Heinz Bet: Ireland's Complete Guide

A Heinz bet covers 6 selections in 57 individual bets — every possible combination of doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds and one six-fold accumulator. The name comes directly from the Heinz brand's famous “57 Varieties” slogan. At €1 per bet, a Heinz costs exactly €57 in stake. Here is everything you need to understand it before placing one.

What Is a Heinz Bet?

A Heinz is a full cover bet across 6 selections with no singles. It generates 57 bets by combining your selections in every possible grouping of two or more:

The maths behind the counts: for doubles, you are choosing 2 items from 6, which is 6×5÷2 = 15. For trebles, 6×5×4÷6 = 20. And so on down to the single six-fold.

Why Is It Called a Heinz?

HJ Heinz launched its “57 Varieties” advertising campaign in 1896, based on a train advertisement Henry Heinz saw for shoes with “21 styles”. The company adopted 57 as a marketing number even though it already made more products than that. The number stuck and became iconic. Bookmakers matched it to the 57-bet combination across 6 selections, and the name was born. It is one of the more memorable terms in betting, which is probably why full-cover bets on 7 and 8 selections are called Super Heinz and Goliath respectively, rather than anything more technical.

Minimum Wins Required and a Worked Example

The smallest bets in a Heinz are doubles, so at least 2 selections must win for any return. If only 1 wins, all 57 bets lose.

Here is a concrete example at €1 per bet (€57 total stake), with 4 horse racing selections winning at the following odds and 2 losing:

• Horse A: 3/1 (wins) → decimal 4.0
• Horse B: 2/1 (wins) → decimal 3.0
• Horse C: 5/2 (wins) → decimal 3.5
• Horse D: 4/1 (wins) → decimal 5.0
• Horse E: 7/2 (loses)
• Horse F: 5/1 (loses)

With 4 winners, you land: all doubles involving only the 4 winners (there are 6 such doubles), all trebles involving only the 4 winners (4 trebles), and the one four-fold of A×B×C×D. No five-folds or six-fold win because E and F lost. The five-folds and six-fold that include only winners from {A,B,C,D} do not exist — you need at least 5 of your 6 to win for a five-fold to land. Result: a decent profit driven mainly by the trebles and four-fold, but far short of an all-six winner. This is the classic Heinz experience: partial success pays, but the big return needs most selections to win.

Heinz vs Super Heinz vs Goliath

All three share the same minimum threshold of 2 winners (because doubles are the smallest component in each), but the stakes scale dramatically. A Goliath at €1 per bet requires a €247 outlay. Most Irish punters who want more coverage beyond a Heinz move to 50p or 25p per bet to keep stakes manageable.

When to Use a Heinz

Horse racing is the natural home of the Heinz in Ireland. Cheltenham week, Punchestown, and the Galway Races all see heavy Heinz traffic because punters have multiple each-way fancies across a card. The full-cover structure means a few unexpected big-price winners can generate a significant return even if your other selections disappoint.

Football Heinz bets work well across a Saturday card where you have 6 confident match-result picks. The downside: a 0–0 or a late equaliser on one game kills a lot of your combinations. For football, many punters prefer a straight accumulator for the big return or a doubles and trebles combination for a lower stake.

Pros: you do not need all 6 to win; multiple small wins can combine into a worthwhile return; easier to manage than keeping track of individual accas.

Cons: €57 minimum stake for €1 bets; two or three winners at short odds may not cover the full outlay; the six-fold return requires all 6 selections to land.

Frequently Asked Questions