Last updated: April 2026
What is a Trixie bet? How it works, what it costs, and when it beats a Patent
A Trixie bet is 4 bets across 3 selections: 3 doubles and 1 treble. It's the smallest full-cover bet that excludes singles, which means you need at least 2 winners for any return — but it only costs 4 units. A £1 Trixie costs £4. If you've wondered what is a Trixie in betting — or whats a Trixie bet in plain English — it's the lean, no-frills alternative to a Patent: cheaper, more focused on combinations, and ideal when your selections are at short odds where singles wouldn't pull their weight. This is the Trixie bet explained with full worked examples, real comparisons, and an honest look at when it's worth it and when it isn't.
Try the Trixie Calculator → Work out your returns instantly with our free trixie calculator.
How does a Trixie bet work?
A Trixie takes your 3 selections and creates every possible combination of 2 (doubles) plus one combination of all 3 (treble):
| Bet Type | Combinations | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Doubles | AB, AC, BC | 3 |
| Treble | ABC | 1 |
| Total | 4 bets |
That's it — 4 bets. No singles, no extras. The simplest multi-bet structure that covers combinations. Each bet is independent: a double wins if both its selections win, and the treble wins only if all 3 come in.
Trixie bet explained — worked examples
Horse racing example
You fancy 3 horses at the Saturday afternoon meeting:
| Selection | Horse | Odds | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Midnight Run | 4/1 (5.00) | 2:00 Ascot |
| B | Golden Arrow | 3/1 (4.00) | 2:35 Ascot |
| C | River Dance | 5/1 (6.00) | 3:10 Ascot |
£5 Trixie = £20 total stake
All 3 win
| Bet | Calculation | Returns |
|---|---|---|
| Double A+B | £5 × 5.00 × 4.00 = 100.00 | £100.00 |
| Double A+C | £5 × 5.00 × 6.00 = 150.00 | £150.00 |
| Double B+C | £5 × 4.00 × 6.00 = 120.00 | £120.00 |
| Treble A+B+C | £5 × 5.00 × 4.00 × 6.00 = 600.00 | £600.00 |
| Total | £970.00 |
Profit: £950.00. The treble alone returns £600 — that's the explosive upside of combining 3 winners at decent odds.
2 of 3 win (A and C win, B loses)
Every bet containing B loses — that's double A+B, double B+C, and the treble. Only one bet survives:
| Bet | Returns |
|---|---|
| Double A+C | £5 × 5.00 × 6.00 = £150.00 |
| Total | £150.00 |
Profit: £130.00. Two winners at 4/1 and 5/1 produces a single winning double that comfortably covers the £20 stake — with £130 profit.
2 of 3 win — but at shorter odds
Same structure, but imagine the odds were shorter — typical of a football Trixie:
| Selection | Odds |
|---|---|
| A | 6/5 (2.20) |
| B | 4/5 (1.80) |
| C | 1/1 (2.00) |
Two winners (A and C): double A+C returns £5 × 2.20 × 2.00 = £22.00. Profit: just £2.00. At short odds, 2 winners barely covers the stake. This is where the Trixie's weakness shows — you need the treble to fire for meaningful profit at short prices.
1 of 3 wins
All combinations include at least one loser. All 4 bets lose. Loss: £20.00. A single winner gives you nothing back from a Trixie.
Our Trixie calculator lets you model any combination of odds and results — including each way Trixies with place terms.
Trixie vs Patent — the key comparison
This is the decision that matters for 3-selection bets. A Patent is a Trixie plus 3 singles — 7 bets instead of 4.
| Trixie | Patent | |
|---|---|---|
| Selections | 3 | 3 |
| Total bets | 4 | 7 |
| Singles included | No | Yes (3) |
| Cost (£1 unit) | £4 | £7 |
| 1-winner return | £0 | Single's odds (+ consolation bonus) |
| 2-winner return | 1 winning double | 1 winning double + 2 winning singles |
| All-3 return | 3 doubles + treble | 3 singles + 3 doubles + treble |
Choose a Trixie when the odds are short
At odds of 6/4 (2.50) or below, a single returns £2.50 or less on a £1 stake. Three such singles add £7.50 maximum to your returns if all 3 win — but cost you £3 extra versus the Trixie. With 1 winner at 6/4, the single returns £2.50 against the £3 premium you paid. Not worth it.
The rule of thumb: if your average odds are under 3/1, the Trixie saves money without sacrificing meaningful returns. If your average odds are above 3/1, the Patent's singles start earning their keep.
