Patent Bets Explained [Definition, How They Work, Types]

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The world of betting offers a myriad of opportunities, but people are often unfamiliar with all the betting options at their disposal. One of these options is a Patent bet. If you don’t know what kind of bet this is, stick with this article to find out everything you need to know so you can place a Patent bet like a professional.

What Is a Patent Bet?

A Patent bet is a multiple bet consisting of seven bets of equal value, placed on three different selections. The seven different bets are three single bets, three double bets, and one treble bet.

The Patent is a cover bet, meaning that even if only one of the three selections wins, the punter will receive a return. The selections can be chosen from the same event, across different events, and even with various sports! Potential winnings depend on the events that you choose; if the odds work in your favour, you can turn a profit even if only one of the three selections is victorious. 

What Is a Permed Patent Bet?

A Permed Patent bet can consist of four or six selections, with the maximum number of individual bets placed up to 28. Since this is a significantly larger bet than the regular patent, the initial stake and profit margin are also higher. 

You’ll receive a return if one, two, three, or all four of the selections are victorious. Since calculating your winnings can become complicated with so many selections, make sure to use a calculator to help. 

What Is a Union Jack Patent Bet?

The Union Jack Patent is a multiple bet made on 9 different selections consisting of a total of 56 bets: 24 singles, 24 doubles, and 8 trebles. This bet got its name after the pattern of the bets on the betting slip – the 9 selections are arranged in a 3×3 grid, with three horizontal bets, three vertical, and one diagonal for a total of 8 patent bets. For a Union Jack Patent to win, one of the patents on the straight lines needs to be successful. Bookies offer specially-designed betting slips to punters for placing this type of wager.

What Is a Permutation Patent Bet?

Permutation bets are also known as combinations bets. Although a permutation bet is in some ways similar to an accumulator bet, there’s one striking difference. With an accumulator, all of the selections need to be predicted correctly for the bet to win, while with a permutation bet not all selections need to be correct for the bet to win. Only a certain combination of selections have to win for a successful permutation bet!

When it comes to permutation Patents, the punter needs to place three Patent bets – two regular Patent bets and a third covering the other two. Even if one of the Patents is unsuccessful, there’s still a chance of a payout.

Even though this is slightly more complicated than the regular patent, it could produce very significant payouts. If you’re a newcomer to the world of combination bets, however, you might want to steer clear of this one at first.

What Is an Each Way Patent Bet?

An each-way Patent is a bet where every bet from the Patent is an each-way bet, resulting in a total of 14 bets. Not only is the number of bets doubled, but the initial stake is also doubled with an each-way Patent. The chances of seeing a return are also larger since you’ll be receiving a payout for every selection that places, as well as for every victorious selection. 

DID YOU KNOW? A Patent bet is similar to a Trixie bet in that you are choosing three selections. The main difference between these two bets is that the Patent includes single bets in its combination, while a Trixie doesn’t

How Does a Patent Bet Work?

Patent bets are considered full-cover bets, although the same can’t be said for all multiple bets. For a bet to be considered full-cover, it has to include all possible wagers covering the number of selections and total bets.

The Patent bet is organised as follows:

  • 3 single bets – These are standard win or lose bets. To win a single bet, the selection must be victorious. With the patent, you’re wagering single on each of your selections to win or lose. 
  • 3 double betsPatent betting includes double bets, which are more difficult to win than single bets. With each double bet, you’re wagering on two selections and both of them have to win to be successful.
  • 1 treble bet – The final bet of the Patent is a treble, which includes all three selections in one bet. For a treble, all three selections need to win. Although it’s the hardest one to win, it also promises the largest potential payout. 

Even if only one of your selections in a patent wins, you’ll receive a payout that’ll likely be larger than the initial stake. However, if two or three selections win, you’re looking to make sizeable profits

How to Work Out a Patent Bet

Calculating the potential winnings from a Patent bet can be complicated, so we decided to present the process in the simplest way possible.

Before we begin calculating, you have to know the odds for each of the three selections. For the sake of this example, we decided on using some commonly occurring odds and we calculated the initial stake as £1.

  • Know the odds
    • Selection 1 – 3/1
    • Selection 2 – 4/1
    • Selection 3 – 6/1
  • Add 2 units to each value 
    • 3/1 +2=5
    • 4/1+2=6
    • 6/1+2=8
  • Multiply the new odds
    • 5 x 6 x 8 = 240
  • Deduct 1 unit that accounts for the stake
    • 240-1=239

Once you’ve had the patent bet explained in detail, you can calculate the potential payout without the help of a calculator.

