Pros and cons
There are many positives to this type of betting including that you don’t need to be successful in all of your selections to get anything back but the Yankee bet isn’t without its negatives.
Pros
- Safety – The Yankee bet offers you a safety net if some of your bet selections fail. They offer a buffer so that if you pick some bad bets, you can still secure some of the money. You need to win at least two of your selections to get your money back.
- Multiple bets – The nature of the Yankee bet allows you to place bets on multiple different things, this could be sports, racing, and more. There are multiple outlets for you to win and make money out of.
- High reward potential – If you place your bets well and put in enough money at the start (doesn’t even have to be that much per bet) then you can make a lot of money off of Yankee bets. The fourfold accumulator is specifically helpful for maximising your rewards so place it carefully!
Cons
- Complex mathematics – It can be difficult when placing a Yankee bet to calculate all of the outcomes including the possible losses and possible wins. As there are so many parts and layers to the bet due to the different odds for different bets it can become quite complicated quite quickly.
- High stakes – Yankee bets come with a high starting price. This is because the bets must be of equal value (if you bet €2 on one then you have to bet €2 on the rest meaning you’d have to bet €22) and so it can get expensive fast, even if you’re only betting a small amount on each bet, it soon adds up. The initial investment can be larger than most other types of bets.
- No guaranteed winnings – All bets carry a risk – it wouldn’t be betting without the familiar feeling – but Yankee bets can carry quite a high risk. Despite having a safety net, you aren’t immune to losses, and combined with the high stakes of a Yankee bet, expensive losses can be made.
- Lots of selection – This could be put as a positive or negative depending on what type of person you are but selection can be overwhelming to some, especially newer bettors. Within a Yankee bet, there are eleven different bets to place, and that’s after you’ve made your selection of matches or races. For someone not confident with betting yet, it can be difficult to make so many decisions with the looming threat of high losses. However, some bettors will enjoy the selection so it depends on what you’re like as a bettor and your confidence in your bets.
Parts of the Yankee bet
A Yankee bet can be a very powerful tool in the gambling world once you’ve understood the different aspects of the bet including how to place one (obviously important) and strategies. Learning how to increase your odds and winning will help you place the best bets and maximise your winnings.
- Four selections – In a Yankee bet, you have to place your selection of 11 bets across four matches or races. The bet relies on your ability to bet smartly and sensibly across your four selections. Your selections could be in football, cricket, Gaelic Games, or even horse racing. But even within these selections, you have to place your bets carefully and examine the odds, possible losses, and everything involved before handing over your money.
- Eleven bets – Once, you’ve selected your four matches, you must place 6 doubles, four trebles, and one fourfold accumulator. A double is a multiple bet consisting of two selections, both of which must win to gain a return. A treble is a multiple bet consisting of three selections, all of which must win to gain a return. An accumulator, also known as an acca, is a bet that combines multiple selections into a single wager that gains a return only when all parts win.
Yankee bet results
There are many different ways you can win money in a Yankee bet due to all of the smaller, individual 11 bets you’ve placed. In general, there are a few ways the bets can go, you can either get: all wins, mixed wins, or no wins but the specifics of the bet will change based on the odds and how much you bet.
- All wins – As it sounds, if all of your bets are successful then you are in for a treat as this is the best outcome and can make you a lot of money. Even when you bet a smaller amount, you can expect a nice return on your bet. The fourfold accumulator will pay well but don’t forget about your double bets and trebles!
- Mixed wins – Even if not all of your bets succeed you can still make some money. You’ll miss out on the fourfold accumulator but depending on where you’ve placed your other bets, you can potentially win more money than you initially bet. However, to guarantee a return on your bet, at least two of your four selections must be successful.
- No wins – This is pretty self-explanatory, if all your bets are unsuccessful then you will lose out on any reward, sacrificing the money and losing out.
Here are some examples of potential outcomes:
Imagine you place a €1 Yankee bet on the following football matches:
- Manchester City to beat Manchester United (Odds: 2.00)
- Arsenal to draw with Tottenham (Odds: 3.50)
- Shamrock Rovers to win against Derry (Odds: 1.75)
- Real Madrid to defeat Barcelona (Odds: 2.25)
Scenario 1: All Wins (Four-fold Accumulator):
If all four selections come through, you’ll hit the jackpot! Your four-fold accumulator will pay out at 2.00 x 3.50 x 1.75 x 2.25 = 21.81 times your original stake. In this case, a €1 bet translates to a pleasing €21.81 return.
Scenario 2: Mixed Results (Trebles and Doubles):
Even if not all selections are accurate, you can still turn a profit. For example, if Manchester City, Shamrock Rovers, and Real Madrid win as predicted, while Arsenal’s match ends in a defeat, though you miss the four-fold accumulator, you still win on three trebles (Manchester City + Shamrock Rovers + Real Madrid) and three doubles (Manchester City + Shamrock Rovers, Shamrock Rovers + Real Madrid, and Real Madrid + Manchester City). These wins accumulate, potentially exceeding your initial stake.
Strategies for Yankee Betting
- Research – Like when placing most bets, you should do some background research on the teams or players. Don’t let your choices be clouded by being a fan of a specific club, this bias could be the downfall of your bet. You want to bet on those that you are confident about winning and you want to be confident because of your research not because you’re a fan of the team.
- Maths – Work out the maths, I know it’s not fun but it’s an important part of betting. You want to be aware of not only your possible winnings but also your possible losses so you can keep yourself safe when betting.
- Where you place the bets – You should place the different types of bets on the matches or races that you are most confident are going to win as it will make you more money. For example, the four treble bets are placed across three of your choices, you should place them on the three matches or games that you are most confident in to try and optimise your winnings – this is the same with the double bets.
Calculating winnings
Like with all bets, when considering how much to bet or whether to even bet at all, you should work out the possible winnings and weigh them up with the possible losses. This can be done quite easily when calculating your winnings if all your bets are successful but it can get more difficult when trying to work out a mixed win scenario.
When doing the calculations, you can opt to do it manually, writing it out and using mental maths or you can choose to use one of the betting calculators on offer. If you’re working it out manually then you’ll want to determine the individual payouts by multiplying the odds of the winning selections – easier said than done, we know! Most people opt to use online betting calculators, which we’d recommend for ease and increased accuracy.
Conclusion
Put in its simplest form, a Yankee bet is a large bet that ties together eleven smaller bets from your selection of four matches, games of races. It becomes a lot less complicated when you break the bet down to each part and take it step by step. It can seem intimidating with the talk about double bets and treble bets dispersed among the fourfold accumulator that ties all the bets together but it’s simpler than you think.
Whilst the Yankee bet has and will continue to reap large rewards for people, that’s no reason to dismiss the possible losses that may come with this type of bet. The larger the possible wins, the larger the possible losses (not always the case, but such incredible luck is as common as people like to think). It’s important to calculate the losses and consider the risk that it would pose to your bank account – betting should not only be fun but safe.
