What is a Round Robin Bet?

How to Work Out Round Robin Bet 

Now that you understand how many bets are in a round robin, it’s time for the fun part. There are two more stages that make up how to work out a round robin bet. 

The first is understanding the different types of bets that make up a round robin wager. The second is learning how to calculate the odds of those bets to work out your potential payout.

The Different Bets in a Round Robin

Let’s start with the first step in how to work out a round robin - the different bets. There are three different types of wagers in a round robin bet: a double bet, a treble bet, and an up-and-down bet. 

Double Bet

This is a bet made up of two selections in two different events. Both selections must win in order to make a return on this bet.

Treble Bet

This bet is made up of three selections from three different events. All three of the selections must win in order to make a return on this bet.

Up and Down Bet

Also called an Up and Down single stakes about pairs bet, this part is more complicated. Here, the first part is two single bets, each with their own stake. If the first selection wins (or in some cases breaks even) then the stake is returned on that half of the bet, if both win or break even, then both are returned.
If the first bet doesn’t win then the stake isn’t returned and the second bet doesn’t go ahead. The second bet can only go ahead if you still have that initial stake.

Let’s assume both of your first bets win, you get double the stake on the next part of the bet and double the profit if that second leg wins. However, if it loses, you lose out on your stake - but not any winnings from the first half of the bet.

How Do You Work Out Round Robin Bet Returns?

Now that you know the different types of bet that go into round robin betting, let’s work out an example. For the purposes of this example, we’re going to assume that all of your selections win.

You pick three football teams to win as your three selections, we’ve labelled them A, B, and C for ease:

●    (A) Aston Villa to win
●    (B) Manchester City to win
●    (C) Arsenal to win

To make these selections into a round robin you’d need to combine them like so:

●    Double: A & B
●    Double: A & C
●    Double: B & C
●    Treble: A & B & C
●    Up and Down: A & B and B & A
●    Up and Down: A & C and C & A
●    Up and Down: B & C and C & B

As you can see, this gives you every possible combination of those three selections, meaning you need a stake for each one of those bets. 

Round Robin Bet Calculation

Let’s imagine you put a £3 stake on each of those bets (for a total of £30) and all the selections had odds of 2/1. You’d work out your profit like so:

Double: £3 x (2/1+1) x (2/1+1) = £27 per double, for a total of £81 (including £9 stake)
Treble: £3 x (2/1+1) x (2/1+1) x (2/1+1) = £81 (including £3 stake)
Up & Down SSA: £3 x (2/1+1) x (2/1+1) = £27 plus £3 stake for £30 x 3 for each of the bets = £90

For a total of £252, of which £30 is your stake.
 

FAQ

Is there a difference between a round robin bet and a round robin parlay?

Yes, a big one! A round robin bet, as we’ve discussed it, is most commonly used in the UK and Europe, while a round robin parlay is used in the US. In a round robin parlay you can have as many selections as you like, but all of them must be used in every possible parlay combination.

What is an Up and Down DSA bet?

While an Up and Down SSA bet allows you to put a single stake on the second part of the up and down bet (if there are sufficient funds), a DSA bet allows you to put double the stake onto the second part. This comes with the potential for greater returns, but also the potential to lose more stake.

Can I choose more selections in a round robin bet?

In a round robin parlay you can choose as many selections as you like, but in a round robin bet you can only choose three. You should be aware when making round robin parlays that the stake increases massively for each additional selection.

Can I make each-way selections in a round robin bet?

If you’re a horse racing or greyhound racing fan then you can choose for all of the selections in your round robin bet to be each-way bets. This gives you a better chance of winning but will double the amount that you need to stake.