If you want to go in-depth with your sports betting there are a number of strategies and bet types that allow you to place complex wagers and make big profits. One such example is trixie betting.
What is a trixie bet? In its simplest form, a trixie bet is a type of accumulator bet (a bet with multiple selections) that includes three doubles and one treble. The benefit is that you only need one of your doubles to win for the bet to payout. We explain this bet type in detail below.
Core components of a trixie bet
Trixie bets are commonly used for horse race betting but they can be used for any sport such as NBA basketball or NFL football. As described above, a trixie bet is made up of four multi-bet selections where the selections are made up of three horses/teams/items. When looking at what is a trixie bet, it’s better explained with an example, so let’s use three NBA matches:
- LA Lakers vs Milwaukee Bucks
- Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Pelicans
- Indiana Pacers vs Washington Wizards
For this trixie bet, we think that the Bucks, Nuggers, and Pacers are going to win, so these three teams will be used to create our four trixie selections as described below.
3 doubles bets
Each trixie bet must include three doubles bets. A doubles bet is simply an accumulator that includes two single bets. Trixie bets use three doubles bets because this covers all potential permutations of our winning selections. In the above example, our three doubles bets would be:
- Bet 1: LA Lakers & Denver Nuggets win.
- Bet 2: LA Lakers & Indiana Pacers win.
- Bet 3: Denver Nuggets & Indiana Pacers win.
This covers all possible outcomes where at least two of our chosen teams win. As you can see, this can apply to any sport but it’s often used in horse race betting too where some sportsbooks allow you to select doubles bets with the horse as an “each way” selection.
An each way selection in horse racing is where you a picking the horse either to win, or to finish in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place. Trixie bets with each way selections for horse racing give more security, but the odds and thus payouts are usually much lower.
1 treble bet
When looking at what is a trixie, your bet must also include one treble. A treble bet is an accumulator that includes three single bets. In a trixie, you’re simply betting that all three teams will win:
- Bet 4: LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets, & Indiana Pacers win.
The treble is the ultimate goal as this results in the largest payout. If all three teams win, we hit the jackpot because it means that all four of our bets will payout.
When does a trixie bet payout?
Throughout all this, we’ve not mentioned how you win a trixie bet. Simply put, a trixie bet pays out if at least one of your doubles wins.
| Results | Payout |
| Only the LA Lakers win | No |
| Only the Indiana Pacers win | No |
| Only the Denver Nuggets win | No |
| Lakers & Denver win | Yes (Bet 1) |
| Lakers & Indiana win | Yes (Bet 2) |
| Denver & Indiana win | Yes (Bet 3) |
| Lakers, Denver & Indiana win | Yes (Bet 1, 2, 3, & 4) |
Ideally, we want all three teams to win as this will generate the biggest profit with all four of our trixie selections paying out.
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Trixie betting example with odds & values
A trixie bet is also known as a system bet and you can read our guide on
system bets meaning
for more examples. To illustrate this type of system bet further, we’ve given a complete example below with odds, stakes, and payouts. We will use an NBA scenario with these three matches:
- Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat – Boston to win at -110 odds
- Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers – Dallas to win at -120 odds
- Milwaukee Bucks vs Charlotte Hornets – Milwaukee to win at -110 odds
From these three matches and with our winning picks, our trixie bet components become the following:
| Trixie bet | Selection 1 | Selection 2 | Selection 3 | Stake | Payout |
| Double 1 | Boston (-110) | Dallas (-120) | N/A | $10 | $35.00 |
| Double 2 | Boston (-110) | Milwaukee (-110) | N/A | $10 | $36.45 |
| Double 3 | Dallas (-120) | Milwaukee (-110) | N/A | $10 | $35.00 |
| Treble 1 | Boston (-110) | Dallas (-120) | Milwaukee (-110) | $10 | $66.82 |
We’ve used a blanket $10 stake for each selection, but you can vary this. For example, you could chose to wager more on the selections that you think have a higher chance of winning. Based on the above, we can now calculate our profit/loss for the different match outcomes:
| Description | Amount |
| Total Stake | $40.00 |
| Profit if all three teams lose | -$40.00 |
| Profit if two teams lose | -$40.00 |
| Profit if Boston & Dallas win | -$5.00 |
| Profit if Boston & Milwaukee win | -$3.55 |
| Profit if all three teams win | $133.27 ($173.27 total winnings – $40 stake) |
Here we see the ups and downs of trixie betting. On the one hand, if somehow all three teams have a stinker and lose, we’ve wasted $40. If two of the teams win, we only make a small loss of between $3.55-5.00 which could even be offset by a hedge bet or by placing a separate single bet on another match.
However, if all three teams win, we get a huge return on our original stake. The strength of a trxie bet compared to something like a
yankee bet
or a
round robin bet, is the individual selections.
In this scenario, yes, we need all three teams to win, but look at the teams. Boston should beat Miami, Dallas should dominate Portland, and Milwaukee should thrash Charlotte. We therefore have three teams with a high percentage chance of winning (and thus low-paying odds), that can be used to give us a high chance of success with a huge trixie bet payout.
This is how you make successful trixie bets – by careful analysis of the individual selections. Ideally, you want your three winners to have a high percentage chance of winning. Yes, this gives you lower-paying odds, but it means your four trixie bet selections are more likely to payout. For example, if in the above scenario you chose Charlotte instead of Milwaukee as your third winner, the potential payout would be insane. But, are Charlotte likely to beat a full-strength Milwaukee Bucks squad with a healthy Giannis? No!
Pros and cons of trixie betting
You can see the potential upsides of trixie betting and there is potential for huge profit. But, this type of bet isn’t perfect and there are drawbacks too:
- Trixie betting is incredibly fun and can enhance your sports enjoyment.
- Only one selection has to win to receive a payout.
- These bets can result in high returns for low stakes.
- All permutations have to win for a big payout.
- No single bet selections so you’re relying on multiple wins.
- More expensive than other singles bets.
More Useful Guides
Trixie bets are great for loss mitigation with parlays
We hope you have a clear understanding of trixie betting and how it utilizes multiple parlay bets for potential high payouts, but with risk control. The beauty of this type of bet is that only one of your four selections has to win to recoup some of your money. The real skill comes in looking at the odds of each selection and finding the right balance of selections to make your trixie bets profitable.
When considering this type of bet, don’t forget to look for
enhanced odds
offers and use free bets if possible. You could also consider a hedge betting strategy where you place a counter bet on another selection such as a different horse, or an opposing team to give you a safeguard if one of your doubles doesn’t payout.
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FAQs
🤔 Is a trixie bet better than a yankee bet?
A trixie bet is generally considered the safer option because it includes fewer selections and thus should have a higher chance of winning. However, trixie bets generate lower returns. Yankee bets include 11 selections and thus have a smaller chance of making the full payout, but the potential profit can be huge.
🔢 What do doubles and treble mean in trixie betting?
A doubles bet is an accumulator that includes two selections, i.e. you bet on the outcome of two matches. A treble bet is an accumulator that has three selections, i.e. you bet on the outcome of three matches. Trixie bets include 3x doubles and 1x treble.
🔍 How many bets are there in a trixie bet?
Four. Trixie bets are made up of three doubles bets (bets with two selections), and one treble (a bet with three selections).
