What Is a Round-Robin Bet: Definitive Guide for Punters

ꩲ A round-robin bet is a system wager that combines multiple bets across three or more selections. It's pricier but less risky than an accumulator because you can still win even if some picks don’t come through. In this guide, we will explain how round-robin bets work with real-life examples from bookies, and provide handy tips for using them effectively.

What Is Round-Robin Bet: Quickly Explained

A round robin can be a bit of a head-scratcher at first, but it’s a valuable addition to your betting arsenal once you get the hang of it. The complexity comes from the format, where multiple selections are lumped together in various combinations. Plus, with different versions of round-robin bets floating around, you might find conflicting definitions online about what a “true” round robin is.

A round-robin bet takes its name from the tournament style, where everyone plays the other. In betting, it means taking all your picks and combining them in every possible wayඣ. This way, you can win with any mix of your selections, giving you more chances for a payout than if you lined up your picks in one big accumulator.

So, what is a round-robin bet? It's a system bet made up of a bunch of mini accas.

The basic form of a round robin includes three selections. Once you add your three picks, the bookmaker will work out a robin bet for you: three combinations with two legs each. This way, you can still secure some profit even if one of your picks loses.

The great thing about round-robin bets is you can aim for bigger payouts with smaller stakes (like you do with a regular acca), and you don't need to get every pick right to win♑. You can play combo bets and still come away with something, even if only some of your picks come through.

ꦚ Round-robin bets cost more than a standard accumulator with the same picks because you’re paying for each combination. However, they give you that extra bit of security.

𒆙 There are many ways to make a round-robin bet, and it's essential to thoroughly familiarise yourself with the concept before you start betting with your bookie.

Round-Robin Bet Example

Here’s how a round-robin bet works with a real-life example. Let's start with the simplest version: a three-selection round-robin. We’ll use Parimatch, one of the best UK bookies🌄, because it has competitive odds and offers more significant returns on round-robin bets than most other betting sites.

❀ We've picked three football matches and backed the home team to win in the next three Champions League qualifiers matches:

ཧ The round robin breaks these three matchups into three smaller accumulators with two legs each, with £10 on each combination:

1. 🍷 £10 on Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB+ Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev

2. 🎃 £10 on Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys

3. ꦕ £10 on Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys

🔜 This three-pick round-robin bet covers all possible combos of these three football selections, with two teams per accumulator, costing us £30 in total. If all three of our mini accas win, we’ll pocket £175.62.

If we crunch the numbers, we can still profit even if one of our picks flops𒁃. For example, if Jagielonnia loses but the other two picks win, our acca combinations one and three fail, but combo two wins. In this case, our payout would be £99.96. So, we’d make a small profit of £69.96 from the first winning acca.

꧃ Of course, with lower odds, you might end up with a slight loss on that one winning combo, but it’s still better than getting nothing, which is what would happen if you’d only played a single treble.

💯 You can upgrade your three-pick round robin to increase the number of winning combinations and bump up the required stake. For example, in addition to the previous acca combos, you can toss in an extra £10 for a treble, effectively creating a Trixie. In this case, you’d have four acca combinations:

1. ⭕ £10 on Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB+ Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev

2. ꦕ £10 on Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys

3. 🌃 £10 on Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys

4. ✅ £10 on Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys + Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB

ဣ For that last treble, the potential payout would be £115.10. So, if all three of your picks win, you’d bag that amount (£115.10) plus £175.62 from the two-leg acca combos in your round-robin, giving you a total of £290.72.

4-Leg Round Robin Example

꧅ Let’s crank it up by adding another selection to our round-robin. So, along with the three previous matches, we'll throw in Dinamo Minsk to beat Ludogorets. Now, we’ve got these four matchups:

⛎ The round robin splits these into six smaller accumulators with two legs each, with £10 on each combo:

1. 🍬 Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB + Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev

2. ❀ Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys

3. 𝓡 Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB + Dinamo Minsk to beat Ludogorets

4. 🌼 Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys

5. ꦛ Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev + Dinamo Minsk to beat Ludogorets

6. 🤡 Dinamo Minsk to beat Ludogorets + Dinamo Minsk to beat Ludogorets

🐷 This four-pick round-robin bet covers all possible combos of these four football selections, with two teams per accumulator, costing us £60. If all six of our mini accas win, we’ll pocket £484.77.

🌺 At least two pairs must hit to profit with a four-pick round-robin. In that case, one of your combos will win, and you’ll return about half your stake. If three out of four picks win, you'll have three winning combos, and your total return will be about three times your stake. You’ll earn around four times your stake if all four come through.

What Is a Round-Robin Bet in Horse Racing?

𓆉 Round-robin bets in horse racing are different because you can use each-way bets, which give you extra cover by letting your horse win or place.

Let's kick off with a straightforward three-pick RR bet involving three different winners in three races to give you an idea of how round-robin betting works in horse racing. We’ll again use Parimatch since it’s one of the top horse race betting sites in the U.K.

