Welcome to our guide where we take a closer look at one of the most popular full cover with singles multiple selection bets, the Patent.
Used in sports betting around the world and with almost every bookmaker, it is very easy to place patent bets and understand them once you know what the bet is and how it links together.
By the end of this article, we hope that the Patent Bet is explained clearly enough for you to use it. Perhaps as part of the variety of bets at your disposal when wagering with any of the top online betting sites available today.
To that end, let us begin with the most obvious question any bettor may have about the patent bet.
What is a Patent Bet?
A patent bet is a multiple selection full cover bet with singles that comprises of three selections, usually taken from the same sport and markets (horse racing winners, football match winners, tennis match winners etc).
When added to the bet slip, the patent bet will cover all the different permutations that the trio of selections could pay out.
This is as follows:
- Three Singles (Horse A wins, Horse B wins or Horse C wins)
- Three Doubles (Horse A&B win, Horse A&C win, Horse B&C win)
- A Treble (Horses A, B and C all win)
That makes for seven bets in total and provided you land one winner in that selection; one of the seven bets will pay out. Land two winners and three of the seven bets will pay out. Land all three as winners and all seven bets pay out.
Just remember, with seven bets to cover, the cost of the bet will be seven times your unit stake, so you may need to adjust your unit stake to make this best more financially viable and responsible for you.
How to Make a Patent Bet?
Making a patent bet is very easy. Just add three selections to your bet slip at your choice of bookmaker and then on the bet slip, select the multiple bet option and from all the qualifying bet options available, select Patent.
Simply enter the unit stake for the bet (remembering the total bet cost will be seven times this amount) and then place the bet.
That’s it. Your patent bet is now placed, and you can just sit back and see if your selections come in to generate you a return and perhaps even a profit!
How Does a Patent Bet Pay Out When One or More Selections Win?
There is a simple guide to help you understand how a Patent Bet will pay out and all you need to do to understand it is to think of a Patent Bet not as one bet, but as seven separate bets that are all linked under the patent bet umbrella.
For this example, let’s say we placed a standard 7-line Patent Bet with a £10 unit stake for a total bet of £70.
Our selections were priced as follows:
- Horse A – Evens
- Horse B – 2/1
- Horse C – 4/1
Now let’s look at how the patent will pay out based on different combinations of results.
- If 0 of the Three Selections Win
You win nothing. (Loss – £70)
- If only Horse A wins
You win £20. (Loss – £50)
- If only Horse B wins
You win £30. (Loss – £40)
- If only Horse C wins
You Win £50. (Loss – £20)
So, you can see here that most Patents may require two or more winners to be profitable and we’ll show that below.
- If Horses A and B win
If Horses A and B win then you receive £20 from Horse A winning as a single, £30 from Horse B winning as a single and then £60 from the line that backed Horses A and B to win as a double. You win £110 (£40 profit)
- If Horses A and C win
If Horses A and C win you receive £20 from Horse A winning as a single, £50 from Horse C winning as a single and then £100 from the line that backed Horses A and C to win as a double. You win £170 (£100 profit)
- If Horses B and C win
If Horses B and C win, then you receive £30 from Horse B winning as a single and £50 from Horse C winning as a single. Plus, you would then receive £150 from the line covering Horses B and C to win as a double. You win £230 (£160 profit)
- If Horses A, B and C win
Ideally, if all three horses win then that means all seven bets will pay out for you.
- Three Singles – Pay you out £100 in total
- Three Doubles – Pay you out £310 in total
- One Treble – Pays you out £300 in total
Total Return £710 (£640 profit).
Why Make a Patent Bet?
That’s a good question and in truth, it very much does depend on your approach to sports betting as to whether a patent bet is the right choice for you.
For some punters, their betting strategy doesn’t really extend to covering seven lines on a single bet. But for others, these bets make perfect sense, particularly if you are confident that a couple of your selections are going to be winners.
The ability to make selections from a large diaspora of sports on betting sites, on many different events and fixtures, means that patent bets are also flexible enough to be used across a wide range of sports.
Outlined below is a football bet that can be made into a Patent. You can do likewise for many other sports, not just horse racing or greyhounds.