Choose a Patent when the odds are long
At 5/1, a winning single returns £6 on a £1 stake. With the consolation bonus (typically 10% extra or double odds on a single winner), that can reach £12. Against a £7 Patent cost, a single winner with bonus covers most or all of your outlay. That protection is genuinely valuable at longer odds — especially in competitive horse racing handicaps where any of your 3 picks could be the only one to come in.
For a full breakdown of the Patent, see our Patent guide.
Trixie in different sports
Horse racing
The classic home of the Trixie. Three selections from an afternoon card at 3/1 to 8/1 is the textbook scenario. The doubles produce meaningful returns from 2 winners, and the treble provides the big-payout upside. Each way Trixies are especially popular — the place doubles and place treble add significant protection in large fields.
Football
A football Trixie typically combines 3 match results from the Saturday fixtures. Because football match result odds are often short (1.50-2.50 for favourites), the Trixie is a natural choice over the Patent — those short-priced singles would add little value. Three short-priced football doubles at 1.80 × 2.00 give combined odds of 3.60 per double — enough to cover the stake from 2 winners. A Trixie keeps the cost low and focuses your money on combinations where the odds multiply.
Trixie betting is also popular with both-teams-to-score (BTTS) and over/under markets, where the odds sit in the 1.70-2.00 range. Three BTTS selections in a Trixie costs just £4 per unit and pays out with any 2 landing — for more on football markets, see our football betting guide.
Golf
Golf Trixies work on place markets (top-5, top-10) rather than outrights, since 3 golfers can all place in the same tournament. At typical top-5 odds of 4/1 to 8/1, a Trixie offers excellent value: 2 of 3 placing produces a healthy double, and all 3 placing produces strong returns across all 4 bets.
How to calculate a Trixie bet
You don't need to calculate Trixie bet returns manually — bookmakers and our calculator handle it. But understanding the maths helps you assess whether a Trixie is worth placing.
Doubles: multiply the decimal odds of each pair, then multiply by your stake.
Double A+B = stake × odds_A × odds_B
Treble: multiply all 3 decimal odds, then multiply by your stake.
Treble A+B+C = stake × odds_A × odds_B × odds_C
Total returns: sum all winning bets.
Example at £2 stake, odds 3/1 (4.00), 5/2 (3.50), 4/1 (5.00):
- A+B: £2 × 4.00 × 3.50 = £28.00
- A+C: £2 × 4.00 × 5.00 = £40.00
- B+C: £2 × 3.50 × 5.00 = £35.00
- A+B+C: £2 × 4.00 × 3.50 × 5.00 = £140.00
All 3 win: £243.00 total (profit £235.00 on £8 stake). 2 of 3 win: best double = £40.00 (profit £32.00).
For understanding how odds formats work and how to convert between fractional and decimal, see our betting odds explained guide.
The maths — is a Trixie worth it?
| Winners | At Evens (2.00) | At 3/1 (4.00) | At 5/1 (6.00) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | -£4.00 | -£4.00 | -£4.00 |
| 1 | -£4.00 | -£4.00 | -£4.00 |
| 2 | +£0.00 | +£12.00 | +£32.00 |
| 3 | +£12.00 | +£120.00 | +£644.00 |
Returns for a £1 Trixie (£4 stake). Assumes all selections at the same odds.
At evens, 2 winners breaks even — you need the treble for profit. At 3/1, 2 winners produces comfortable profit. At 5/1, 2 winners returns 9× your stake. The Trixie scales powerfully with odds.
The flip side: 1 winner always loses. If you regularly pick 1 from 3 but struggle to get 2, you'd be better off with singles or a Patent. Honest self-assessment of your hit rate matters more than the bet structure.
For managing what you spend on Trixies and other multi-bets across a season, see our bankroll management guide.
Union Jack Trixie
A Union Jack Trixie is a variation using 9 selections arranged in a 3×3 grid. The selections form 8 Trixie bets along the rows, columns, and diagonals of the grid — 32 bets total (8 Trixies × 4 bets each). It's a niche bet offered by some bookmakers, primarily used in horse racing. The Union Jack Trixie is expensive (32 units) and complex, but it covers 9 selections across 8 different Trixie combinations. A Union Jack Patent uses the same grid structure but adds singles — 44 bets total.
Frequently asked questions
Written by
David Burke
David is a gambling industry analyst and poker player based between London, Spain, and Malta. He has spent over a decade observing the European betting and casino landscape, with particular expertise in odds, probability, game strategy, and how the bookmaking industry works. At WiseStaker, David writes guides on bet types, game rules, and the mathematics behind gambling.
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