How To Calculate Winnings Of A Betting System

When you’re developing your betting skills will always improve your chances of winning big, and for the most part that will mean working on a betting system. Systems vary for many, but because they’re less straight forward than simply placing a To Win bet, calculating odds and winnings can be a little more difficult than usual. However, do not fear. Help is on hand. Below you’ll find all you need to know about calculating your winnings of a betting system.

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Calculating Odds To Determine Winnings 

Of course, the amount you will win is very much dependent on the amount you stake and the odds that are being offered.

For the simpler betting systems, you’ll find odds for the bet you’re placing in your betslip.

It’s relatively easy to work out your winnings from the odds you’re betting on, whether that be fractional, decimal or American odds.

Fractional Odds

Fractional Odds are incredibly common in the UK and they are easy to calculate. You’ll find odds such as 4/1 with many bookmakers and for every multiple of the stake you place in the right hand side of the fraction, you will earn the number on the left.

So, in the case of 4/1, you’ll earn £4 for every £1 you stake. If you were to bet £10 you would earn £40, for example. In the case of fractional odds, you also receive your stake back on top of the calculation.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are also incredibly easy to calculate. All you’re required to do is multiple your stake by the decimal odds, and this will provide you with your total return.

So, if the odds you were placing was 2.1 and you wanted to stake £10, you would simply multiply 10 by 2.1 to calculate your return.

American Odds

American odds are found in two different formats. You’ll find them as a negative and a positive. For example, one team might be priced at -110, while another may be +210.

This can be used to determine how much you will win. In the case of the negative, the odds represent how much you need to bet to win £100. So in the example above, you would need to bet £110 to win £100, giving you a total of £210 including your returned stake.

For positive odds, the number represents how much you’ll win when you place a bet of £100. Therefore odds of +210 will provide you with a total return of £310.

How To Manually Calculate Your Accumulator Winnings 

The simplest way to calculate accumulator winnins is to convert the odds into decimal format – you can do this by adding the two numbers together and dividing by the second number i.e.

6/4 -> 6+4=10 -> 10/4 = odds of 2.50
1/3 -> 1+3=4 -> 4/3 = odds of 1.33.

Now we simply multiply all of the odds together to get the combined odds of our acca.

1. Convert Fractional odds to decimal odds for each leg of the accumulator
2. Multiply all the odds together to get the combined odds
3. Multiply the combined odds to the amount staked
4. Get the potential winnings
5. Eventually add the acca bonus provided by the bookie

Example:
Let's suppose to stake £5 on a 6-leg accumulator and all the legs are correct:

• Newcastle – Wolves -> Newcastle to win 2,30
• Burnley – Everton -> Everton 2,90
• Tottenham – Leicester -> Tottenham 2,00
• Crystal Palace - Manchester UTD -> The Draw 3,40
• Manchester City - Sheffield UTD -> Manchester City to win 1,40
• Arsenal - Liverpool -> The Draw 3,25

To calculate combined odds, simply multiply 2,30 x 2,90 x 2,00 x 3,40 x 1,40 x 3,25 = 206.36

To calculate total winnings of the accumulator, multiply the combined odds to amount staked. In this case: 206.36 x £5 = £1031.80

Let's also consider a 7% bonus provided by the bookmaker for 6-leg accumulators. To calculate total winnings including acca bonus simply multiply 1031.80 to 1.07 (because 7% bonus adds an additional 1.07 leg to our acca, 5% bonus is equivalent to 1.05, 6% bonus is equivalent to 1.06, and so on...)

Total winnings including acca bonus is 1031.80€ x 1.07 = £1104,02.

What Happens If A Match Is Postponed or Abandoned

If any match is postponed and it will not take place within 48/72 hours of the original kick-off time (it depends on the bookmaker), that leg will be void.

Eg. If you backed a postponed match in a 5-leg bet, the bet will revert to a 4-leg accumulator containing the remaining selections.

Considering the accumulator containing the abovementioned selections, if Crystal Palace vs Manchester UTD is postponed and all the remaining selections are correct:

- the Crystal Palace vs Manchester UTD selection is void (odds become 1.00)
- the combined odds of the accumulator is now 2,30 x 2,90 x 2,00 x 1,00 x 1,40 x 3,25 = 60.69.
- the accumulator returns 60.69 x £5 = £303.45.

