A Deep Dive Into Single Bets: What They Are & How They Work

No matter where you stand on the ‘new year, new me’ concept, January is as good a time as ever to take stock of how you approach betting to see if there’s anything you could be doing more astutely.

Thanks to their simplicity and transparency, single bets can help you adopt a more disciplined approach to betting on sports. They’re also a solid option if you’re just getting started.

Our article covers everything you need to know about this betting linchpin, from how it works to its pros and cons, so by the end you’ll have a good idea about whether they might work for you.

Single bets: our plain English definition

Simply put, a single bet is one selection on the outcome of one event. You’ll win as long as your selection does. In a football match, for example, there are three possible outcomes:

• Team A wins

• Team B wins

• Draw

With singles, you choose which one of those three available options you think will happen. If it does, you win. If not, you lose.

Single bets aren’t limited to predicting how you think the match will end, however. You have a wide range of markets (the types of wagers available for a certain event) to choose from.

You could bet on whether or not you think both teams will score or whether a team will exceed or fall short of a certain number of goals, for example. The defining aspect of a single bet is that it’s just the one selection on your bet slip.

As the most straightforward type of bet going, singles hold appeal for a diverse range of players, like those just getting started with betting, those looking for a comparatively lower risk option and those who may be familiar with betting but who are experimenting with a new sport.

Now, you might be wondering how accas differ from singles, and the truth is that, operationally, the difference is quite slight. Accas can be made up of singles, but because they feature several selections for different events, they’re considered a multiple bet. The main difference is in how comparably risky accas are: more selections mean more chances for your bet to fail. We cover the ins and outs of accumulator bets in our What's an Acca Bet? article, in case you’d like to read more about them.

How single bets and odds work

We’ve got a whole article dedicated to reading odds, but given how straightforward single bets are, we figured we’d instead give a quick run through of how their stakes and returns work.

Let’s say you place a £10 bet on a market at 5/2. A successful wager would bag you £35. You take the stake (£10), divide it by the right number (2) and multiply it by the left number (5) to get £25. That’s your profit. You also get your £10 stake paid back to you, meaning the total return would be £35.

It can help to read fractional odds like these as ‘profit/stake’. The first number is what you win; the second number is what you bet. Using the same example, you’d win £5 for each successful £2 bet on an event at 5/2.

What are the advantages of single bets?

As we’ve alluded to, the main advantage of a single bet is their simplicity, but there are a few other benefits to them, too.

• They often offer better chances of winning when compared with accumulators

• They’re far easier to keep an eye on than multiple bets

• They make managing your betting budget - and playing responsibly - far easier, with the associated risks made clear and simple

• Owing to their simplicity, they’re useful for building familiarity when exploring a new sport

And what are the disadvantages of single bets?

As with most bets, there are some compromises you’ll likely need to make if you’re looking at playing with singles.

• They can have lower potential returns when compared with multiple bets

• They may feel a bit slow and less exciting for some players

• They can take some time to accumulate considerable profit

Are single bets available for in-play betting?

Yes, they are. You can place single bets either before an event or during it. As you might expect, odds fluctuate throughout an event as certain outcomes become more or less likely to happen. An in-play single bet can be a solid option for when you’re reacting to what you’re watching.

Popular sports for single bets

We took a look at how single bets can work for football matches earlier, but there are plenty of other sports where they’re just as popular. Here’s how they can look in other events:

• Horse racing: To win, top finish

• Tennis: Match winner, total number of games

• American football: Game winner, point spread (similar to handicap bets elsewhere)

• Darts: Match winner, highest checkout

Tips for smart singles betting

While the concept of a single bet is simple enough to understand, there are still some useful things to keep in mind when playing with them:

• While you’re getting to grips with how things work, it’s best to start small

• Keep to sports and markets you know about

• Set a sensible budget and stick to it

• As ever, don’t chase losses

Final word on single bets

As part of the foundations of sports betting, singles are a straightforward way for anyone trying sports betting for the first time or wanting to adopt a more regimented approach to it.

If you’re looking at placing a single bet in the near future, remember to start small and keep track of your bets. Doing so helps establish a responsible approach to sports betting in genera. On that note, setting a betting budget can also help you keep things in check – take a look at our How to Set a Betting Budget article for tips on doing exactly that.

For more sports betting articles and insights from our team of writers, head on over to the Bally Bet Sports & Casino blog.

All offers mentioned correct at the time of writing but may be subject to change.