🌟 The round robin splits these into three smaller doubles, with £10 on each combination:

1. 🔯 £10 on Metaverse to win at Goodwood + Shark Two One to win at Leicester

2. 🍌 £10 on Metaverse to win at Goodwood + Debora’s Dream to win at Sandown

3. 🙈 £10 on Shark Two One to win at Leicester + Debora’s Dream to win at Sandown

🎉 This three-leg round-robin bet covers all possible doubles of these three horses, costing us £30. If all three of our doubles come in, we’ll win £721.25.

🐓 If Debora’s Dream doesn’t come through but our other two picks do, we’ll still win the first combo and come out slightly ahead due to the strong odds.

🌞 You can also go for an each-way round robin with these same three horses to boost your chances even more. This way, you’re covered whether your horse wins or places. Just remember, this will bump up your stake and increase your potential payout if you accurately predict all winners.

𓆉 Since each-way bets double your stakes, you’ll need £60 for a three-pick round-robin each-way bet. Here’s how it breaks down:

1. ꦯ £10 on Metaverse to win or place at Goodwood + Shark Two One to win or place at Leicester

2. ღ £10 on Metaverse to win or place at Goodwood + Debora’s Dream to win or place at Sandown

3. 💟 £10 on Shark Two One to win or place at Leicester + Debora’s Dream to win or place at Sandown

ꦜ If all three horses place, you’ll collect £108.34, giving you a tidy profit of £48.34 over your total stake. But if all three horses win, you’ll see a payout of £829.59.

How Round Robin Bet Works on Other Sports

ౠ Round-robin betting isn’t exclusive to football or horse racing — it’s a flexible option you can use in any sport. Let’s take a look at how this betting strategy can be effectively applied across different sports.

Round-Robin Betting in Tennis

Below is how tennis round-robin betting works in practice with four matches from the Cincinnati Masters 1000 tournament.

🐷 For this, we’ll be placing our bets on Betway — one of the top UK sites for tennis betting:

🌜 Now, instead of just throwing all four into a single accumulator and hoping for the best, we’ll split these into a round-robin bet and give ourselves a little breathing room. That means we’re creating six different two-leg combos, with £10 on each:

1. Adrian Mannarino to beat Nuno Borges + Fabian Marozsan🍒 to beat Corentin Moutet = £10 x 3.2 x 2.0 = £64.00

2. Adrian Mannarino to beat Nuno Borges + Felix Auger Aliassime🐽 to beat Aleksandar Kovacevic = £10 x 3.2 x 1.29 = £41.28

3. Adrian Mannarino to beat Nuno Borges + Jan-Lennard Struffౠ to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas = £10 x 3.2 x 2.6 = £83.20

4. Fabian Marozsan to beat Corentin Moutet + Felix Auger Aliassime🦩 to beat Aleksandar Kovacevic = £10 x 2.0 x 1.29 = £25.80

5. Fabian Marozsan to beat Corentin Moutet + Jan-Lennard Struff🌜 to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas = £10 x 2.0 x 2.6 = £52.00

6. Felix Auger Aliassime to beat Aleksandar Kovacevic + Jan-Lennard Struff꧙ to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas = £10 x 1.29 x 2.6 = £33.54

꧃ With this four-fold round-robin, you’re covering all possible combinations of these four tennis selections. The total stake for these six combos is £60, and if all matches go your way, you could walk away with a payout of £299.82.

ꦰ Now, let’s consider different scenarios. What if, say, Marozsan has an off day and loses? No worries — you’re still in the game with the other combos, and you could still end up in profit if Mannarino and Struff pull through.

🎃 Tennis, particularly at the Cincinnati Masters, is ripe for round-robin betting. Top seeds can have off days, and upsets happen more often than you think — especially on the hard courts, where anyone can beat anyone on a given day.

ꦜ Moreover, the tournament kicks off right after the Montreal (or Toronto) Masters, so players who went deep in Montreal might be dealing with fatigue or trying to adjust to different conditions.

💯 By using a round robin, you’re hedging against those uncertainties while still giving yourself a shot at a decent payout.

Round-Robin Betting in Cricket

꧅ Let’s now check out how round robin works in one of the UK's favourite sports, cricket. This time, we’re switching things up by focusing on outright bets instead of match winners. The great thing about a round robin is that you can mix and match any singles markets you like. We’ve chosen outrights because they often come with better odds and keep your bets alive over a longer period.

ꦉ We’ll get our bet down at BetVictor, since it’s known to have competitive cricket odds.

Here are our outright selections:

🦩 With these selections, let’s build our round-robin bet. Here’s how it shapes up:

1. Surrey (7/2) + India (7/4) = £10 stake x 4.50 x 2.75 = £123.75

2. Surrey (7/2) + Mumbai Indians (9/2) = £10 stake x 4.50 x 5.50 = £247.50

3. India (7/4) + Mumbai Indians (9/2) = £10 stake x 2.75 x 5.50 = £151.25

Total potential return: £522.50

ꦚ The combo of Surrey and Mumbai Indians is the most profitable, offering a potential return of £247.50. But no matter which duo lands, you’re already sitting on a tidy profit.

