How Multi Bets Work
Multiples betting, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a form of betting that combines multiple bets into one. Whether it’s a Money Line, Handicap or an Over/Under (or any other available market type), when you place a bet with one selection it’s known as a Single. When you combine more than one selection into one bet it becomes a Multiple. Yes, you can make prop bets on live games. Live betting lines are available during every major sporting event. In-play props give you the chance to bet on every drive, play, at-bat, and kick. In-play betting is the fastest-growing type of sports wagering, and prop bets make up a greater part of the action.
How to Bet On Sports > Betting Units Won Explained
How do same-game multi bets work? If your bookmaker offers same-game multi bets - like Betfair and Paddy Power - the option to add selections will appear at the top of your bet slip. For example, if you add a Total Cards bet, a Total Goals bet and a Total Corners bet from the same football match to your slip, you can opt to combine them into a multiple bet or place single bets in the. You will then repeat that process however many times is necessary – for example, if you have placed multiple bets – and then may also be able to add information related to Dead Heats or any situation when Rule 4 may have come into play. The latter offers compensation in the event that a horse withdraws from a race after a bet is placed.
While winning percentage may be the first stat you see when evaluating sports bets, Betting Units Won is the most important number when evaluating a betting system or handicapper’s true worth. Units Won is the amount of money a group of plays won or lost after factoring in juice. It is a simple way to compare a group of plays regardless of a player’s bankroll.
To determine the betting units won on different juices you can use the formula below (where x = odds.)
• if x > 0 use, (x/100)
• if x < 0 use, (-100/x)
If North Carolina is a 3-point favorite over Duke with the juice at -115, then you would use -115 for x in the in the second formula.
(-100/-115) = 0.8696
If North Carolina covered the spread, you would have won +0.87 “units” for that play. If UNC doesn’t cover, you would lose one unit or -1 “units”.
At Sports Insights, our goal is to help members make more-informed decisions. We make it simple to follow plays and try to be as transparent as possible with our results. We bet a single “unit” on each of our Betting System plays factoring in the juice to calculate the amount won or lost on each play. We never change the bet amount, which allows members to compare apples to apples when evaluating our results across seasons and betting systems, many of which go back to 2003.
On the site you’ll see results for our Betting Systems displayed in boxes like the one below. We make it easy for members to gauge a strategy’s true worth by doing the “Units Won” calculations for you. To calculate your earnings, simply multiply your standard wager by the units won.
From the table above a $50 bettor would be up $340.00 at this point on the season for the NFL Steam Moves. [6.8 (units) x $50 = $340.00]
At Sports Insights, we recommend using a standard bet amount for all of your plays. We suggest using 2% of your bankroll for each selection, but some people like to use up to 5%. Whatever percentage you choose, keep it consistent throughout the season. This will allow you to spread out your risk and ride the highs and lows of the sports betting marketplace to turn a profit. If you are enjoying a good season early on, be careful about increasing your bet amount. If this is the case, we recommend only altering it once at around mid-season, and keeping it the same percentage of your new bankroll.
Not all “Units Won” are created equal. Betting Units Won is abused by handicappers so much that is has little or no worth on most handicapping sites. They may use a 10- or 20-unit bet for most plays, but then make 100-unit “locks” to inflate their results or as a dubious attempt to get back to even on the season for advertising purposes. Unless a handicapper clearly defines how they calculate their units won, and uses a standard bet amount throughout the season, don’t believe a word they say.
Betting Units Won vs. Winning Percentage
While both “Units Won” and winning percentage can be telling when evaluating a group of plays, the sample size (number of plays) is also an important piece of information to look at. Some bettors use a strategy that is referred to as the Wal-Mart approach. With this strategy, bettors are hoping to grind out a profit through a higher quantity of plays, which allows bettors to spread around their risk in the sports betting marketplace.
