What is a Yankee Bet & How Does it Work?
A Yankee bet is a multiple offered by online betting sites that consists of 11 bets on four picks: six doubles, four trebles, and a four-leg accumulator (also known as a parlay or multi). To be clear, a Yankee does not include any single bets.
You need to win at least two of the four selections to get a return on your Yankee. The following guide explains how a Yankee bet works and when to consider placing one.
Note: This article uses British pounds (£) and fractional odds. For context, 2/1 in fractional equals 3.00 in decimal or +200 in American odds. The same betting principles apply globally, regardless of your local currency or odds format.
How Does a Yankee Bet Work?
There are 11 different combinations in a Yankee bet. So your total stake is 11 times your unit stake. For example, a £2 Yankee bet will cost a total of £22.
Here is a breakdown of the 11 different bets in a Yankee:
- Six doubles
- Four trebles
- One four-leg accumulator
Your four selections must come from different events.
If you have horses or greyhounds as any of your selections, you will be asked if you want to take the current price or the starting price (SP). Because many betting sites offer best odds guaranteed, taking the current price is often the way to go.
What Sports Can You Place a Yankee Bet on?
Yankee bets are popular at horse racing betting sites but can also be used effectively across many sports. There are generally no restrictions when placing Yankees, so you can use this type of bet on whichever sport you want.
You can also combine selections from different sports into a Yankee. For example, you can combine four football or soccer legs in a Yankee bet.
When to Place a Yankee Bet
- Yankees can enhance your potential returns if you have multiple picks you like across a range of races or events.
- Because fewer bets exist in a Lucky 15, a Yankee bet is often better when combining shorter-priced selections.
- Consider placing a Yankee bet when you have four runners you like in a greyhound or horse race.
- You can boost your potential returns on a four-leg football accumulator without adding more selections to the bet.
Example of a Traditional Yankee Bet
Now, let’s take a look at a real-life Yankee bet example with four horses that all ran on the same day:
- Selection 1: Ancient Wisdom (1.25 Newmarket) – 2/1 (WON)
- Selection 2: The Shunter (2.40 Newmarket) – 14/1 (WON)
- Selection 3: Raadobarg (3.50 Newmarket) – 7/1 (LOST)
- Selection 4: Funny Story (5.00 Newmarket) – 9/1 (WON)
Since these selections were combined in a £2 Yankee win bet, the cost would be a total of £22.
Three of the four selections won at quite long odds, so it was a profitable bet. The total return for this wager would have been £1,350—a £1,328 profit on the initial outlay.
Here's how the payout on this Yankee bet is calculated:
We'll convert fractional odds to decimal and multiply by the stake to make things easier to calculate.
- Ancient Wisdom/The Shunter: £90.00 (£2 x 3.0 x 15.0 = £90)
- The Shunter/Funny Story: £300 (£2 x 15.0 x 10.0 = £300)
- Ancient Wisdom/Funny Story: £60 (£2 x 3.0 x 10.0 = £60)
Doubles Total: £450
Total Yankee Bet Winnings: £1,350 (£450 + £900)
What is a Super-Yankee Bet?
A Super-Yankee is one step up from a Yankee. It involves five selections, as opposed to four.
The extra selection means there are 26 combinations involved, making it more expensive than a normal Yankee bet and giving it the potential to yield bigger returns.
Here is an example of a £1 Super-Yankee bet (total stake £26) from a collection of Premier League football fixtures.
- Selection 1: Everton to beat Bournemouth – 19/20 (WON)
- Selection 2: Luton and Spurs to draw – 7/2 (LOST)
- Selection 3: Arsenal to beat Manchester City - 15/8 (WON)
- Selection 4: Wolves and Aston Villa to draw – 5/2 (WON)
- Selection 5: Brighton and Liverpool to draw – 9/4 (WON)
In this example, four of our five Super Yankee selections won, generating a total return of £206.33 – a profit of over £180. Here’s a breakdown of that total return:
- Everton/Arsenal: £5.61 (£1 x 1.95 x 2.88)
- Everton/Brighton vs. Liverpool Draw: £6.34 (£1 x 1.95 x 3.25)
- Arsenal/Brighton vs. Liverpool Draw: £9.36 (£1 x 2.88 x 3.25)
- Everton/Wolves vs. Aston Villa Draw: £6.83 (£1 x 1.95 x 3.5)
- Arsenal/Wolves vs. Aston Villa Draw: £10.08 (£1 x 2.88 x 3.5)
- Wolves vs. Aston Villa Draw/Brighton vs. Liverpool Draw: £11.38 (£1 x 3.5 x 3.25)
Doubles Total: £49.60
Total: £206.33 (£49.60 + £92.85 + £63.88)
How do Each-Way Yankee Bets Work?
Each-way bets work well in multiples like Yankees because you can make a solid profit without picking a winner.
The key point to remember about an each-way bet is that there are two parts: win and place. That means, if you combine each-way selections in a Yankee bet, it will double in cost.
For example, a £1 Yankee on four win-only selections would cost £11, while a £1 each-way Yankee bet would cost £22.
Regarding the place payout of your each-way selection, industry standards dictate that you will generally be paid out at 1/5, although you will sometimes get 1/4 odds on races with 4-7 runners.
Yankee Bet vs. Lucky 15
The main difference between a Yankee and a Lucky 15 is that a Lucky 15 bet contains four single bets, doubles, trebles, and a four-leg accumulator. A Yankee bet only contains doubles, trebles, and a four-leg accumulator.
That’s why a Yankee costs 11 times your unit stake, while a Lucky 15 costs 15 times, reflecting the total number of individual bets placed.
Another difference is that with a Lucky 15, you will get some return if you have just one winning selection, while a Yankee requires picking at least two winners.
