What is speciality betting all about? Well it’s just any betting system not covered by a conventional classification such as a single, accumulator, forecast or full cover bet. People have come up with 1001 different ways to bet down the years, mostly based on mathematical factors and systems.
You could create your own special betting systems if you so wish, although the problem is not coming up with ideas for bet type but finding a bookmaker to take your bet.
In this section I give a couple of more basic examples called the Union Jack that you may come across in the world of sports betting. Online bookies will not readily offer these bet types and you may need to contact them directly or go to a betting shop to find terms and conditions for these bet types.
Union Jack
What is a Union Jack? This is a bet on nine selections based on a 3×3 grid system that looks night a noughts and crosses square, let’s call the selections A-I running in order through the grid.
This comprises are 8 trebles, 3 running horizontally (ABC, DEF, GHI), 3 vertically, (ADG, BEH, CFI) and 2 diagonally (AEI, CEG). This looks a little like the union jack, hence the name. Three selections must win within a treble for you to get a return. Obviously being eight individual bets the total wager amount is 8x your stake.
In this type of bet you could have 6 out of 9 selections win and still not get a return if it was say A/B/D/F/H/I. In this senario there would be no complete treble on the grid.
You could expand this to a 4×4 grid system, 5×5, etc. This type of bet becomes very very complex and you are likely to need a maths degree, as well as a big wallet to keep track of it.
Union Jack With Multiples
A standard Union Jack is made up of 8 bets but you can have a union jack bet with multiples, and this can make up to 80 bets:
- Union Jack Trixie – 32 bets made up of 24 doubles and 8 trebles.
- Union Jack Patent – 56 bets made up of 24 singles, 24 doubles and 8 trebles.
- Union Jack Round Robin – 80 bets made up of 24 doubles, 8 trebles and 24 up and down bets.
In theory you can go beyond this number of wagers by increasing the grid size. A 4×4 or 5×5 grid system with multiples could become exceptionally complex and I won’t go into it, but you can imagine.