Simply put, one Heinz bet is made up of lots of different-sized multiples and consists of 57 bets in total. As there are 57 bets, your stake is multiplied by that number, so a £1 stake would cost a total of £57.

Here’s how it works: You make six selections, and these are automatically put into the following structure (totalling 57 bets):

• 15 doubles
• 20 trebles
• 15 four-fold accumulators
• Six five-fold accumulators
• One six-fold accumulator  

The number of each type of accumulator is to cover every combination of your selections, for example if you choose six teams to win their respective football matches, there are 15 doubles that could be made from those six, 20 trebles and so on. 

To guarantee a return with a Heinz bet, at least two of your chosen teams need to win because the smallest accumulators we have are the doubles. Clearly, your returns will be higher if more of your selections win, as more of the accumulators with a higher number of legs will come in. 

For example, let’s imagine five of your chosen teams win, you’d get the returns from one five-fold accumulator, and then also all of the doubles, trebles and four-fold accumulators containing the five winning selections - generating a good profit. If all six of your selections win then all of the 57 bets would come in returning the maximum profit.

So, a Heinz bet provides you with more chances of winning as it covers more outcomes, but generally requires a large stake, because as previously mentioned, however much you choose to bet is multiplied by 57. 

If you chose to back a standard six-fold accumulator, if just one of your selections doesn’t win your bet has been lost, whereas as explained before, you only need a minimum of two of your selections to win at least something with a Heinz bet. 

So it really comes down to personal preference, would you rather stake quite a lot more and have more chances of winning, or would you prefer just one shot at winning but with a low stake?

You can do a Heinz bet with any sport, although they are most popular with football and horse racing. However, it is important to remember your selections must be from different events - so six different football matches, or six horse races etc. 

Can I do an each-way Heinz bet?

You can do a Heinz bet with each-way selections, but bear in mind that your stake will be double that of a Heinz bet containing just win selections. This is because an each-way bet is split into two, one bet on the horse to win, and one bet on the horse to place. So, rather than a £1 stake costing you £57, it would cost you £114. 

However, an each-way bet provides you with a much higher chance of your selections coming in (as the horses only need to place), so combining that with the nature of a Heinz bet which covers many eventualities, could be a good option for those who don’t mind risking the higher stakes. 

So, that’s the Heinz bet explained in simple terms, and again, it really comes down to personal preference, but it can be a great way to bet and keep your selections alive even if some let you down. 

The ability to place a Heinz bet is traditionally a feature of betting on sportsbooks, and as Smarkets is a peer-to-peer exchange, we don’t currently offer this functionality. However, it’s something that we’re working on and hope to bring it to the platform in the near future.