How a Round Robin bet works
The doubles and treble are the same as a Trixie. What makes a Round Robin different are the three single-stakes-about pairs, each made of two bets. For selections A and B, one bet is a single on A that, if it wins, puts the same stake on B. The other runs the opposite way, from B to A.
That is six up-and-down bets plus four multiples, so a £1 Round Robin costs £10 and £20 each way. If only one selection wins, the two up-and-down bets that start with it pay its winnings, while the stake rolls on to the losers. A winner at a decent price can still return something.
In American betting, “round robin” means something else: a set of parlays. The UK bet settled here is the traditional bookmaker Round Robin with up-and-down pairs.
What is in a Round Robin?
| Bet | Number |
|---|---|
| Doubles | 3 |
| Trebles | 1 |
| Up-and-down singles (3 pairs) | 6 |
| Total bets | 10 |
At £1 a bet, a Round Robin costs £10.00 win only, or £20.00 each way. At 10p a bet it costs £1.00.
Round Robin returns by number of winners
A £1 Round Robin (£10.00 in total) on selections at 2/1, 3/1, 5/2, with the winners taken in that order.
| Winners | Stake | Return | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | £10.00 | £0.00 | -£10.00 |
| 1 | £10.00 | £4.00 | -£6.00 |
| 2 | £10.00 | £29.00 | £19.00 |
| 3 | £10.00 | £114.50 | £104.50 |
At these prices the bet first shows a profit with 2 winners. Longer prices lower that number, and shorter prices raise it.
Worth knowing
Up-and-down bets are the part people most often settle wrongly. The breakdown below shows each one separately, labelled “A then B” and so on, so you can see where every pound of the return comes from.
Round Robin questions
What is a single stakes about bet?
Two linked singles. A stake goes on the first selection, and if it wins the same stake is taken from the return and placed on the second. A second bet runs the same way in reverse. In a Round Robin there are three such pairs, one for each pair of selections.
How many bets are in a Round Robin?
Ten: three doubles, one treble and three up-and-down pairs, which count as six bets.
How many winners does a Round Robin need to pay out?
One. The Round Robin includes bets that pay from a single winner, though one winner at a short price will not cover the full stake.