How to use the bet calculator
- Choose your odds format: fractional (5/1), decimal (6.00) or American (+500). The format applies to every selection.
- Select the bet type. The calculator sets the right number of selections for you. A Yankee gives you four, a Heinz six, a Super Heinz seven, a Goliath eight, and so on.
- Enter your unit stake. That is the stake per bet, not the total. The total stake is worked out for you, so an 11-bet Yankee at £1 costs £11. Tick each-way and the total doubles.
- If you are going each-way, pick the place terms (usually 1/4 or 1/5 the odds).
- Enter each selection's odds and result: Win, Place, Lose or Void.
- Press Calculate and read the result: total stake, total returns (your stake plus winnings) and profit. You can also use Save Bet Slip if you want a URL for that exact setup.
Returns vs profit
Returns are everything the bookmaker pays back, stake included. Profit is returns minus what you staked. £10 at 5/1 returns £60, which is £50 profit plus your £10 back. Bet slips usually quote potential returns, so that is the headline number here too.
Which bet type should I use?
There is no best bet type, only the one that matches how confident you are.
- One strong fancy: a single.
- Several fancies and you want a big price: an accumulator. Use the acca calculator for a straight acca. For trebles generally, see the treble calculator guide.
- Three or four selections and you want a return from one winner: a Patent or a Lucky 15. You pay for the extra bets, but one winner gets something back.
- Four selections and you are fairly sure at least two will land: a Yankee. It is cheaper than a Lucky 15 because it skips the singles.
- Seven or eight selections: Super Heinz or Goliath, covered below. Stakes add up fast — a 50p Goliath is £123.50 — so check the total stake line before you confirm the slip.
For a wider tour of multiples, see the multi-bet calculator guide and what is an acca bet?.
Super Heinz: 7 selections, 120 bets
A Super Heinz is a full-cover bet without singles. You pick seven selections, and the calculator (or the bet slip) puts up 120 bets:
- 21 doubles
- 35 trebles
- 35 four-folds
- 21 five-folds
- 7 six-folds
- 1 seven-fold accumulator
You need at least two winners for any return. One winner returns nothing, because there are no singles. A £1 unit stake costs £120. Each-way doubles that to £240, because every one of the 120 bets is placed to win and to place. If you want to keep the shape of the bet but cut the cost, drop the unit stake — 10p is £12.
Worked example, £1 unit, win only, total stake £120:
- 1.30 Newmarket — Strange Days — 3/1 (4.00)
- 2.00 Newmarket — Onion Bhaji — 5/1 (6.00)
- 2.10 Market Rasen — Violin Concerto — Evens (2.00)
- 3.50 Wolverhampton — Boondock Devil — 10/1 (11.00)
- 4.15 Haydock Park — Commander Koenig — 2/1 (3.00)
- 4.30 Newmarket — Montrose Scallops — 3/1 (4.00)
- 5.10 Haydock Park — Wand of a Left Foot — 16/1 (17.00)
If only the two shortest prices win (Evens and 2/1), just one double is up, returning £6, which is a £114 loss. If all seven win, the 120 bets return £453,552, a profit of £453,432. Most of that sits in the bigger accumulators, not the doubles. Choose Super Heinz in the calculator above to run your own prices.
Goliath: 8 selections, 247 bets
A Goliath is the same idea with eight selections, and it is the biggest standard full-cover bet. It is 247 bets:
- 28 doubles
- 56 trebles
- 70 four-folds
- 56 five-folds
- 28 six-folds
- 8 seven-folds
- 1 eight-fold accumulator
Again, you need at least two winners. A £1 unit costs £247. A 10p unit costs £24.70. Each-way doubles it to 494 bets. Horse racing, football and tennis slips can all take a Goliath, as long as the eight selections are in different events.
The upside is coverage: four winners, for example, already get you all the doubles, trebles and four-folds among those four. The downside is the outlay, and the bookmaker's margin is sitting on every one of those 247 bets. Choose Goliath in the calculator and look at the total stake before you get attached to the eight-fold.
On bet365, opening the Goliath option on the bet slip will also show how the 247 lines are built for the prices you have picked.
Worked example: a £1 Yankee
A Yankee is four selections and 11 bets: 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 four-fold. No singles, so you need two winners for a return. A £1 unit costs £11.
Take four winners at 2/1, 3/1, 5/1 and 6/4 (decimal 3.00, 4.00, 6.00 and 2.50):
If only three win and the 6/4 shot loses, the Yankee returns £81 (three doubles at £12, £18 and £24, plus one treble at £72). Add the four singles and the same four winners become a Lucky 15 — use the Lucky 15 calculator for that version.
Fractional odds (5/1) show your winnings relative to your stake. Decimal odds (6.00) show the total return per £1, stake included, so decimal equals fractional plus one. Evens is 1/1 or 2.00. American odds are positive (+500 means win £500 from £100) or negative (−200 means stake £200 to win £100). This calculator accepts all three. The odds converter also shows implied probability, and How to read American odds walks through the US format in full.
Using a bet calculator with bet365
If you bet with bet365, work out the base returns here first, then apply any offer that is actually on your slip. Boosts, extra places and bonuses change the numbers, and the terms sit with the offer, not in a static list on this page. For each-way place terms on the bet365 slip, see bet365 each-way bets.
Bet calculator FAQs
How do I calculate returns?
Multiply your stake by the decimal odds. For multiples, multiply the decimal odds together first, then multiply by the stake. Or let the calculator do it: pick the bet type, add the stake and the odds, and press Calculate.
What is the difference between a Yankee and a Lucky 15?
Both use four selections. A Yankee is 11 bets and needs two winners. A Lucky 15 is the same 11 bets plus four singles, so it is 15 bets and one winner returns something. Use this page for the Yankee and the Lucky 15 calculator for the Lucky 15.
Does this calculator handle each-way bets?
Yes. Tick each-way, choose the place terms, and the total stake doubles. Place results can be set on each selection. For a dedicated each-way walkthrough, see bet365 each-way bets.
What happens if a selection is void?
That selection is treated as odds of 1.00. A double becomes a single, a treble becomes a double, and so on. Mark it as Void in the calculator. Your total number of bets does not change, but any bet that included the void leg drops down a level.