The main benefit to making a patent bet is simple, it offers you a chance of a great return if all three of your selections win, but if just one selection wins, you are at least guaranteed something back in return, even if it is not a profit.
Is There a Patent Bet Calculator I Can Access Online?
Yes, there are several patent bet calculators available online. In fact, most betting calculators have a few options which will allow you to select the exact type of bet you wish to see calculations for.
You can configure the calculator to show the different payouts for landing any one of the three single bets, any two single winning bets plus the one winning double, or the full payout where all three selections win, and all seven lines pay out.
However, many bet slips with bookmakers nowadays will show you a breakdown of your Patent Bet. Here’s an example of a patent bet slip breakdown taken from bet365 Sport on three horse racing selections.
To access the calculation shown above, simply make your three selections for your patent bet and then open the bet slip.
Click on the Show more multiples option at the foot of the bet slip and this will reveal a list of additional multiple bets.
The Patent option will be listed at the bottom. Click on the word Patent and this will reveal the box with the calculations for all possible lines with your current bet.
Here you can see what each individual winning selection will pay out, combined with what they could pay out when combined with the other winning choices on your bet slip.
Is There Such a Thing as an Each-Way Patent bet?
Yes, when you place a patent bet, you will be given the option to place your selections as an each way option. Although this does come with some major changes to the price you will pay when you place the bet.
Let’s use our example of three horse race selections we’ve used previously in the article.
To place an each-way patent just click the E/W box underneath the Patent label on the bet slip.
You will know the each-way patent bet has been activated as the box will be ticked and you will see the number of lines you need to cover increase from seven to 14.
The cost of your bet will then increase from 7x your unit stake, to 14x your unit stake as you are now covering all seven bets as both the winner and the place options.
This does make the bet more expensive (though you can reduce your unit stake to compensate) but does give the bet more flexibility as your selection can finish as a winner or in a paying place in their race to generate at least some return.
You can click on the Patent label to reveal the calculations for the Win Part (which are the same as shown in the section above) and the new Place Part of the bet, which we have outlined below.
Remember, while each way bet finishes can generate a return, unless the selections are very long odds, it is unlikely that a winning Patent Bet based off each way places only, will generate you a profit on the bet. That may still be the case if only one of the selections were to win too.
You still need to hit winners when you place a patent bet to make it as profitable as possible!
Can I Use a Free Bet on a Patent Bet?
While there isn’t a definitive answer to this, the likelihood is that you won’t be able to use a free bet you have earned on a Patent Bet. At least not unless the Free Bet comes with some generous terms and conditions.
Most Free Bets are awarded by bookmakers with a stipulation that when it comes to wager them, they must be on single bet selections, or sometimes accumulator bets too. This is because both these bets have just one line to cover and it is therefore easy to use a free bet with them.
Your total stake on single and accumulator bets will therefore be the total amount of your free bet.
With a Patent Bet having seven lines, it is hard to wager your free bet tokens with them, hence it is unlikely you’ll be able to use any free bets you get with a Patent Bet.
There is one benefit to this – at least any payout you receive from a Patent Bet will consist of freely withdrawable cash with no wagering requirement attached.
Are There Similar Bets to the Patent Bet?
Yes, the Trixie Bet is one that customers that place Patent Bets may also consider due it being one of the most similar bet types to a patent.
A Trixie Bet is another bet that comprises of three selections but in this case, it does not cover any of the single bet options covered by the Patent Bet.
Instead, a punter will back the trio of selections as three double bets and one treble bet, for four bets in total.
So, a Trixie bet is the same as a patent bet, just minus the three selections backed as a single bet.
Seeing as you only have four lines to cover (three doubles and a treble) it is also cheaper to place per unit stake as it costs 4 x your unit stake, as opposed to 7 x your unit stake.
However, one thing to remember is that with a Trixie, you need at least two of your three selections to win to earn a payout. Rather than just one selection as is the case with a patent bet.
You will find patent bets available at almost every reputable bookmaker you can find online and many of them make it very easy to place a bet on this market, often in a very similar way to how we showed using bet365 as our choice of bookmaker for the example.
For bettors, there are few bets of three selections that offer quite as much flexibility in terms of a return as a patent. It is why they remain one of the most popular multiple selection full cover bets in the betting industry today!
