What is a double bet?
If you’ve checked out our guide on the single bet and think you’re ready to move on in your betting schooling then you’ve come to the right place. Here we look to answer the question ‘what is a double bet?’.
So, what is a double bet?
A double bet, which is not to be confused with the double chance bet, is where you make two selections from different events. The selections you make can range from anything be it the match result, the goals scored or the fact you think two specific players from different football matches will score in their respective games.
Let’s turn our attention to a real life example. The Euro 2021 qualifying games have just taken place with three home nations – Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland – all in action. For the purposes of this walkthrough, we’ll focus on the match result bet i.e. predicting the outcome of a game in the shape of ‘home win’, ‘away win’ or ‘draw’. This sort of bet will always be settled after 90 minutes (including injury time) unless otherwise stated.
In order to have placed a double bet you would have had to pick the result of two of those games – let’s say Scotland and Northern Ireland both to draw.
In essence, your bet is saying ‘I bet both Scotland and Northern Ireland will draw their games’. You no longer care what happens in the Republic of Ireland game. It’s irrelevant.
How do you win?
Where a double bet is concerned, the predictions from both games have to be correct. In our example, if Northern Ireland drew but Scotland won or lost then the bet is lost. The reverse also applies if Scotland drew but then Northern Ireland won or lost. Again, in this circumstance, the bet is lost.
Only when Northern Ireland and Scotland both draw does the bet win.
How are the odds calculated?
One of the questions beginner bettors often ask is why you’d place a double when you could place two singles. The answer is simple, you’ll receive better odds from the bookmaker. The reason behind this is quite straightforward too – there is more chance of you losing.
The Premier League actions starts again today. Imagine you have £20 to bet with. You think that Liverpool will beat Everton at Goodison Park (odds 5/6) and that Arsenal will win away at Man City (6/1). You could place those wagers separately as below:
£10 stake on Liverpool to win at 5/6 = £8.33 profit
£10 stake on Arsenal to win at 6/1 = £60.00 profit
That gives you a total potential profit of £68.33, however, combine them into a solitary £20 bet aka a double and you’ll see your potential profits climb to £236.60 (odds of 11.83/1).
The reason for this is because your odds get multiplied for each selection in your bet:
Stake * selection odds 1 * selection odds 2
There is method to this madness from a bookies angle though. In our scenario, Liverpool could quite easily beat Everton. In a single bet they’re paying out. With the double though, they use Manchester City – a heavy favourite – to scupper the entire bet meaning they pay out nothing.
Now you’ve read our guide you’ll never have to ask the question ‘what is a double bet?’ again.
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