coupon is typing a unit stake into a Lucky 15 without noticing it is fifteen bets.
Singles
One selection, one bet. It wins or it loses and there is nothing else to understand.
Why they are underrated
Because the returns are unexciting, which is a poor reason to avoid them. A single is the only bet where the price you are getting is the price you assessed, with no compounding of margin across legs. If you have a genuine view about one market, a single expresses it exactly and a multiple dilutes it with three opinions you hold less strongly.
When a multiple is better
When the point of the bet is entertainment across an afternoon rather than the expression of a single view. There is nothing wrong with that as long as it is the actual reason, and it usually is — people back accumulators to have something running all day, which a single cannot do.
Straight multiples
A double is two selections, a treble is three, a four-fold is four, and so on. One bet, all legs must win, prices multiplied.
The cost
Exactly what you stake. A £10 treble costs £10. This is the important difference from the named full-cover bets below, and it is where the confusion starts.
The arithmetic
Multiply the decimal prices. Three legs at 2.00, 2.50 and 1.80 give 9.00, so £10 returns £90. A void leg drops out and the rest run on, covered on the accumulators page alongside acca insurance.
Full-cover bets
These contain every possible multiple from a set of selections. They are several bets in one and they cost accordingly.
| Bet | Selections | Bets | £1 unit stake costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trixie | 3 | 3 doubles + 1 treble = 4 | £4 |
| Patent | 3 | 3 singles + 3 doubles + 1 treble = 7 | £7 |
| Yankee | 4 | 6 doubles + 4 trebles + 1 four-fold = 11 | £11 |
| Lucky 15 | 4 | 4 singles + 11 = 15 | £15 |
| Canadian | 5 | 26 | £26 |
| Lucky 31 | 5 | 31 | £31 |
| Heinz | 6 | 57 | £57 |
Why anyone uses them
Because they pay something when not everything wins. Two winners from four in a Yankee returns the one double they form, which a straight four-fold would not. The trade is that you are staking eleven times the unit to buy that consolation, and over time the arithmetic of that trade is no better than any other.
The ones with singles
Patent, Lucky 15 and Lucky 31 include singles, which is what separates them from Trixie, Yankee and Canadian. That means one winner returns something, which is why they are popular in racing shops and why they cost more per selection.
Reading the slip
The bet slip states the number of bets and the total stake before you confirm, and it is worth reading that line rather than the stake box.
Unit stake against total stake
Type £2 into a Lucky 15 and you have staked £30, not £2. The slip says so in the total line. This is the single most common cause of somebody getting in touch to ask why more money left their account than they expected, and it is not a fault — it is what the bet is.
Void selections in a full cover
A void selection removes every bet that contained it and the rest stand. A Yankee with one void selection becomes a straightforward treble on the other three, with the stakes on the bets that included the void leg returned. The bet slip page covers what each field is doing.
Each-way multiples
A combination that doubles a stake twice over, and people reach it by accident more often than by design.
An each-way treble is six bets in effect: three win legs combined and three place legs combined, with the stake doubled because each-way always is. A £2 each-way treble therefore costs £4, and an each-way Yankee at a £1 unit costs £22 rather than £11. The slip states the total before confirmation, and on this construction it is genuinely worth reading it rather than glancing at it.
Which to use
A short answer, honestly given.
Reasonable choices
- A single when you have a genuine view about one market
- A double or treble when you have two or three of them
- A Lucky 15 in racing, where the singles carry real value
- A small-stake accumulator for an afternoon of interest
Where it goes wrong
- A Heinz at a stake chosen for a single bet
- Full-cover bets used to disguise a lack of confidence
- Adding a fourth selection because the bet has a name at four
- Not reading the total stake line before confirming
Play at a stake you would happily repeat next Saturday. For a conversation with somebody impartial about it, try 0808 8020 133 at any point. The door opens at 18 and not before.
Common questions
How much does a Lucky 15 cost?
Fifteen times your unit stake. A £1 Lucky 15 costs £15 because it contains fifteen separate bets.
What is the difference between a Trixie and a Patent?
A Patent adds three singles. A Trixie is four bets from three selections; a Patent is seven.
Does a double cost double?
No. A double is one bet on two selections and costs exactly what you stake. It is the full-cover bets that multiply the stake.
What happens if one selection is void in a Yankee?
Every bet containing it is void and those stakes are returned. The remaining bets stand, so a four-selection Yankee effectively becomes a treble.
Are full-cover bets better value?
No. They pay something when not everything wins, but you pay for that with a much larger total stake. The underlying margin is the same.