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System Bet Guide: How Does System Betting Work (+ Examples of A System Bet)?

Publish Date: 02/10/2022
Fact checked by: Simon Briffa

How Does System Betting Work?

If you need a system bet explained to you then you have come to the right place. Our guide will have a system bet explained to you in no time as we take a detailed look at this betting type.

There are plenty of betting options, betting markets and betting types in the world of online sports gambling. This can make learning about each of them on your own a bit tedious and most people don’t have that kind of time. That’s why we have done the heavy lifting for you with our guide to system bets!

A system bet explained – What it’s all about

If you need a system bet explained to you, there is no shame in that. There are plenty of betting types for you to choose from so it’s understandable that you might not know every single option available to you.

A system bet is actually not too difficult to understand. It bears a resemblance to a parlay bet (or an accumulator bet in Europe) as you will choose multiple selections within your bet. The key difference between the 2, is that a system bet doesn’t require you to get all of your selections correct where a parlay bet will fail entirely if even one of your selections is wrong. When you use a system bet, you will need to choose how many selections you need to get right. For example, you might select a system bet that requires a 3/5 success rate on the bet. That means that you would need at least 3 out of your initial 5 selections to be correct for you to win anything from the bet.

So, what does this mean? Well, for starters it means that system betting is definitely easier for you to get some profit out of. However, it is not usually as profitable as a parlay bet is more difficult to get right and will also typically have higher odds. And that is really the gist of it. We’ll go through why a system bet can be a useful betting strategy, and we’ll show you how to bet on sportsbook events with this kind of strategy as well.

Who should use a system betting strategy?

Now, you may be wondering if you have the gambling nous for something like a system bet. In truth, if you are someone who is brand new to the world of online sports betting, it’s probably not a betting strategy that we would recommend right off the bat. With that said, a system bet is like any other betting strategy, it just takes some time and some practice for you to get a feel for things.

So, don’t be deterred from having a system bet explained to you with our guide. There is plenty for you to learn but it’s worth your while to add this kind of betting knowledge to your tool kit. This rising method in betting is used by plenty of US bettors and we’ll show you why.

System betting – An example

The best way for you to learn any kind of betting type is to take a look at an example or two before you get started yourself. To have a system bet explained to you in full, we have put together a detailed example of how one works for you.

For the sake of the example, let’s say that you chose a 2/3 system bet on the MLS. Your 3 selections are as follows:

Game

Bet and odds

Stake

LA Galaxy vs NYCFC

NYCFC to win at +120

($10 per combination)

NY Red Bulls vs San Jose Earthquakes

Red Bulls to win at +130

Portland Timbers vs Colorado Rapids

Rapids to win at -110

We have kept your markets for the system bet relatively simple for this example, just to give you a clear idea of what makes up the combinations. With that said, you can use just about any betting market with a system bet whether it be draw-no-bet, over/under, both teams to score etc.

So, you would have 3 combinations from this bet as follows:

  • NYCFC win (+120) and NY Red Bulls win (+130)
  • NYCFC win (+120) and Colorado Rapids win (-110)
  • Colorado Rapids win (-110) and NY Red Bulls win (+130)

You would therefore only need to get 1 of these combinations correct to win your bet. So, if the Rapids ultimately ended up losing but NYCF and the NY Red Bulls won, your bet would turn a profit. If you wagered $10 on each bet, you would win $51 with a profit of $20. Check out our system bet calculator here at TheGruelingTruth.com to make your life so much easier when calculating your system bets.

Types of system betting strategies

The example we just showed you would be an example of a treble system bet. Now to have a system bet explained to you in full, it’s a good idea to run through the variations on this kind of bet. The more selections you have for your system bet means you will be using a slightly different kind of system bet. Here is a brief look at most of the options available to you:

Double bet:  A combination of two different selections in a single wager, both must win for you to receive any profit.

Treble bet: A combination of 3 different selections in a wager where all 3 would need to win for you to be paid out.

Patent bet: 7 bets placed on 3 different events, used to cover all of the outcomes.

Trixie bet: a 3 selection bet made up of 4 bets which include 1 treble and 3 doubles.