Of course, you should add the ventual acca bonus provided by the bookmaker for 5-leg bets (given that a match has been postponed)

How To Calculate System Bets Winnings 

The main difference between system bets and accumulators (parlay) bets is that you can win a system bet even if not all your picks are correct. For example, in the case of a 4/5 system bet, you win even if only four of your five predictions turn out to be correct.

In a system bet, combinations of picks are formed (also called columns). An example is shown below:

You have selected five different picks and opted for a 3/5 system bet. This means that you will be placing a total of ten bets, since there are 10 possible winning trebles based on those five predictions.

1. Compile all the columns that form the system
2. For each column, multiply odds in order to get the combined odds (the multiplier of that specific column)
3. Calculate potential winning of each column by multiply the relative combined odds to the amount staked on each column
4. To calculate the potential total winning of a system, add alll the potential winnings of each column.

Example:

Let's go back to the same six predictions abovementioned (with the same odds):

1. Newcastle – Wolves -> Newcastle to win 2,30
2. Burnley – Everton -> Everton 2,90
3. Tottenham – Leicester -> Tottenham to win 2,00
4. Crystal Palace - Manchester UTD -> The Draw 3,40
5. Manchester City - Sheffield UTD -> Manchester City to win 1,40
6. Arsenal - Liverpool -> The Draw 3,25

Let's play five bets of 5 legs in which the event A (Newcastle to beat Wolves) is our banker. Let's stake £2 on each 5-leg bet, a total of £5 for the system.

The five 5-leg bets will be as follows:

1. A x B x C x D x E = 2,30 x 2,90 x 2,00 x 3,40 x 1.40 = 63.49
2. A x B x C x D x F = 2,30 x 2,90 x 2,00 x 3,40 x 3,25 = 147.40
3. A x B x C x E x F = 2,30 x 2,90 x 2,00 x 1,40 x 3,25 = 60.69
4. A x B x D x E x F = 2,30 x 2,90 x 3,40 x 1,40 x 3,25 = 103.18
5. A x C x D x E x F = 2,30 x 2,00 x 3,40 x 1,40 x 3,25 = 71.16

The potential winnings of each bet will be:

1. 63.49 x £2 = £126.98
2. 147.40 x £2 = £294.80
3. 60.69 x £2 = £121.38
4. 103.18 x £2 = £206.36
5. 71.16 x £2 = £142.32

Add the eventual bonus provided by the book for 5-leg bets.

What happens if all the predictions are correct?

All the five bets of the system are correct, so we collect winnings from each bet:

126.98 + 294.80 + 121.38 + 206.36 + 142.32 = £891.84. 

Please note that total winnings if this system are lower than the amount we would win by putting £10 on a 6-leg accumulato (£1031.80).

What happens if our banker is a loser?

If Newcastle don't beat Wolves (our event A), all the five 5-leg bets lose.

What happens if the banker wins but another prediction loses?

In this case, only one 5-leg bet is a winner. Eg. if C is a loser, bet n.4 is a winner as it includes A, B, D, E and F. The system returns £206.36.

What happens if two or more predictions are losers?

Of course, there are no winning bets and the system returns £0.

Using A Bookmaker’s Calculator 

As you have noticed, with betting systems it’s not often as simple as calculating odds, and you will likely require a betting calculator. For systems such as a Yankee or Super Yankee, or even a custom system you wish to use, you’ll find betting calculators incredibly useful.

They’re relatively easy to use and essentially require you to place the odds of the bets you’re staying into the calculator, alongside the stake you wish to place and it’ll calculate your winnings.

You will also be required to add the type of bet you wish to play. If you’re placing multiple, it’s a good idea to build a spreadsheet and entering all the bets you place and the calculated winnings. This will then help you work out your profit/loss and be much more organised in your betting.

You’re able to add odds from any sport and any market, with calculators only requiring the odds to be entered in order for you to work out your winnings.

Which Bookmakers Offer An Odds Calculator? 

You’ll find a large number of bookies offer betting calculators these days, offering a much simpler way to calculate your winnings from your betting system.

Within all our reviews we’ll highlight whether a site has a betting calculator, alongside more information in regards to the sports and markets available, best free bets, and insight into customer support and deposit/withdrawal methods. For all the best brands to play with, head to our bookmaker page.