A guide to patent bets

If you’re new to sports betting, you may have heard of bets that include multiple wagers. One such bet is a Patent bet. Synonymous with Horse Racing, Patent bets are also popular with punters in other sports such as Tennis and Football (Soccer). Read on to discover what Patent bets mean, including how they work and how to calculate one.

What is a Patent bet?

A patent bet is a multiple method betting based on three events consisting of seven different wagers. Commonly compared to a Trixie bet which consists of four bets, Patent bets are slightly different because they are composed of three singles, three doubles and a treble. However, unlike Trixie bets and Yankee bets, Patent bets include single bets as well as doubles and a treble.

Predominantly used in Horse Racing, Patent betting is popular in other sports such as Soccer and Tennis because it is used to cover all potential outcomes, i.e. it is a full coverage multiple bet. Even better, Patent bets offer a return even if only one wager hits.

How do Patent bets work?

A Patent bet works by creating seven potential outcomes from three events. That way, the punter’s odds and potential returns can be greatly boosted if certain outcomes were to hit. Let’s imagine the upcoming fixtures in the NHL:

Chicago Blackhawks vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Boston Bruins vs Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames vs Carolina Hurricanes.

Looking at these match-ups, our punter Jack plans to back:

The Blackhawks to beat the Penguins at odds of 3.0 (+200)
The Bruins to beat the Canucks at odds of 2.0 (+100)
The Flames to beat the Hurricanes at odds of 5.0 (+400).

With a patent bet, you create seven combinations, three singles, three doubles and one treble such as:

The Blackhawks to win
The Bruins to win
The Flames to win
The Blackhawks and Bruins to win
The Blackhawks and Flames to win
The Bruins and Flames to win
The Blackhawks, Bruins and Flames to win.

As each combination is its own separate entity, Jack can place a stake on each one. So, if he wants to wager a $1 patent, his overall stake will be $7 to cover every combination. Essentially, this means that if say, the Bruins were to lose, then Jack could still earn a return on three of the seven combinations.

Similarly, if only one team were to win, a Patent would still guarantee a return from one of the single bets. For many punters like Jack, Patent bets work better than accumulators, where one incorrect combination loses the whole bet.

How to calculate a Patent bet

Calculating a Patent bet is pretty straightforward. However, one misplaced decimal point here or an incorrect figure there and a simple patent calculation can go off course. For Jack’s aforementioned Patent bet, the odds calculations break down as follows:

$1 on the Blackhawks to win @3.0
$1 on the Bruins to win @2.0
$1 on the Flames to win @5.0
$1 on the Blackhawks and Bruins to win @6.0
$1 on the Blackhawks and Flames to win @15.0
$1 on the Bruins and Flames to win @10.0
$1 on the Blackhawks, Bruins and Flames to win @30.0.

That means that the overall odds for Jack’s Patent bet are 71.0. (+7,000).

Therefore, for a $7 total stake, Jack could win $64 in profit if every combination were to hit.

The pros and cons of Patent betting

Just like any other type of bet, there are both advantages and disadvantages to Patent bets.

First, the main pitfall of a Patent bet is the increased stake requirement. As there are seven different selections, there needs to be seven separate stakes. That said, a sensible bankroll management should negate any potential issues of staking beyond one’s means.

Now the benefits of Patent betting. The first is that they have the potential for high profits if the doubles and trebles start to hit. That’s because there are more opportunities for profitability compared to a single three-fold Parlay bet.

Secondly, one loss won’t end the wager. So in our example above, if only the Bruins were to lose, the single bets on the Blackhawks to win @3.0 and the Flames to win @5.0 as well as the double bet on the Blackhawks and Flames to win @15.0 would still guarantee a return.

Lastly, Patent bets are some of the simplest cover bets to make, with only seven separate wagers and three selections to monitor. Therefore, Patent bets are a great way for punters to cover all bases, have multiple chances to win and have a chance of making decent profits.