As much as we all like to see ourselves as bookies bashers in the making, it’s often hard to achieve a serious payout on a single win bet. Most often we adjust our stakes based on the odds, so will lump on at even money, but be much more conservative on a 18-1 shot for instance. This makes sense of course, but at the same time limits of chances of a genuinely big win. That’s where it can make sense to go the multiples route. Sure, common sense tells you that any given multiple bet you do isn’t going to result in easy money, but at least when you do get a good result, you get a really good one!
If picking a tonne of selections day in, day out and hoping for a win before you croak has too much of a ‘lottery’ aspect it to for your liking, it’s worth remembering that a multiple bet can consist of as few as two selections. Betting on a double (a bet on two selections where both must win – with the exception of ‘each-way’ doubles) isn’t exactly ‘going out on a limb’ if the selections you have in mind are based on sound logic and reading the form. In fact if you’re confident of your bet it can be something of a no-brainer to bet on a double even if your selections are individually relatively short priced. Case in point, you have a £10 stake on this horse racing double:
‘Romp Home’ at odds of 2-1
‘Can’t Lose, Won’t Lose’ at 3-1
If ‘Romp Home’ wins you make £20 profit (£30 including your stake). This £30 bet then rides on your second selection ‘Can’t Lose, Won’t Lose’ and if that wins adds another £90 so you have £120 in total or £110 profit minus your original £10 bet.
Doubles are very common with football bets too. You’ll often see them highlighted in a bookmakers windows. ‘Chelsea to win with X to score first’ or something along those lines. It’s a popular punt to make nowadays.
As you can see from the example, when you’re betting on reasonably likely outcomes or even favourites, it doesn’t take a lot to go your way for a small initial bet to make a tidy profit. Now extend that to trebles and beyond and you can see the potential in multiples.