A brief history of Yankee bets

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If you like a splash of variety on your wagers, Yankee bets could be just the ticket. Please continue reading to learn more about Yankee bets, including their origin, examples of them, and how to calculate one.

What is a Yankee bet?

Quite simply, a Yankee bet is a 4-event wager consisting of 11 bets. These bets must include six double bets, four treble bets and one four-fold Parlay bet. As Yankee bets cannot be placed on single events, some of the ideal sports for Yankee bets include Football matches, NHL games and Horse Racing fixtures. In a Yankee bet, at least two of the four events must be successful to guarantee a return.

What is the origin of the Yankee bet?

By the sounds of it, you’d be correct in thinking that a Yankee bet traces back to the New York Yankees in MLB. However, the bet is actually rumoured to be named after an American soldier who first placed this type of wager on Horse Racing while stationed in the UK.

Due to the “full cover” mechanics at work, the unnamed soldier allegedly made a great return from his relatively small stake. That’s because each selection, i.e., horse, appears in three doubles, three trebles and the four-fold accumulator.

To understand how winnings change with the outcome, stake size and odds, most punters use a Yankee calculator, both before placing a bet and after the outcomes are known.

Example of a Yankee bet

To make a Yankee, you need an online sportsbook or sports betting site and four separate events. Let’s imagine four games in the Premier League such as:

• Everton vs Liverpool
• Leicester vs Chelsea
• Newcastle vs Manchester City
• Fulham vs Manchester United.

Therefore, an example of a Yankee bet could be:

• 1 double on Everton and Leicester winning
• 1 double on Leicester and Newcastle winning
• 1 double on Newcastle and Fulham winning
• 1 double on Fulham and Everton winning
• 1 double on Leicester and Fulham winning
• 1 double on Newcastle and Everton winning
• 1 treble on the Everton, Leicester and Newcastle all winning
• 1 treble on Leicester, Newcastle and Fulham all winning
• 1 treble on Newcastle, Fulham and Everton all winning
• 1 treble on Fulham, Everton and Leicester all winning
• 1 four-fold Parlay bet on Everton, Leicester, Newcastle and Fulham all winning.

Just like a Trixie bet, to gain a return from a Yankee, punters must successfully pick at least two winning bets. The more winning bets there are, the better the return for the punter.

How to calculate a Yankee bet

So now that we have our Yankee bet in place let’s figure out how it would work in practice. First, let’s introduce Granny as our punter. Next, we’ll need betting odds for each of our four selections. Let’s say that we get the odds below:

• Everton @3.0 (+200) to beat Liverpool
• Leicester @4.0 (+300) to beat Chelsea
• Newcastle @5.0 (+400) to beat Man City
• Fulham @6.0 (+500) to beat Man Utd.

Now, in the Yankee bet, assuming that Granny stakes €1 per bet, i.e., €11 for 11 bets, here’s how the winnings would be calculated.

The doubles

• If Everton and Leicester win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (4.0) = €12
• If Everton and Newcastle win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (5.0) = €15
• If Everton and Fulham win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (6.0) = €18
• If Leicester and Newcastle win, her return is €1 x (4.0) x (5.0) = €20
• If Leicester and Fulham win, her return is €1 x (4.0) x (6.0) = €24
• If Newcastle and Fulham win, her return is €1 x (5.0) x (6.0) = €30.

Total if all doubles hit = €119.

The trebles

If Everton, Leicester, and Newcastle win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (4.0) x (5.0) = €60

This also means that the doubles below also win.

• Everton and Leicester (€12)
• Everton and Newcastle (€15)
• Leicester and Newcastle (€20).

Therefore the total winnings would be €60 + €12 + €15 + €20 = €107.

If Everton, Leicester and Fulham win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (4.0) x (6.0) = €72

This also means that the doubles below also win:

• Everton and Leicester (€12)
• Everton and Fulham (€18)
• Leicester and Fulham (€24).

Therefore the total winnings would be €72 + €12 + €18 + €24 = €126.

If Everton, Newcastle and Fulham win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (5.0) x (6.0) = €90

This also means that the doubles below also win.

• Everton and Newcastle (€15)
• Everton and Fulham (€18)
• Newcastle and Fulham (€30).

Therefore the total winning would be €90 + €15 + €18 + €30 = €153.

If Leicester, Newcastle and Fulham win, her return is €1 x (4.0) x (5.0) x (6.0) = €120.

This also means that the doubles below also win.

• Leicester and Newcastle (€20)
• Leicester and Fulham (€24)
• Newcastle and Fulham (€30).

Therefore the total winning would be €120 + €20 + €24 + €30 = €194.

Total if all trebles hit = €580

The four-fold Parlay

If Everton, Leicester, Newcastle and Fulham all win, her return is €1 x (3.0) x (4.0) x (5.0) x (6.0) = €360

As you can see, each of the 11 legs of the Yankee has its own value if it were to hit. Therefore, the more legs that hit, the larger the return. In the somewhat unlikely scenario that every leg hits, Granny would earn €1,059 from an €11 initial stake.

The difference between a Yankee and a Parlay

A Yankee is a type of Parlay bet known as a Round Robin. A Round Robin bet allows you to combine multiple Parlays into one bet. Depending on the number of bets involved, round robins go by several different names, such as:

• Trixie bets (four separate bets)
• Yankee bets (11 separate bets)
• Canadian or Super Yankee bets (26 separate bets)
• Heinz (57 separate bets)
• Super Heinz bets (120 separate bets)
• Goliath bets (247 separate bets).

In each case, a minimum of two selections must win to guarantee a return.

The ups and downs of a Yankee Bet

Yankee bets can often be the very definition of a low-risk, high-reward situation. That’s because they’re a cost-effective way of putting together four bets, as opposed to a four-bet Parlay. Some of the benefits of a Yankee bet include:

• Potential low risk - In theory, some of the selections in a Yankee bet could lose and yet, a punter could still make a return.
• Potential higher success rate - Compared to single bets, Yankee bets offer more opportunities to win 11 different combinations.
• Potential for more significant returns.
• If multiple selections win, the payouts from the doubles, trebles, and accumulator can generate substantial earnings.

On the flip side, the risks of a Yankee Bet include a higher chance of losing money. That’s because, with a Yankee, punters need two of the four selections to hit, which can make them a more challenging bet to win than other types of wagers.