♔ Here’s where you really see the benefits of a round-robin bet. The Vitality T20 Blast and IPL wrap up first. Now, had you played a standard accumulator, you’d be on edge, wondering whether to hedge your bet on India winning the World Cup or thinking about cashing out if the bookie offered it. But with a round robin, you’re already counting your winnings at this stage.

𒀰 Because those earlier legs have already paid out, you’re free to let that final leg ride. Whether you hedge your India bet or not, you’re in a great spot. If you’re confident in India’s chances, you can just sit back, enjoy the ride, and potentially rake in even more.

ꦜ The round-robin bet gives you the freedom to manage your strategy without the usual stress, knowing you’ve locked in profit before the final showdown.

How To Calculate Round Robin Odds

🐭 Since bookies don’t show the payout for each acca combo on your round-robin bet slip — just the max potential if all come in — you’ll need to figure it out yourself. We’ll show you how to calculate round-robin bet payouts.

൩ Your total payout depends on the odds for each selection and how many combos you hit.

First, use our odds calculatorꦑ to convert all your odds from fractional to decimal. Then, calculate the payout for each acca combo.

♈ Let’s go back to our round-robin bet example with three football matches from the Irish Cup and convert the odds to decimal:

ꦜ Imagine placing a £10 bet on a three-pick round robin, creating three acca combos with two legs each. To calculate the potential payout for one acca combo, multiply the stake by the odds for each leg. Here’s how it would look:

1. £10 on Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB+ Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev = £10 x 2.38 x 4.2 = £99.96

2. £10 on Maccabi Tel Aviv to beat FCSB + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys = £10 x 2.38 x 1.15 = £27.37

3. £10 on Partizan Belgrade to beat Dynamo Kiev + Jagiellonia Bialystok to beat FK Panevezys = £10 x 4.2 x 1.15 = £48.3

♔ So, your potential payouts for each combo would be £102, £36.60, and £41.48 respectively. Add these to see your total potential return if all your combos win.

༺ To determine your payouts, you can also use a free bet calculator for round robin.

How To Place a Round-Robin Bet

꧋ Since most UK bookies don’t have a direct option for a round robin on the bet slip, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you set one up. Let’s use 10bet as an example:

1. Head to your chosen bookie: Pick one from our top list.

2. Sign up for an account:🙈 Fill in your details, including your name, address, and login credentials.

3. Deposit funds:𒅌 Click the plus icon in the top right to add funds to your account.

4. Make your selections:🅺 Head to the sports lobby and pick at least three horses.

5. Open the “System” tab: Go to your bet slip and find the “System” tab.

6. Enter your stake:꧟ Under “Doubles,” input how much you want to stake on each round of the Robin Acca combination.

7. Place your bet:⛎ Double-check your selections and stakes, then hit submit.

Round Robin Betting Tips & Strategies

Round-robin betting is an advanced strategy. Here are some savvy tipsﷺ to help you get the best out of your round-robin bets:

Round Robin Alternatives

ജ Round robin is just one of many system bets you can explore. Other variations tend to build on the round-robin concept, which means a bit more outlay but also the chance for a bigger payout.

🃏 Here are some great alternatives, depending on how much you’re ready to spend and the kind of return you’re pursuing.

Trixie

A Trixie bet✱ is like a three-leg round-robin but with an added treble on top of the doubles. The level of risk is on par with a round robin, but the potential payout is higher since you also win on the treble if all three picks come through. However, it’s a bit more expensive because you’re covering the stake for that extra treble. It’s a smart way to push for bigger returns without taking on more risk.

Check out our dedicated article to learn more about Trixie bets.

Patent

A Patent bet🦩 covers three selections with seven bets: three singles, three doubles, and a treble. This means you can still get a return even if only one of your picks comes through. It’s a goodchoice if you’re looking for a bit more security while keeping the potential for a decent return if all your selections win.

Yankee

A Yankee bet🐭 involves four selections and 11 bets: six doubles, four trebles, and a four-fold accumulator. Unlike Trixie and Patent, Yankee doesn’t include singles, so you’ll need at least two picks to win to see a return. It’s a well-balanced bet for those who want to spread their risk but are also aiming for a larger payout, especially if three or four of your selections come through.

Canadian

A Canadian bet🉐, also known as a Super Yankee, is a massive wager that involves five selections broken down into 26 different combinations: 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five four-folds, and a five-fold accumulator. To see any returns, you need at least two of your selections to come through.

𝔍 Keep in mind that this is a pricier option since you’re covering the stake for each of those 26 bets, but the upside is the broader coverage. The good news is that most bookies have a Canadian option built in, so you don’t have to manually sort out each combination — just choose your stake (which is per combo), and the slip will work it out for you.

Pros & Cons of Round-Robin Betting

🍨 Here's a quick overview of the advantages and disadvantages of round-robin betting to give you a clear picture of what to expect.

ThePuntersPage Final Say

༺ Round-robin bets can be a valuable addition to your betting toolkit. Is the added safety net worth the extra outlay? That depends on your risk tolerance and betting style. These bets offer a safer, more balanced approach with a higher chance of getting some return, but don’t necessarily increase the expected value compared to a standard accumulator.