Flag Bet Guide
Contents
What Is a Flag Bet?
A flag bet is a combination of 23 bets consisting of four selections. These include six doubles, four trebles, a fourfold accumulator and six up-and-down bets.
Even if a single selection wins, you will get a return. But you may not make a profit unless at least three of your four selections win their events. A flag bet is an example of an “if cash” bet, also known as an “any to come” bet.
Flag Bet Examples
A flag bet is best explained through examples. Assume that you have bet on four selections, namely horses A, B, C, and D in four separate races. Then the flag bet consists of 23 bets as illustrated in the chart below:
| Components of Flag Bet | Number of bets | Possible combinations | Observation | |
| Six Doubles | 6 | AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD | ||
| Four Trebles | 4 | ABC, ABD, ACD, BCD | ||
| Fourfold accumulator | 1 | ABCD | The only four-fold accumulator possible | |
| Six up-and-down bets | 12 | AB, BA;
AC, CA; AD, DA; BC, CB; BD, DB; CD, DC |
Six pairs of bets | |
| Total | 23 | |||
If only A wins, then you will lose all of the doubles, all of the trebles and the accumulator. But you will win some money on three parts of the up-and-down bets, namely AB, AC and AD.
If A and B win, then you will win one double (AB), lose all of the trebles, lose the accumulator, and win some money on six parts of the up-and-down bets, namely AB, BA, AC, AD, BC and BD.
If A, B and C win, then you will win three doubles (AB, AC and BC), win one treble (ABC), lose the accumulator and win some money on nine parts of the up-and-down bets, namely AB, BA, AC, CA, BC, CB, AD, BD and CD.
Of course, if all four selections A, B, C and D win, you will win all 23 bets.
How Much You Can Earn if all Selections Win
Suppose you have placed a ₹10 flag bet on the four horses A, B, C and D, as described above.
As there are 23 component bets, you will actually wager a stake of ₹230 (₹10 x 23).
Assume that the following odds are offered on each selection:
| Horse | Odds Offered |
| A | 8/11 |
| B | 6/5 |
| C | 7/4 |
| D | 20/29 |
If all four selections win their respective races, you will get a payout of ₹1168.60 (including your original stake).
How Does a Super Flag Bet Work?
A super flag bet is like a flag bet, except that instead of four selections, there are five selections. The super flag bet is a combination bet consisting of ten doubles, ten trebles, five fourfold accumulators as well as a fivefold accumulator and ten up-and-down bets, accounting for a total of 46 bets.
Super Flag Bet Examples
A flag bet is best explained through examples. Assume that you have bet on five selections, namely horses A, B, C, D and E in five separate races. Then the flag bet consists of 46 bets as illustrated in the chart below:
| Components of Flag Bet | Number of bets | Possible combinations | Observation | ||
| Ten Doubles | 10 | AB, AC, AD, AE, BC, BD, BE, CD, CE, DE | |||
| Ten Trebles | 10 | ABC, ABD, ABE, ACD, ACE, ADE, BCD, BCE, BDE, CDE | |||
| Five Fourfold accumulator
Plus One Fivefold accumulator |
6 | ABCD, ABCE, ABDE, ACDE, BCDE, ABCDE | |||
| Ten up-and-down bets | 20 | AB, BA; AC, CA; AD, DA; AE, EA;
BC, CB; BD, DB; BE, EB; CD, DC; CE, EC; DE, ED |
Ten pairs of bets | ||
| Total | 46 | ||||
If only A wins, then you will lose all of the doubles, all of the trebles and the accumulators. But you will win some money on four parts of the up-and-down bets, namely AB, AC, AD, AE.
If A and B win, then you will win one double (AB), lose all of the trebles, lose the accumulators and win some money on seven parts of the up-and-down bets, namely AB, BA, AC, AD, BC, BD, BE.
If A, B and C win, then you will win three doubles (AB, AC and BC), win one treble (ABC), lose the accumulators and win some money on 14 parts of the up-and-down bets, namely AB, BA; AC, CA; AD, AE, BC, CB; BD, BE, CD, CE, DE.
If A, B, C and D win, you will win six doubles (AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD), four trebles (ABC, ABD, ACD, BCD), one accumulator (ABCD) and 12 up-and-down bets (AB, BA; AC, CA; AD, DA; BC, CB; BD, DB; CD, DC).
Of course, if all five selections A, B, C, D and E win, you will win all 46 bets.
How Much You Can Earn if all Selections Win
Suppose you have placed a ₹10 super flag bet on the five horses A, B, C, D and E, as described above. The odds were the following: Horse A at 3/1, Horse B at 4/5, Horse C at 2/1, Horse D at 2/5 and Horse E at 11/10.
If you put a stake of ₹10 per bet, that would be a total of ₹460. If all the bets came in, the total return would be ₹4817.40, for a profit of ₹4357.40.
Pros and Cons of Flag Bets
Advantages
High Returns Possible
A knowledgeable punter can hope to earn high returns on a combination of bets such as a flag bet.
Disadvantages
Stake is Very High
The stake on a flag bet is quite high as there is a wide range of bets. If a punter were to place a super flag bet of ₹10, his overall cost would not just be ₹10, but rather ₹460 as he would have to place a fresh ₹10 stake for every bet.
Only for Knowledgeable Bettors
A flag bet is not ideal for new or inexperienced bettors who can easily lose money on flag bets if they lack in-depth knowledge about the event and the participants they are betting on.