Yankee bet: 11 combinations from 4 different events – comprising 6 doubles, 4 trebles and a parlay bet with 4 legs.

Canadian bet: 26 bets on 5 events – consists of 10 doubles, 10 trebles, a 4 leg parlay and another 5 leg parlay (also known as a Super Yankee).

There are a number of other betting systems you could go for with your system bet but most of these include a substantial amount of selections, some going as high as a combined 247 bets (the good old Goliath bet). Our betting guide can take you through each of these betting systems individually if you want to perfect your approach with them.

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Benefits of using a system bet

There are a number of advantages to using a system bet. Now that you have had a system bet explained to you, at least in terms of what it actually is, we want to shed some light on why so many bettors in the US use this betting type and what advantages it actually provides for you:

Diversify your options:

A system bet gives you tons of different options to choose from. As you just saw with the list of systems you can use, there are a plethora of different ways for you to go about using a system bet. Not only that but you can mix and match with a host of different betting markets within these systems as well. It can get tricky when you really start going for a hefty amount of different selections but you will grow into it the more you use a system betting strategy.

Higher payouts:

To be clear, there is never any guarantee of profit in the world of online sports betting. With that said, a system bet pays out for more handsome than a single wager. With so many different odds in play, your overall payout can be much larger than your average betting types.

Room for error:

A parlay bet may give you better payouts than a system bet for the most part but there is zero room for any mistakes. With a system bet, there is some wiggle room for bettors. Not every selection needs to be correct which means that even if one of your selections fails, you can still walk away with a payout or at the very least with your money back. At the very least, this gives you parietal cover on your system bet which is more than we can say for most betting types.

Tips for using a system betting strategy

Before we bring our system bet explained guide to a close, we wanted to give you a few tips to set you on the right path. As we mentioned earlier, the more you use system bets, the more you will come to grips with how you should be approaching them. With that said, you can never have too many good tips which is why we have given you a few below:

Consider your markets

There are certain betting markets that are going to suit your system bets better than others. For example, 2-way moneyline markets are ideal because they only have 2 different outcomes attached to them. These markets are ideal with system bets that include many different combinations with higher odds because they leave out the option for a draw. In this regard, your chances of winning are made better with the omission of additional outcomes.

Compare the odds to the number of your selections

This will come with time as you get a feel for your system bets but it’s a good idea to keep this in mind early on. What we mean by comparing the odds to the number of your selections is simple. If you choose several different selections in your system bet, it’s better to keep the odds on the lower side of things. This reduces your risk, as all you really want from a bet like this is to hit the minimum requirements. Anything after that would almost be pure profit. Keep this principle in mind for the reverse (i.e. fewer selections should have higher odds).

Do your homework

And lastly, even though you are selecting multiple different selections for your system bet, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be putting an equal amount of effort into each bet. Do your homework and make sure you research all of your bets before putting them through. Those who put more effort in are almost always rewarded more often than those who are simply guessing.

Conclusion to our system betting guide

You should now have a firm grasp on what system betting entails. To have a system bet explained to you probably seemed like it was going to be a great deal of work before but now you can see, it’s not all that difficult. What it does need is some time though, as you learn the ropes of the different systems themselves. Remember to keep our tips for using a system bet in mind before you decide to strike out on your own. Also, feel free to come back at any time to use our system bet calculator as well. If you are still hungry to learn more, we have an oddsmaker explained and a multiple bet explained with our other guides.

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System betting FAQs

👍 Can I have a system bet explained to me in detail?

If you are looking to have a system bet explained to you that probably means that you are branching out into bigger and better things with your sports betting. Having a system bet explained to you is one way to go about this and we can do just that with our detailed guide. Check out our guide to learn what a system bet can do for your betting endeavors.

👀 Can anyone use a system bet?

If you need a system bet explained to you, don’t let that deter you from trying to learn in the first place, we all had to start somewhere. A system bet is well-suited to certain types of bettors which we will explain to you in our guide.

⚾ Can you use a system bet for any sport?

You may be wondering if a system bet is even worth your while if it can’t be used on your favorite sports. Well, by having a system bet explained to you in our guide, you’ll learn exactly what sports are best suited to this type of betting strategy.

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