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Single Bet Calculator

Make a Profit – No Matter the Outcome of Your Bets

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Bet Options

£

Selections

Outcome
Odds
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Summary

– bets of £ – each
Total Stake
£ –
Total Return
£ –
Total Profit
£ –
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Make a Profit – No Matter the Outcome of Your Bets

Make over £600 from bookmaker welcome offers using Matched Betting.

Single Bets Explained

A Single Bet is a wager placed on the outcome of a single event. If you predict the outcome correctly, you receive a payout based on your stake and the odds offered. If you lose, the bookmaker keeps your stake.

When you win, the bookmaker returns your stake, plus an additional profit, which is your stake multiplied by the odds (assuming you’re using fractional odds, e.g. 4/1). The higher the odds, the bigger your payout.

Try selections with different odds in the Single Bet calculator to see what returns your could get.

As the most basic type of bet, it can be found at any bookmaker worldwide and used on any sport or event. While the possible events you can bet on (also known as ‘markets’) have expanded over time, the principle of the bet itself has remained unchanged.

One common betting strategy is to place single bets on outcomes that you believe are more likely to happen than the odds suggest. This is called a ‘value’ bet. While there is no guarantee of winning on a single bet, over the long term, if you correctly identify value bets, you should end up in profit.

Single Bet Example

You can load this example into the Single Bet calculator by clicking here.

For example, imagine you are betting on a football match between Manchester United and Chelsea. The bookmaker offers the following odds:

Manchester United to win: 3/1

If you place a £10 Single Bet on Manchester United to win at 3/1 odds, your payout is calculated as follows:

Profit: £10 × (3/1) = £30

Total return: £30 profit + £10 original stake = £40

If Manchester United don’t win the match, you lose your £10 stake.

Each Way Single Bets

One variation of a Single Bet is an Each Way bet. This is commonly found in horse racing or other events where participants can finish in different positions.

An Each Way bet is actually made up of two bets:

1. A Single Bet on your selection to win the event.

2. A separate bet on your selection to ‘place’ within a certain number of positions (e.g. finishing 3rd or better).

The places your selection is allowed to finish in varies depending on the number of participants, the bookmaker, and the sport.

If your selection wins, both bets pay out (1st place fulfills the criteria of finishing in the specified top positions). If your selection places but does not win (E.g. 2nd or 3rd), only the place bet pays out, typically at a fraction of the original odds (commonly one quarter or one fifth of the win odds, depending on the bookmaker’s terms).

Each Way bets are useful when betting on competitors with longer odds, as they provide a chance to make a profit even if the selection does not win outright.

Each Way Example

Suppose you place a £10 Each Way bet (£20 total, as it includes both the win and place bet) on a horse at 10/1 odds in a race where the bookmaker pays 1/5 odds for a top-three finish.

If your horse wins:


Win bet: £10 × (10/1) = £100, plus your £10 stake back = £110

Place bet: £10 × (10/1) × (1/5) = £20, plus your £10 stake back = £30

Total return = £110 + £30 = £140

Total Profit = £140 – £20 stake = £120

You can load the above example into the Single Bet calculator by clicking here.

If the horse places (but does not win):


Win bet loses.

Place bet pays: £10 × (10/1) × (1/5) = £20, plus your £10 stake back = £30

Total return = £30

Total Profit = £30 – £20 stake = £10

You can load the above example into the Single Bet calculator by clicking here.

If the horse does not finish in a paying position:


You lose your full £20 stake.

Pros and Cons of a Single Bet

Pros

Easy to understand – Perfect for beginners and casual bettors. Your profit and lose and always clear, so it is easier to devise strategies to manage your risk.

Higher winning chances – You only need one outcome to go your way compared to other bets like accumulators, double or trebles which require multiple outcomes to be predicted correctly.

Quick resolution – As you only require one outcome to be resolved, you are not waiting for multiple events to be resolved before you can claim your payout.

Can be used for Matched Betting – Single bets form a key part of Matched Betting, which is a process of using bookmaker promotions to gain a porfit no matter the outcome of the event your betting on. Learn more about matched betting.

Cons

Lower potential payouts – Single bets don’t offer the huge returns that accumulators can provide by multiplying the odds of all your selections together.

Requires larger stakes for big profits – Since the odds are usually lower, you may need to stake more to win a substantial amount.

Not as exciting for risk-takers – If you enjoy high-risk, high-reward bets, single bets might seem less thrilling compared to accumulators.

Limited Diversification – An each way bet is the only option to provide a payout if your selection does not win. Other bet types limit risk by still providing payouts if some of a number of selections lose.

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