What is a Round Robin Bet? Round Robin Betting Explained

A round robin bet is a set of smaller parlays created from a more extensive list of teams you pick. While following a similar concept to a parlay, this wager allows players to make a profit even if only some of their parlay bets cover, making this a unique and fun way to wager.

In this guide, we introduce you to the ins and outs of round robin betting, how these bets work, how to place them, their pros and cons, and several tips for placing these wagers.

What is a Round Robin Bet?

Now that we have answered the question, how do round robin bets work? It is important also to note that these bets can range from three team picks right up to 10 teams, and the more teams (or athletes) you choose, the more combinations you end up with.

Below, we look at some of the most common team picks bettors opt for when using round robins for sports betting.

Three-Team Round Robin Sports Betting

This is the simplest of the wagers a bettor can place when round robin betting. Here, a bettor chooses three teams. For instance, if you check out the example below, we chose three NBA teams, the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Phoenix Suns.

Once you have selected your three teams, head over to the betting slip, and select the Round Robin (RR) option. The calculator on the sportsbook then generates three parlays of two teams.

Since we set our bet amount to $10, it shows for all three individual parlays, we wager $10 each, making our total bet $30. The bet slip also shows our maximum payout should all three of our parlays win, which in this instance would be $78.

Four-Team Round Robin Betting

If we were to add another team to our selection of picks, that would leave us with six two-team parlays:

• Team A and Team B
• Team A and Team C
• Team A and Team D
• Team B and Team C
• Team B and Team D
• Team C and Team D

We added the Denver Nuggets to our selection shown in the example below, which increased our wager to six individual bets, and because we wagered $10 per bet, our total wager came to $60, with our potential payout sitting at $156.

Five-Team Round Robin Bet

If we were to add another team to our picks to create a five-team round robin wager, the sportsbook would generate 10 bets of two-teams each.

• Team A and Team B
• Team A and Team C
• Team A and Team D
• Team A and Team E
• Team B and Team C
• Team B and Team D
• Team B and Team E
• Team C and Team D
• Team C and Team E
• Team D and Team E

In our example below, we added the Boston Celtics to our picks to create a five-team round robin. As you can see on the bet slip, we kept our wager of $10, which means we ultimately put down $100. Our potential payout was then increased to $260.

Trixies and Patents

Sometimes a sportsbook will use a nickname for a particular round robin bet. Generally, these names are borrowed from horse racing. The first one is a Trixie. A Trixie is four total wagers:

• 3 x two-team parlays
• 1 x three-team parlay

A Patent is similar to a Trixie in that it also has these bets, but it also includes three single wagers, making up seven bets in total:

• 3 x two-team parlays
• 1 x three-team parlay
• 3 x single wagers

Additional Round Robin Bets

Besides Trixies and Patents, there are several other combinations of round robins bets bettors can make. Some of these include:

• Yankee (11 bets)
• Lucky 15 (15 bets)
• Canadian (26 bets)
• Lucky 31 (31 bets)
• Heinz (57 bets)
• Lucky 63 (63 bets)
• Super Heinz (120 bets)
• Lucky 127 (127 bets)

When bettors choose five games for a round robin wager, they can create 26 different parlays, which make up a Canadian:

• 10 x two-team parlays
• 10 x three-team parlays
• five x four-team parlays
• one x five-team parlays.

In contrast, when a bettor picks six teams, 57 parlay options become available, and this is referred to as a Heinz.

Before bettors can place a round robin bet, they must first sign up with a sportsbook, claim a bonus, and deposit funds into their accounts. Luckily, this process is quick and easy when using the best online sportsbooks, and we take you through it in a few short steps so you can get to placing your wagers. Here, we use BetOnline as an example, but the steps are relatively the same for most sportsbooks, in case you wanted to use BetOnline alternatives. So, check out our quick guide below.

Step One – Register with BetOnline

Search for and then open the BetOnline website and click the green “Join” button. Next, add your details on the registration form that opens, and choose a username and password. Then, click “Create Account.”

