From a simple double to a full Yankee, multiple bets are a staple of Irish betting culture — particularly on horse racing and Saturday football. This guide explains every main bet type, how to calculate returns with real-looking examples, and the honest maths on why multiples always cost more in the long run than singles.
Singles, Doubles, Trebles and Beyond
A single is a bet on one selection. A double combines two selections — both must win, and the odds multiply together. A treble does the same with three selections. Beyond that, any combination of four or more selections is called a 4-fold, 5-fold, and so on (collectively called accumulators).
Return calculation: multiply the decimal odds together and multiply by the stake.
Example: Team A at 1.80, Team B at 2.50, Team C at 1.60 as a treble.
1.80 × 2.50 × 1.60 = 7.20. A €10 treble returns €72 if all three win. If Team C loses, the treble loses — and you get nothing back.
Quick-Reference Table: Bet Types
| Bet name | Selections | Number of bets | Minimum winners for any return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Double | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Treble | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 4-fold accumulator | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Trixie | 3 | 4 (3 doubles + 1 treble) | 2 |
| Patent | 3 | 7 (3 singles + 3 doubles + 1 treble) | 1 |
| Yankee | 4 | 11 (6 doubles + 4 trebles + 1 four-fold) | 2 |
| Lucky 15 | 4 | 15 (4 singles + 6 doubles + 4 trebles + 1 four-fold) | 1 |
| Heinz | 6 | 57 (all doubles/trebles/4-folds/5-folds + 1 six-fold) | 2 |
Patent, Trixie and Yankee: How Full Cover Bets Work
Full cover bets place your selections into every possible combination of doubles, trebles and accumulators — with or without singles. The advantage is that you can return a profit even if not all selections win. The cost is that you are placing many more bets for the same unit stake.
Trixie (3 selections, 4 bets): Contains 3 doubles and 1 treble. Needs at least 2 winners to return anything. At €1 per line, costs €4. If 2 of your 3 selections win at 2.0 each, you get back €4 from the winning double — roughly your stake back.
Patent (3 selections, 7 bets): Contains 3 singles, 3 doubles and 1 treble. At €1 per line, costs €7. If only one selection wins at 2.5, you get back €2.50 — a loss on the overall bet but some recovery. If all three win at 2.5, the Patent returns a substantial multiple of your total stake.
Yankee (4 selections, 11 bets): No singles — 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 four-fold. Needs at least 2 winners. At €1 per line, costs €11. This is one of the most popular multiple formats at Irish betting shops and online, particularly for horse racing.
Why Multiples Appeal to Irish Punters
The appeal is straightforward: a small stake can produce a life-changing return. A 5-fold football acca at 5/1 each leg returns over 7,000% of your stake if all five land. For horse racing, same-day accumulators on five winners from an afternoon card are a traditional Irish pastime — Cheltenham week sees more multiple bets placed in Ireland than any other week of the year.
Multiples also offer psychological engagement: you are watching five or six events with direct financial interest in all of them simultaneously, with the excitement compounding as each selection lands.
Honest EV Comparison: Multiples vs Singles
The maths is unambiguous: if a bookmaker's per-selection margin is negative for you (which it is for virtually all recreational bettors), combining selections in multiples makes expected value worse, not better. The margin compounds.
At a 5% per-leg margin: a single returns €0.95 on average per €1 staked. A double returns €0.95 × €0.95 = €0.9025. A treble returns €0.857. A 5-fold returns €0.774. The exciting potential return comes at the cost of an increasingly poor expected return. Multiples are fun, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying them — but go in knowing the maths.
Frequently Asked Questions
A double combines two selections; both must win. The decimal odds multiply together. Two selections at 2.0 each produce odds of 4.0 — a €10 double returns €40 if both land.
A Patent covers 3 selections with 7 bets (3 singles, 3 doubles, 1 treble). Because it includes singles, you get a return even if only one selection wins. It costs 7× your unit stake.
A Trixie is 3 selections in 4 bets (no singles); a Patent is 3 selections in 7 bets (includes singles). The Patent costs more but returns something from a single winner; the Trixie needs at least 2 winners.
A Yankee covers 4 selections in 11 bets (6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 four-fold). No singles are included, so you need at least 2 winners to see a return. At €1/line, a Yankee costs €11.
No. The bookmaker's per-selection margin compounds with each leg. At a 5% margin per selection, a 5-fold returns only €0.77 on average for every €1 staked, versus €0.95 for a single. Multiples are more exciting but offer worse expected value.