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Most sports bettors are familiar with accumulators, but some may have never even heard of a Trixie bet. A Trixie bet takes 3 separate possible outcomes and produces 4 different wagers. Instead of having 3 straight bets or 1 treble accumulator, a Trixie combines your 3 picks into 3 doubles and a 1 treble.
Trixie bets lead to more excitement, more action, and a chance at higher returns than other forms of wagering. That being said, most bettors don’t know how or when to use Trixie bets. Because of that, I’ve created a Trixie betting guide with examples to show you how to earn higher payouts without having to significantly increase your overall risk.
- GET FASTER BANKROLL GROWTH! If all 3 picks (4 bets in total) in the Trixie bet come home a winner, your bankroll grows at a much faster rate than with betting only singles.
- LESS FRUSTRATION THAN ACCUMULATORS! All of your picks must win if you’re betting an accumulator. That means you get nothing, even if 2 of your 3 selections win. That’s NOT the case with Trixie bets.
- ONLY BET TRIXIES IF YOU HAVE 3 SOLID PICKS! Trixie bets are less risky than some of their counterparts, but they can still eat into your bankroll in a hurry. You never want to force an extra pick or two just to put a Trixie into play.
Trixie Bet Basics: How It Works
A Trixie bet combines 3 separate bets, usually on sporting events or horse races, into 4 wagers in total. So, instead of having 3 singles, the bettor comes away with 4 different accumulators (3 doubles and 1 treble). Remember, with doubles and trebles, all selections must win for you to get a return.
To bet a Trixie, you’ll need to factor in a 4x stake to cover all 4 wagers. This may sound like a lot, but it’s only an extra unit of risk when compared to placing 3 separate singles. The extra risk is acceptable to most bettors because of the shot at much higher returns.
The structure is pretty simple on Trixie bets. Each selection gets paired with every other selection separately to form the 3 doubles. The treble simply combines all 3 picks into one wager. One nice advantage of the 3 doubles structure of a Trixie bet is that you’ll receive a payout on one of them as long as you get 2 of your 3 picks correct.
Step-by-Step Trixie Bet Examples and Potential Returns
If you’ve never placed a Trixie Bet, you may be scratching your head with lots of questions. The best way to learn is to see a real-life example of a live Trixie in action. I just placed the following Trixie at an online sportsbook, so let’s go over the ins and outs below.
I like a couple of underdogs in football’s Serie A, so let’s see how things will pay out. I’m going to select Sassuolo to beat Cremonese at -115 odds. I’ll take Juventus to beat Napoli at +100. To wrap up the Trixie, I’ll take AS Roma to beat AC Milan at +155.
Here are copies of the bet slips after I placed this $1 Trixie bet:
Credit: DraftKings
The payout sheet at the bottom is a great tool to use, and some online betting sites include them when you place a Trixie bet, just to clarify the payout structure of each of the 3 doubles.
As you can see, if Sassuolo (Bet 1) and Juventus (Bet 2) both win, our $1 wager will return $3.73. If Sassuolo (Bet 1) and AS Roma (Bet 3) both win, our bet will pay out $4.76. Finally, if Juventus (Bet 2) and AS Roma (Bet 3) both come home winners, we’ll get $5.10.
That settles up the payout structure for the doubles, but we still need to dive into the treble. That bet slip is below. If all 3 of our picks win, our treble pays out $9.53. However, that would also mean that all 3 of our doubles wins as well. That would win us a total amount of $23.12, which is not too shabby for a $4 investment.
Credit: DraftKings
So, as you can see from the above examples, if 2 of our 3 selections win, we’re at least going to come close to breaking even. If Bet 1 and Bet 2 cash, but not Bet 3, we’ll lose just 0.27. If any of the other 2 doubles win, we take home a little bit of profit. This is a big reason why some bettors choose Trixies over standard accumulators (parlays).
However, just because Trixie bets aren’t as risky as accumulators doesn’t mean they are without risk. Keep in mind, if you lose 2 of your 3 selections (or worse), you’ll have lost 4x your standard stake. That’s not quite as risky as the 7x stake of a patent bet, but it’s still a substantial loss.
Trixie Betting Strategies That Work
Lots of gamblers love to place Trixie bets for some extra action on a big sports day, but very few know how to do so in a manner that profits consistently. In this section, I’ll give you my 3 best strategies for Trixie bets. These 3 tips are all about walking the fine line between maximizing returns and minimizing risk.
Choose a Bet Size That’s Conservative and Consistent
Bankroll management is the key to long-term success in sports betting. I’ll say this until I’m blue in the face because choosing a conservative unit size really is that vital. This is especially true when employing a higher risk wager like a Trixie. If your standard bet size for single wagers is 2 units (a unit being 1% of your overall bankroll), I’d make my unit size no larger than 0.3 units. This is because a Trixie bet is actually 4 bets rolled into 1. That limits your overall risk to just 1.2% of your bankroll per Trixie. Remember, the goal is to always bet responsibly. If you need help or more information, reach out to the International Center for Responsible Gaming.
