One of the most popular, and potentially cheapest, cover bets is the Trixie bet. In this post, we will explore how the Trixie bet works, show you examples of the different payouts you can expect from the bet, as well as exploring where a Trixie Bet stands alongside other Full Cover bets, with and without singles.

Why is a Trixie bet so popular? The answer is that it offers punters a chance to enjoy a low-risk, high-reward type of bet, but with the added insurance of not requiring all of your selections for that bet to win in order to generate a return.

So let’s begin by examining the most obvious question first: What is a Trixie Bet?

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What is a Trixie Bet?

A Trixie Bet is a bet that comprises of three selections and four separate bets. It was commonly used initially on horse racing and greyhound racing, but has since been adopted for use across many other sports, notably football. 

In a Trixie Bet, the three selections are grouped together into four separate bets. In this example, we’ll call the three selections Bet A, B and C. 

• Three Doubles (A & B to win, A & C to win, B & C to win)
• One Treble Bet (A, B and C to win)

As there are four different bets that comprise a Trixie, the total stake for your bet will be four times your unit stake. So a £1 Trixie bet would cost £4 to place.

• Three Doubles (£1 on A & B to win, £1 on A & C to win, £1 on B & C to win)
• One Treble Bet (£1 on A, B and C to win)

In order for a Trixie bet to generate a return, you will need at least two of your three selections to win, or all three to generate a considerably larger return. 

We will explore how this happens with a clear example of potential returns from a Trixie bet which we have outlined below.

Trixie Bet Example

In this real-life example, we placed a standard Trixie Bet on the following three horse racing selections:

• 5.30 pm at Chelmsford – Twilight Fun – 9/2
• 7.00 pm at Chelmsford – Maid of Killibegs – 8/1
• 8.30 pm at Chelmsford – Cloud Free – 7/2

We placed the bet as a £1 Trixie Bet, which cost us £4 in total to place. This means that the following outcomes for the bet were covered.

• Win Double – Twilight Fun (9/2) and Maid of Killibegs (8/1) – Total Odds – 48.50/1 
• Win Double – Twilight Fun (9/2) and Cloud Free (7/2) – Total Odds – 23.75/1
• Win Double – Maid of Killibegs (8/1) and Cloud Free (7/2) – Total Odds – 39.50/1
• Treble – Twilight Fun (9/2), Maid of Killibegs (8/1) and Cloud Free (7/2) – Total Odds – 221.75/1 

Potential Payouts for This Trixie Bet

Depending on how the three horses perform, there are multiple possible outcomes this bet could generate for us.

If 0 or 1 horse wins – Then all bets are losers (loss of £4)

If two out of the three horses win, then one of the following payouts will be paid.

• If Twilight Fun & Maid Killibegs win – odds are 48.50/1 – This would be a return of £49.50 (£46.50 profit)
• If Twilight Fun & Cloud Free win – odds are 23.75 – This would be a return of £24.75 (£21.75 profit)
• If Maid Killibegs & Cloud Free win – odds are 39.50/1 – This would be a return of £40.50 (£37.50 profit)

But if all three horses win, then not only are ALL of the above bets paid out as winners, but so is the single treble bet.

• If all three horses win – odds are 221.75/1 – This would be a return of £222.75 for the treble bet.

But you would also add on the three Double bet winning returns as follows:

• £222.75 + £49.50 + £24.75 + £40.50 = £337.50 total return from a £4 total stake.

You can clearly see therefore that the appeal of Trixie bets lies in the potential for a large return from a relatively small initial stake, but with additional bets that can cover your initial stake, or even make a small profit if just two of the three selections win.

And just so you know, this Trixie bet didn't pay out as only one of the horses, Twilight Fun, won the race with Cloud Free finishing third and Maid of Killybeg fifth in their races!

Other Cover Bets

The Trixie is just one of a number of other cover bets, some with single selections, that are available for punters to access on sports betting sites. Each is given a different name based on the number of selections made for that bet.

We have outlined each of these bets below in order.

Full Cover Bets

All the cover bets shown here cover all multiple selection bets that can be made from the number of selections. As you can clearly see, the more selections in a full cover bet, the more bet combinations are required to be covered by a unit stake. 

For example, a £1 Goliath bet would cost £247 to place.

• 3 Selections – Trixie (4 bets)
• 4 Selections – Yankee (11 bets)
• 5 Selections – Canadian or Super Yankee (26 bets)
• 6 Selections – Heinz (57 bets)
• 7 Selections – Super Heinz (120 bets)
• 8 Selections – Goliath (247 bets)

Full Cover Bets With Singles

These bets expand on the Cover bets above and add each of the selections to the bet as a single bet.

With this bet, only one of the selections needs to win to generate a return, however it is difficult to make a profit on these single win bets given the number of bets that need to be covered with a unit stake. 

As with standard Full Cover bets, the more selections that win, the more winning lines you cover and greater your total return is likely to be. 

• 3 Selections – Patent (7 bets)
• 4 Selections – Lucky 15 (15 bets)
• 5 Selections – Lucky 31 (31 bets)
• 6 Selections – Lucky 63 (63 bets)

Trixie bets are easy to understand, place and most betting sites bet slips will show you how much each different line in the bet will pay you if it is successful. 

Always remember to gamble responsibly.

Check out bet365’s Safer Gambling page for more details.

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