Using Full Cover Bets on sports betting

Multiple parlay bets exist in two different types: the ones you have to choose which combinations you bet on and the so-called full cover bets, where all possible combinations are covered by just clicking once and placing the same amount on every bet choice. Both of them have their strong and weak points.

You should always have in mind that the key to success is stability and patience. Don’t give up if you have four or five consecutive losing parlays. You’re strongly recommended not to toggle into parlay bets and single bets depending on your mood or your remaining bankroll. If you’re about to follow a certain strategy, you should try it out for a certain period and then come to a conclusion whether it suits your playstyle.

Small parlays: A perfect cover bets start

All online bookmakers offer a vast combination of multiple parlays. You should choose the one that fits your play style, but if you’re a beginner, the best way to learn how a parlay works is to start off with small parlays that consist of three or four matches.

So, how does a full cover parlay work? The core idea is that you win money even if you miss one or several other matches. But at most of the times this means you have to divide your total stake to dozens of bets, that are weakening your possibilities of earning a sustainable profit.

Where to place your parlay bets

The "full-cover" parlays

Online bookmakers advertise their “full-cover” parlays. These are multiple parlay bets, where you can place even 247 different bets on just one click, as soon as you have eight matches available and set the Goliath choice. Surely, there is a lot of anticipation when placing such a wager, even more so if you manage to win many of your selections.

However, you should accept the fact that you might have to adjust your playstyle in order to be profitable in the long run. Choosing these “full-cover” parlays means you bet on all the possible parlay combinations (except for singles), depending on your chosen wager. Let’s have a quick look:

Trixie (3 matches, 4 bets): 3 doubles, 1 treble.

Yankee (4 matches, 11 bets): 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold

Canadian (5 matches, 26 bets): 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfold bets, 1 fivefold

Heinz (6 matches, 57 bets): 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfold bets, 6 fivefold bets, 1 sixfold bet

Super Heinz (7 matches, 120 bets): 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfold bets, 21 fivefold bets, 7 sixfold bets, 1 sevenfold bet

Goliath (8 matches, 247 bets): 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfold bets, 56 fivefold bets, 28 sixfold bets, 8 sevenfold bets, 1 eighfold bet

Advantages of full cover bets

This is an easy and safe way of placing a parlay bet, but is it the best one? We all agree that placing hundreds of bets simultaneously is convenient, but dividing your total stake into several little pieces (even cents) is not the wisest thing to do.

The vast majority of high roller punters, who like placing parlay bets, only prefer the “Trixie” and “Yankee” ones. Missing one of three or two out of five selections shouldn't be a bother as you will receive a payout close to your stake, especially if you picked odds close to evens.

What about placing a Super Heinz or a Goliath? It’s recommended only if you feel confident on picking odds that surpass 2.00 (reaching 2.50 or even higher). So, if you place a Goliath with eight matches, you get a tiny profit even with three winning matches (below 50% winning percentage) and as your successful choices increase, so does your profit. But remember, placing a Goliath will divide your stake to 247 different bets. You need almost €250 just to place €1 on every bet.

Profit with few wins

If you like chasing high odds, full cover bets are for you, as you can ensure profit with the absolute minimum of winning bets. In case of outsider wins, draws, half time-full time selections, or even correct scores, you can get some money even with two wins, no matter how many you have built together.

A common punter mistake is placing high risk bets and not including doubles or trebles. In case you select six matches, you try to divide your stake as less as possible and place a 4-5-6 parlay bet (total 21 bets) instead of a Heinz (57 bets). But in this case you’re risking of getting nothing in return even if you win three out of six, something that is already difficult.

How to divide the amount

Let’s look at another example: If you’ve decided to bet on 5 draw results, all in 3.00 odds, which would be the best way to divide your stake? By placing a Canadian you get 26 different bets, but if you only place the doubles and the five-fold bet you get less than half (11 bets). Suppose you have a total amount of 26 euros. In the Canadian you place 1 euro on each bet and by covering only the doubles and the fivefold you place 2.36 euros per bet.

Let’s see what you get in both cases:

2 winners: Canadian:9 euros | Doubles-Fivefold: 21.24 euros

3 winners: Canadian: 54 euros | Doubles-Fivefold: 63.72 euros

4 winners: Canadian: 243 euros | Doubles-Fivefold: 127.44 euros

5 winners: Canadian: 998 euros | Doubles-Fivefold: 785.88 euros

In case of two or three winners, which is most likely, the second parlay bet will give you more money. Even with a complete success of five out of five right picks, the doubes-fivefold bet will award about 80% of the total Canadian winnings. The worst case scenario is winning four bets, as you'll get around half the winnings of the Canadian bet.