Make Sure You at Least Break-Even if You Win 2 of 3
Since a Trixie is basically 4 separate accumulators, you want to make sure the potential returns are something that you can live with. Because of the unique structure of the 3 doubles in a Trixie bet, you can still get a payout if you win 2 of your 3 picks. Since this is the case, my rule of thumb is to make sure I can at least break even when this happens. Betting is more psychological than most folks realize, and it hurts when you pick more winners than losers and still wind up losing money for the day.
Mix in Different Games or Even Different Sports
A lot of new bettors like to use the same tactics for Trixie bets as they do for full-blown accumulators. For example, folks will place 2 of their Trixie selections on the same game, like Chelsea to win and for them to score more than 2.5 goals. Those two results are highly correlated, which means that if 1 wins, then both of them have a high chance of winning. That sounds great in theory, but that’s the last thing you want when betting Trixies because it virtually ruins your shot of winning at least 2 of your 3 selections if things don’t go exactly the way you planned. The safest way to play Trixies, and the most profitable long-term, is to diversify with different sports or at least different games. As a general rule, never use 2 of your Trixie selections on the same game or match. Look for outcomes that are completely independent of each other.
Find Your Own Sweet Spot for Odds
So many things in sports betting are dependent on the individual, and this tip checks that box as well. I’m by nature a very conservative gambler, so I like to use 2 small favorites and 1 underdog when betting Trixies. I’d rather win a higher overall percentage of my bets in exchange for some lower returns. This is where knowing your own risk tolerance comes into play. If you’re approaching Trixies as a long-term investment, stick to 2 small favorites (1.7 to 1.9 range) and 1 medium-sized underdog (2.2 to 3.0 range). If you prefer somewhat of a lottery ticket, or are playing Trixies just for fun, feel free to shoot for the moon and include 3 medium to large underdogs.
Best Sports and Types of Wagers for Trixie Bets
Since we’ve already established that Trixie bets tend to work well when using a variety of sports, I wanted to dive into which sports are the best ones to employ for this type of wagering. Feel free to mix and match these as you see fit, but stick to the sports from this list to help maximize your potential returns on Trixie bets.
Now, let’s go over which types of bets work well from these sports for Trixies. Since there are so many different types of wagers available, having a solid game plan will save you lots of time and headaches. This list isn’t the end all be all for Trixies, but it’s a good starting point for newer bettors:
- Football (Soccer): match winner, total goals (Over/Under), both teams to score
- Tennis: match winner, total number of sets (Over/Under)
- Basketball: moneyline underdogs, total points (Over/Under), player props
- American Football: moneyline underdogs, player props, total points (Over/Under)
Pros and Cons of Trixie Bets
If you’re still wrestling with whether or not to use Trixies as part of your betting portfolio, this section may help you make a final decision. We’ll briefly list the major pros and cons of this type of wager below.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
|---|---|
| Less Risky than Standard Accumulators (Parlays) | More Risk than Regular Singles (4x your stake instead of just 1x) |
| Higher Potential Returns than Singles | No Returns at all if You Win Just 1 of 3 Picks |
| Possible Profit if Winning 2 of 3 Picks | Less Potential Returns than Standard Accumulators |
| Variety of Sports can be used |
FAQs
Why Are Correlated Selections Discouraged When Betting Trixies?
They increase your overall risk too much. Since we have to win at least 2 of our 3 picks to break-even or turn a profit with Trixies, we want all selections to be independent of each other. For example, let’s say that you use Chelsea to win their next match and their team total over 2.5 goals as two of your Trixie picks. If Chelsea’s best player gets a red card in the first few minutes, your entire Trixie bet is pretty much sunk at that point. To sum things up, betting on correlated picks decreases your diversification and increases your risk.
Why Do Trixie Bets Use 4x My Stake?
It’s because of the way Trixies are structured. A Trixie bet is really 4 bets rolled into 1. Once you enter your bet size, the sportsbook places that amount on 3 separate doubles and 1 treble. The 4x nature of Trixie bets makes responsible gaming even more important with this type of wager.
What’s the Difference Between Trixies and Patents?
Trixie bets and Patent bets are almost identical, except for one major difference. With patents, 3 single bets are added to give you 7 separate wagers in total. Patents have an overall stake of 7x, but you do receive a small return if 1 of your 3 picks wins.
When Should I Not Use a Trixie Bet?
If you’ve done all of your research for the day and can only find 1 or 2 picks that you like, it’s best to avoid Trixies for that day. Remember, it’s never a good idea to bet Trixies just for extra action. That’s a one-way ticket to a diminished bankroll.
Should Beginning Bettors Use Trixies?
Yes, newer bettors can use Trixies to get their feet wet in the wild and wacky world of combination wagering. However, it’s best for inexperienced bettors not to jump into Trixie bets too heavily until after they’ve mastered the art of picking winners in singles.
