Betting can be an absolute minefield, and the many types of bets are confusing especially for people new to the bookies or those unfamiliar with just what’s on offer. Here we will explain the various kind of bets, what they are best used for, and help you understand what it’s all about.

If you are looking to bet on horse racing, greyhounds, football, rugby, darts or just about anything, then choosing the best bet is an important factor to consider.

Simply click the link to find out all about the bet including where to place it, how to place it, how to work out winnings and a whole lot more.

Single Bet

  • Single Bet – a simple bet on a single event or outcome

Multiple Bets.

  • Double Bets – Win or Each Way, Explaining what a double bet is and how it works
  • Treble Bets – Win or Each way a treble is a popular way to win big from a relatively small stake with 3 selections/events
  • Accumulator Bets – One of the big boys of bets, trying to get multiple winners from multiple selections. Most popular with horse racing usually with 4/5 selections, and growing in the football betting World with punters picking up to 20 selections on a single slip!

Cover bets with and without singles

Bets with 3 Selections:

  • Round Robin – 3 selections with 10 bets in total – 3 x doubles, 1 x treble +  3 x up and down bets
  • Trixie Bets – 4 bets from 3 selections, 3 x double bets and 1 x treble
  • Patent – 7 bets 3 x singles, 3 x doubles and 1 x treble.

Bets with 4 selections

  • Yankee Bets – 4 selections covering 11 different bets on 1 betting slip, similar to a lucky 15
  • Lucky 15 Bet – 15 bets from 4 selections offering singles, doubles, trebles and an accumulator.
  • A Flag Bet – Not very popular and rightly so imo. A flag bet consists of 23 separate bets 6 x doubles, 4 x trebles, 1 x fourfold and 6 x up and down bets, it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Bets with 5 selections

  • Canadian –
  • Lucky 31 – 31 bets as the name suggest from 5 selections, 5 x singles, 10 x doubles, 10 x trebles, 5 x four folds/accumulators and 1 x five-fold accumulator. A big bet offering huge returns and a special Lucky 31 bonus from the bookies
  • Super Flag –

Bets with 6 selections

  • Heinz
  • Lucky 63 – The absolute daddy of lucky bets with 6 selections, getting all 6 winners will change your life if the odds are right! 63 bets consisting of 6 x singles, 15 x doubles, 20 x trebles, 15 x four fold accumulators, 6 fivefold accumulators and 1 x sixfold accumulator. 1 Winner gets you some money back with an extra bonus.
  • Alphabet – Not much used nowadays and it’s a complicated one.

Special Bookies Bets

  • Union Jack – 9 selections offering a combination of 8 trebles. Quite a strange one but decent fun but not something we would be advising people to use.

Forecast and Tricast Bets

  • Forecasts- Basically picking a winner and runner-up in a race i.e what will finish 1st and 2nd
  • Reverse forecasts – A reverse forecast means your 2 selections can finish either way around.
  • Tricast Bets – Most popular with greyhound bettors choosing 3 selections to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the same race
  • Reverse/combination tricasts – A reverse aka combination tricast means your 3 selections can finish in any order but this obviously costs more to place.

Read all about forecast or tricast bets including their reverse and combination varieties.

If you are new to betting or looking for some simple advice then maybe you should check out our how to place a bet page.

We know it can be daunting as we all had to lose our betting shop virginity at some time, not one for bragging but I was 14 years old when I first entered my local high street bookies and placed a bet on my own, now 38 at least the experience means I can pass on some knowledge to others.

What is the best kind of bet to place?

That all depends on how many selections, your budget, the prices, and a whole load of other variables. It’s not really a question we can answer with limited information.

The Best bet to place however has to be the bet the bookies don’t like, and that’s an each way double.

Most punters like a certain kind of bet, it’s normally one they have won big on in the past but often it’s down to budget. Those with deep pockets will back every race on the nose for a big stake, those betting more for fun or socially might prefer a small 10p lucky 15 which gives them 4 races covered for just £1.50 and the chance of a decent return.

When you’ve decided what bet to place and hopefully got a win, come back and use our bet calculator to see just how much you have won. It works out all the above for you with just a couple of clicks.

No matter which bet you choose please do so wisely, and bet responsibly.