System bet

With a system bet, you choose several tips that the provider splits into smaller combinations. A well-known example is the 2-from-3 system. You place three tips, and all possible two-way combinations are formed from them. If two of three tips are right, the matching part of your bet wins.

So you don't necessarily have to have all the tips right to get something back. This is the core of a system bet. Unlike with a pure accumulator, a single wrong tip doesn't immediately lead to a total loss. In return, your stake is spread across several rows, and the total stake is higher than on a single bet.

The notation 2 from 3 means: from three tips, all combinations of two tips each are formed. With three tips, that is exactly three two-way combinations. With larger systems such as 3 from 5, correspondingly more rows arise. At the betting shop on site, the staff are happy to help you fill in a system correctly.

Suppose you play a 2-from-3 system with the tips A, B and C. From this, three two-way combinations arise. You stake 3 euros per row, i.e. 9 euros in total. All tips have odds of 2.00, so a two-way combination has 4.00. In this example, A and B come in, C is wrong.

Only row 1 wins. You calculate the payout with payout = row stake times combined odds. At 3 euros and odds of 4.00, that is 12 euros. So despite one wrong tip, you get 12 euros back, on a total stake of 9 euros. A pure three-way accumulator, by contrast, would have been completely lost.

System bets are described with two numbers, such as 2 from 3. The first number indicates how many tips are combined per row. The second number stands for the total number of your tips. From these figures, it follows how many rows arise.

The more tips you choose and the smaller the combination size, the more rows arise. With the number of rows, your total stake also rises. A 3-from-5 system with ten rows already costs 20 euros at 2 euros per row.

An accumulator is a single big combination in which every tip has to be right. A system bet breaks your tips down into many small combinations.

• Safety: with the system bet, a wrong tip doesn't automatically mean a total loss
• Stake: spread across several rows, so the total stake is higher
• Odds: with all tips winning, the winnings are usually lower than on a perfect accumulator
• Structure: the accumulator is one row, the system is many rows

A system bet can suit you above all when you want to play several tips but aren't entirely sure about one or another. Instead of putting everything on a single big combination, you spread the risk across many small rows. That way a partial win remains possible even if one tip goes wrong.

Typical occasions are a matchday with several interesting fixtures or a selection of favourites where a surprise can't be ruled out. Anyone who, on the other hand, is after the maximum winnings from a single perfect accumulator is better served with the pure accumulator, but in return carries the full risk of loss on a single wrong tip.

Always bear in mind that the total stake multiplies with the number of rows. A system of many tips can quickly become expensive. At the betting shop on site, the staff show you how many rows a particular system produces and how high your total stake thereby becomes.

A system bet sits between a single bet and an accumulator.

• Advantage: a single wrong tip does not cost you the whole slip
• Advantage: you can combine several tips and still win something on the part that comes in
• Advantage: the risk is lower than on a pure accumulator

• Disadvantage: the total stake is higher, because the bet splits into many lines
• Disadvantage: the structure is more complex and not easy to grasp at first
• Disadvantage: the number of lines climbs quickly once you add more tips

System bets are a little more complex than other bet types. Work out in advance how many lines the bet produces and how high your total stake becomes as a result. Remember that the stake multiplies with every line. Only stake what you can afford to lose, and play responsibly. Gambling is permitted only from the age of 18 (21 in Bremen). You will find every bet type set side by side in the guide single bet, accumulator and system bet compared.