A Patent bet consists of three selections of your choosing, and these are then automatically put into different combinations to make three singles, three doubles and a treble - totalling seven bets. They are most commonly used for win-only bets on horse racing and football, but you can also combine different types of bets from various sports if you prefer. 

There are seven bets in a Patent bet to cover every possible combination of your selections, for example there are three doubles as this is the number of pairings that can be made from your three choices (1+2, 2+3, 1+3). Similarly, if one of your singles wins you’re guaranteed some returns as there are three singles within the Patent bet covering each outcome, and if all of your selections win then you’d win all of the seven bets including the treble. So, the more of your selections that win, the more returns you’ll get. A Patent bet is often compared to a Trixie bet, the only difference being that a Trixie doesn’t have the three singles, and provides a little less security in that sense. 

However, it’s important to remember that because you’re effectively placing seven separate bets within one, your stake will be multiplied by seven, so a £1 stake would cost you £7. You also can’t decide to stake more on the singles and less on the treble for example, your money will be spread evenly across all seven bets. As a result, it’s also worth noting that if only one of your selections wins, depending on the odds you’re unlikely to make much profit due to the size of the stake compared to the winnings from one single. 

So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of placing a Patent bet, and why do people do them? Starting with the benefits, if we think of a normal accumulator, if just one of your selections doesn’t win the bet is lost. However, with a Patent bet, only one of your three selections needs to come in to see some returns, and if just two of the three win your profit will rise significantly. So, in simple terms it provides a bettor with more chances to win than a standard accumulator. A Patent bet can also provide much higher returns as if all three of your choices win, you not only win the treble but also the other four bets which you wouldn’t have in a traditional accumulator. 

However, the downside is of course that you are having to stake a lot more money than you would with a normal accumulator - given that you’re actually placing seven bets rather than one. So it really comes down to personal preference, would you rather have more chances to win and front a higher stake, or have less chances to win and stake less? 

Can I do an each-way Patent bet?

Absolutely, there is nothing stopping you from doing an each-way Patent bet, and it is a very popular choice for horse racing bettors. However, when you place an each-way bet your stake is of course doubled as you have one bet on the horse to win and one bet for it to place. What this means is that your stake compared to a win-only Patent bet will be double, so instead of a £1 stake costing you £7, it would cost you £14 if it consisted totally of each-way selections. 

Your stake will be a lot higher in an each-way Patent, but you’ll also have a lot more chances of winning given that each horse only needs to place. This, combined with the forgiving nature of a Patent bet in the first place, can be quite an appealing option - it just depends what your preference is. There is also nothing stopping you from combining each-way selections and win-only selections in your Patent. 

So, that’s a Patent bet explained and we hope that this article has helped you understand the concept and decide whether it’s a type of bet you might be interested in. Patent bets are most commonly features of sportsbooks and because Smarkets is an exchange, we don’t currently offer this functionality, but plan to introduce it in the near future.