Betting Guide » Types of Sports Bets

Single Bets

The most popular form of sports betting. Every sports bookmaker offer single bets and example of single bets include placing a bet on a team to win head to head against their opponent, betting on a team to win the premiership, betting on the Brownlow medal winner, etc.

Line Betting

Line betting is also a popular form of betting. The concept of line betting is that a match is handicapped by the bookmaker. For example, if one side is considered a 10.5 point better side than their opponent, you would be able to back this side to win by more than 10.5 points, or you can back their opponent to lose by no more than 10.5 points or win the match. While prices may very, the usual dividend for this market will be $1.90

Margin Betting

Another popular form of betting, margin betting allows you to place bets on teams based on the margin. There are standard margins which the Australian bookies use. For example, in AFL betting the margins available are for a team to win Under 39.5 points or Over 39.5 points. In Basketball the margins available are Under 10.5 points or Over 10.5 points and in Rugby Union/League its Under 12.5 points or Over 12.5 Points. These are the standard margins throughout Australia, but a lot of bookies offer different margins on top of the standard ones for punters to bet on.

Multiple Betting

Multiple Betting (aka Multi-Bet, Parlay Bet, All-Up, Accumulator) has become a increasingly popular form of betting for punters wanting to find extra value. A multi-bet involves picking the winners of between two and twelve events/legs. The idea is for a punter to pick a variable of matches to bet on and the odds are multiplied. An example would be if you placed $100 on a multi-bet consisting of Carlton to win at $2.00, Essendon to win at $3.00 and Collingwood to win at $5.00. If all three teams in the example won, you would collect $3,000 which is calculated by multiplying your initial $100 stake by odds of $30 ($2.00 x $3.00 x $5.00). Please note: All legs of your multi must win for your bet to be successful.

Parlay Betting

Parlay (aka Multi-Box) betting is similar to multi-betting, but with a few differences. It's a simplified way of placing a multi-bet as there are a set number of combinations to bet on (as listed below). Each Parlay has a set number of legs but when you select a Parlay, you are choosing all possible combinations of multi-bets for that number of legs. In addition, some parlays also include single bets on each selection or leg. The main advantage of taking parlays compared to multi-bets is that if not all of your legs are successful, you can still win on the successful legs, when on multi-bets if one of your legs lose then your bet is a failure. The disadvantage of parlays is that they cost a lot more to put on as your paying for each individual leg.

Parlays Explained in Detail

Trixie - (3 legs - no single bets - $4)
4 bets on three legs. ($4 total for a $1 bet).
1 x 3-leg multi; 3 x 2-leg multi.

Patent - (3 legs with three single bets - $7)
7 bets on three legs. ($7 total for a $1 bet).
1 x 3-leg multi; 3 x 2-leg multi and 3 single bets.

Yankee - (4 legs - no single bets - $11)
11 bets on four legs. ($11 total for a $1 bet).
1 x 4-leg multi; 4 x 3-leg multi; 6 x 2-leg multi.

Lucky 15 - (4 legs – 4 single bets - $15)
15 bets on four legs ($15 total for a $1 bet).
1 x 4-leg multi; 4 x 3-leg multi; 6 x 2-leg multi and 4 single bets.

Super Yankee - (5 legs – no single bets - $26)
26 bets on five legs. ($26 for a $1 bet).
1 x 5-leg multi; 5 x 4-leg multi; 10 x 3-leg multi;
10 x 2-leg multi.

Lucky 31 - (5 legs – 5 single bets - $31)
31 individual bets on five legs. ($31 for a $1 bet).
1 x 5-leg multi; 5 x 4-leg multi; 10 x 3-leg multi; 10 x 2-leg multi and 5 single bets.

Heinz - (6 legs – no single bets - $57)
57 individual bets on six legs. ($57 for a $1 bet).
1 x 6-leg multi; 6 x 5-leg multi; 15 x 4-leg multi; 20 x 3-leg multi; 15 x 2-leg multi.

Lucky 63 - (6 legs – 6 single bets - $63)
63 individual bets on six legs. ($63 for a $1 bet).
1 x 6-leg multi; 6 x 5-leg multi; 15 x 4-leg multi; 20 x 3-leg multi; 15 x 2-leg multi and 6 single bets.

Super Heinz - (7 legs – no single bets -$120)
120 individual bets on seven legs. ($120 for $1 bet).
1 x 7-leg multi; 7 x 6-leg multi; 21 x 5-leg multi; 35 x 4-leg multi; 35 x 3-leg multi; 21 x 2-leg multi.

Goliath - (8 legs – no single bets - $247)
247 bets on eight legs. ($247 for $1 bet).
1 x 8-leg multi; 8 x 7-leg multi; 28 x 6-leg multi; 56 x 5-leg multi; 70 x 4-leg multi; 56 x 3-leg multi; 28 x 2-leg multi.

Visual Guide to Parlay Bets

  Max Legs 8 Legs 7 Legs 6 Legs 5 Legs 4 Legs 3 Legs 2 Legs Singles Total Bets
Trixie 3 - - - - - 1 3 - 4
Patent 3 - - - - - 1 3 3 7
Yankee 4 - - - - 1 4 6 - 11
Lucky 15 4 - - - - 1 4 6 4 15
Super Yankee 5 - - - 1 5 10 10 - 26
Lucky 31 5 - - - 1 5 10 10 5 31
Heinz 6 - - 1 6 15 20 15 - 57
Lucky 63 6 - - 1 6 15 20 15 6 63
Super Heinz 7 - 1 7 21 35 35 21 - 120
Goliath 8 1 8 28 56 70 56 28 - 247