Step Two – Get Verified

Once you’ve registered your account, BetOnline will email a verification link to you, which you must click to activate your new profile. Once you’ve done this, use your new credentials to sign back into BetOnline and access your account.

Step Three – Make Your First Deposit

Next, it’s time to fund your account. So, click the blue “Banking” button on the homepage. Then, choose your payment method from the dropdown menu, and add the amount you wish to deposit. Next, type your BetOnline promo code “BOL1000” in the promo code box provided to claim your welcome bonus (this is one step you don’t want to miss). Finally, click “Deposit Now” and follow the prompts to complete your payment.

Step Four – Choose Your Sport

Click on the “Sports” tab on the BetOnline homepage. Then, select the sport you want to place your round robin bets on, for example, basketball. Next, from the options available for this sport, select the league and matchs you want to put your money on. Now is also when you will decide how many picks you want to make, but remember it must be three or more.

Step Five – Place Your Wager

Once you have selected the games, click on the round robin button on your betslip to populate it with the relevant combinations. Next, type in the amount you wish to put down on your bet slip. Then, click “place bet,” and you’re done!

While round robin betting takes some getting used to, there are several tips and strategies bettors can put in place to help them along the way. Below, we discuss our top tips for placing round robin wagers that we thought you might find helpful.

Tip One: Start Small

If you are new to round robin sports betting, we recommend starting off small. Since the more teams you pick, the more you have to stake, the trickier it becomes to follow what is going on. As a result, we suggest starting off slowly by picking the lowest number of teams possible (three) and focusing on those games you know you have a good chance of accurately predicting the outcome. Once you have the hang of things, you can move on to more diverse parlays.

Tip Two: Find Value in the Unerdogs

One way to place a lucrative round robin bet is to look for one or two underdog teams that stand a good chance of winning their games and placing a moneyline wager for those teams. These moneylines are added to the round robin parlay and, if they win, will provide a much greater payout. If both these teams win and you have them in a two-game parlay, you will earn the most significant payout possible.

Tip Three: Stick to Minimal Wager Values

Remember, when you wager a round robin, the amount you place as a bet is the base number, which the sportsbook then applies to the number of the combinations chosen. So, if you opt for a $35 wager and then pick five teams that create 10 two-team parlays, that means your total stake will end up being $350.

Tip Four: Do Your Research

Possibly the best round robin betting strategy you could have is to research the teams and their stats before picking your bets. Doing this makes it easier to make more accurate wagers that result in more profitable round robin wagers.

Tip Five: Practice

Another top tip for round robin betting is to practice. The more you place these kinds of wagers, the quicker you will understand them and know what to look for when placing future bets. In turn, this will help you to see excellent opportunities and place those high-payout wagers more quickly.

Round robin betting applies to most sports and can be used with several betting lines like moneylines, spreads, and totals. So, whether you are a UFC fan, a hockey lover, or you’re into football, you can make this style of wagering work for you.

When visiting the best basketball betting sites to place a spread bet on the NBA, players can incorporate this into their round robin bets. The spread continues to work the same way, whereby the bettor minimizes the margin of error by picking the team within the spread; they predict they will stay within the given handicap.

Bettors heading to the best NHL betting sites to wager on hockey may want to place a straight-up moneyline, where the team they bet on must win the match outright for the bettor’s selection to be classified as a win.

In contrast, soccer betting sites offer a three-way money line for these events, which doesn’t work as well when round robin betting. However, Asian handicaps offer a far better option for those looking to place round robin bets on soccer matches.

How Do You Win a Round Robin Bet?

While round robin sports betting can be useful for some, it may not work for others. For bettors who wager recreationally, the round robin offers a much more lucrative alternative to a long-shot parlay or a teaser.

In contrast, pro bettors may not find round robin betting as useful as parlays, and similar bets like these come with a negative expected value. In other words, bettors are likely to lose more than they win, which, if you are using betting to gain an income, is not ideal.

Although round robin betting has its positives, there are some negatives to this style of wagering too. Below, we look at the pros and cons of round robin bets.

Which Site Offers the Best Round Robin Bets?