DID YOU KNOW? There are even more complex multiple bets than the Patent! Yankee bets require punters to choose four different selections, as opposed to the three in the Patent. The total bet count with a Yankee is 11 individual bets of equal value

Key Takeaways

A Patent is a multiple bet consisting of seven bets of equal value on three different selections.
The Patent includes three single bets, three double bets, and one treble bet.
There are many variations of the Patent bet, such as an each-way Patent, Union Jack Patent, Permutation Patent, and Permed Patent bet
Horse racing is the most popular sport for placing a Patent bet.
Patent bets can be placed on other sports besides horse racing, with the second most popular sport being football

How Does a Patent Bet Operate in Horse Betting?

Betting Patent is a popular practice in the world of horse racing, mostly since betting on horses is unpredictable and the odds are usually low. With a Patent in horse betting, you can bet low stakes on three horses and still receive a handsome return.

Since horse racing is the most popular sport for Patent bets, we decided to use an example from the sport to illustrate what a winning Patent would look like.

We take the initial stake to be £1 for each bet, for a total of £7 stake on the Patent. We’ll refer to the three horses as Horse A, Horse B, and Horse C. Say they have the same odds at 5/1. Let’s see what does a Patent bet mean when put to the test!

  • One of the horses (A, B, or C) wins – Punter gets £6 in return, with a loss of £1.
  • Two of the horses (A&B, A&C, or B&C) win – Punter gets £6 for the two single bets, plus £36 for the winner of the double, for a total return of £48. 
  • All three horses (A, B, and C) win – Punter gets £6 for all three single bets, £36 for all three doubles, and £216 for the treble. The total payout amounts to £342 on a £7 stake!

The patent bet definition clearly states that the total payout depends on the odds, but in most cases, if at least two out of the three horses are winning picks, the punter will receive a significant return. This makes Patent bets a smart investment for both experienced and inexperienced punters. The good news is that you can place your Patents with all the best online bookmakers that offer horse betting

DID YOU KNOW? The first betting shops in Britain were quite different from the ones we know today. Back then, they had to make use of ‘dead windows’ – windows that prevented passers-by from looking inside the shop. This was also seen as a preventive measure to stop the youth from gambling. 

How Does a Patent Bet Work in Other Sports?

Once you understand the patent bet meaning, you’ll see that these bets can be placed on other sports besides horse racing, such as greyhound racing, tennis, golf, even bowling! You can place a Patent bet on any sport that allows you to make multiple selections. The second most popular sport for placing Patent bets (behind horse racing) is football

What Is a Patent Bet in Football?

Before placing a Patent bet on a football event, you need to remember that you can’t do so by just choosing a single match; each match contains two selections, while you need a minimum of three for a Patent. The ideal events for placing Patent bets on football are large-scale competitions like the World Cup or the English Premier League. These events are ideal because you make several selections and bet on multiple matches at once. 

DID YOU KNOW? Sports betting is not restricted to sporting events! Punters can choose to bet on players’ personal lives. When UK football star David Beckham had his first son people wagered whether or not the boy would ever play football. This is a common form of gambling in the UK

Conclusion

What’s a Patent bet? To summarise, this multiple bet can produce high returns if executed correctly. The fact that the Patent bet allows you to make several selections contain your losses to a minimum, combined with the fact that you can place this bet on a variety of sports, make the Patent an alluring choice for experienced and inexperienced punters.

Disclaimer: Enjoy betting, but always practice betting responsibly.

FAQ

What's the difference between a Trixie and a Patent?

The key difference between Trixie and Patent betting is that the Patent includes three single bets (one for each selection) while a Trixie doesn’t include single bets. Since the smallest bet included in a Trixie is a double, these bets are more difficult to win.

What happens if you have a non-runner in a Patent bet?

If there is a non-runner included in your Patent, you can be refunded for ⅓ of the initial stake at the original price. If there is one winner and one non-runner in your bet, you’ll get returns for three bets – two single bets, and one double bet.

Is a Patent bet worth it?

Knowing what is a Patent bet means you need to determine whether it’s worth placing one. In most cases, placing a Patent is worth it since you will receive a return even if only one of the selections is victorious. If all three selections win, the returns are significant!

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Alex is an IT wizz gone SEO gone fire-juggler. We’re not even joking. When he isn’t researching why one personal loan is better than the other and which piece of hardware you should buy next, he’s rollerblading or selling homes (because he does that, too, the smarty-pants).

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