If you have asked what is a trixie bet in football, it is a wager that involves three different outcomes. However, it is not as simple as combining the quartet of outcomes together in the same way as an accumulator (or ACCA as some people call them) would be pieced together. Instead, the three outcomes are combined four times.
Sometimes Four Legs Are Better Than Three
The trixie bet is a good option for punters who want to place several bets but want greater protection than double and treble bets provide. Similar to a treble, this type of wager allows you to still win money even if one of the teams they are betting on fails to win.
While there are other examples when it comes to betting multiples. For example, Yankees and Lucky 15s let gamblers combine 11 and 15 wagers into one combined bet. As a result, some of the picks may end up not getting over the line, but the bet itself will still eventually be a winner.
In these instances, as long as the majority of selections are those of a winning persuasion, there should be enough in the way of accrued profits to then absorb any losing selections that have been denied in the final minute.
Of course, the same level of insurance is not afforded to those who place standard accumulators or even a double or treble for that matter. There may be an element of acca insurance when it comes to a five-fold (win four legs and get your stake back) but these wagers are largely sudden death.
It only takes one team to let you down and the bookmakers are celebrating another success – something that seasoned, or even new sports bettors will largely be keen to avoid and for this reason, the placing of trixies has become far more popular in recent years.
WORLD CUP FEVER
If we were to add further light on a trixie bet definition it would look something like this:
With the World Cup waiting just around the corner, this would be the perfect environment to place the bet in question and as there are so many high-profile fixtures to choose from, here are the three picks that will make up our trixie.
Netherlands to beat Senegal – 1.60
Denmark to beat Tunisia – 1.45
Croatia to beat Morocco – 2.00
If this was placed as a standard treble the odds would be 4.64/1. However, the bet is considerably different when placing a trixie. First there are four combinations of bets that must be placed, and the stakes are all of equal value:
Netherlands and Denmark will win
Denmark and Croatia will win
Netherlands and Croatia will win
All three selections win in a treble
The World Cup Always Generates Plenty Of Betting Activity
Which means if a £1 stake was to be placed on the treble above, the same £1 stake would have to be placed four times (the three doubles and the one treble), meaning the total stake is increased to £4. Then again, you could just as easily split your original stake by four and place 25p bets instead.
If we stay on the assumption that £1 stakes were to be placed four times over, the potential winnings will look as follows:
Selection 1 Stake £1.00 Odds £2.32 To Return £2.32
Selection 2 Stake £1.00 Odds £3.20 To Return £3.20
Selection 3 Stake £1.00 Odds £2.90 To Return £2.90
Selection 4 Stake £1.00 Odds £4.64 To Return £4.64
If all three of your World Cup predictions were correct, you would end up winning all four of the bets above. While in doing so, you would manage to earn yourself £13.06 in the process – a £9.06 return on your original stake.
While if two of the three predictions got over the line and one fell short, some money would still be returned by the bookmakers – even if it becomes less than the total stake placed.
Example 1)
Netherlands and Denmark win but Croatia lose – Return £2.32 Total Stake £4.00 = £1.68 loss
Example 2)
Denmark and Croatia win but Netherlands lose – Return £3.20 Total Stake £4.00 = 80p loss
Example 3)
Netherlands and Croatia win but Denmark lose – Return £2.90 Total Stake £4.00 = £1.10 loss
As you can see all these three examples offer a negative return on investment and although that is far from ideal, things would be far worse if the three nations were picked in a standard treble and only two were winners.
In that scenario, there is nothing in the way of a safety net to protect prospective punters. In our trixie scenario, you do get something back for your efforts and perhaps more importantly, it allows you to go again next time.
THE SAFETY NET
While although the safety net is rather big, it is not big enough to mop up a single win. If only one of the Netherlands, Denmark or Croatia win after 90 minutes and the other two fall way short of expectations, that is enough to pay out any insurance.
The Safety Net Is Big But Not That Big
For any winnings to be returned, two is a good start but a third is even better.
But why bet four times the stake when it eats into your potential profits? By making this move or reduce the element of risk that is involved. Yes, it may eat into your winnings at the same time but if you are playing the long game when it comes to profitability this is no bad thing either.
To simply the definition further, other multiple bets don’t provide the same level of security as trixie bets provide. The trixie bet is an option to consider for bettors who want to increase their betting experience while still having a decent possibility of making a return on their investment.
Which means next time you are planning on bashing the bookies, make sure not to lump all your eggs into one basket, as a combination of bets may prove to be more beneficial than you first thought.