In the table above, Pinnacle has a lower winning percentage than Phoenix, but it also has a higher profit for the season due to triggering more than double the number of plays. Spreading risk around allows bettors to ride the highs and lows of the season and still turn a profit. This approach requires bettors to be steadfast with their betting amounts. At Sports Insights, we recommend using 2% of your starting bankroll for each wager. (For more information, read Betting Unit Size.) Fluctuations in your standard bet will most likely cause more damage during the lows than it will help during the highs.
Spreading the risk around in the sports betting marketplace is similar to building a diverse portfolio in the stock market. It lessens the damage done by a rough stretch in the market. If a bettor is starting out with a $100 bankroll, and decides to use $25 wagers, there is a good chance the bankroll would be decimated by an early cold streak. However, if that same bettor makes $2 wagers, he can withstand any early cold streaks to remain in the market and realize positive gains. For example, Sports Insights betting strategies will produce 5-10 plays on an average day with an expected 54-55% win percentage. Instead of betting two games at $50 each, we suggest you bet 2% of your bankroll on 10 plays.
Moneyline Sports vs. Spread Sports
Many bettors like to stay away from moneyline-based sports, such as baseball and hockey, due to the extremes in winning percentages, but they can be very profitable. Betting on the underdog in moneyline sports will likely give you a losing record, but the payouts for winners will be so much higher that your profits will increase. Below is a section of a results page for MLB Smart Money plays. Notice that five out the six books have losing records for the triggered plays, but that all six have significant units won due to underdog payouts.
The other side of the coin is betting on favorites, which will give you a strong winning percentage, but can still produce a loss in money. Betting on teams like the Yankees or Red Wings will consistently put your odds in the -200s or higher. If you average odds of -200, you would need that team to win 67% of the time to break even. If your average odds go any higher, you’ll need to win 70% or more to not lose money.
For example, if you wager on the Yankees every game of the season (162 games) and they average -200 odds for the season, you would need them to win 109 games just to break even. To turn any substantial profit you would need them to break the single-season win record (116).
Okay bettors, you know what “units won” means, and you want to win some “Units” right? So put that knowledge to use pronto and strike while the iron is hot!
But When Should I Use A Multi?
The answer is almost never.
How Multi Bets Worksheets
However, we know professional punters who use it for two distinct purposes.
The first is to make their account look less intelligent than it is. Seriously. If you’re a sophisticated punter who beats online bookmakers with a strategy, then you need to have other bets littered through your account history. That way you’re less likely to get your account closed or restricted when it is reviewed.
For example, if you win on the punt by exclusively backing generous promotions ($2 for Winx, max bet $50) and on AFL 24Up promotions, then you may need to have other bets on your account. If you can break up those successful $50-500 with $10 AFL and NRL multis each round, then your account will look less intelligent. It will make your strike rate and average bet size numbers come down as well as filling up your account history with bets that bookies love to see (multis!).
The second example is sharp horse racing punters who have a similar intention, whilst using the multiplication factor to their advantage.
How Do Multi Bets Work
If a horse racing punter is confident that their three best bets for the day are going to shorten significantly from their current fixed odds, then they can multi them together in different combinations. The bets will look less sophisticated and the punter can get his wagers accepted to win a higher amount than he would normally be able to do.
How Sports Bets Work
If the three horses are $2.50 but will start at $2 then you can see the punter’s profit compounding:
Two Leg Multi
Real odds (according to the starting price): $2 x $2 = $4.00
Professional Punter’s Multi: $2.50 x $2.50 = $6.25
Three Leg Multi
Real odds: $2 x $2 x $2 = $8.00
Professional Punter’s multi: $2.50 x $2.50 x $2.50 = $15.63
The professional punter is multiplying his considerable advantage over the market and getting odds that are 50-100% greater than the starting price.
Whilst this is an extreme and rare example you can see what some professional punters are able to with multiples.
The BIG thing to remember, however, is that they are beating the starting price with each betting option. You’ll find it almost impossible to achieve these returns on sports betting, where the markets are less volatile.