Along with the Round-Robin which also contains Up-and-Down bets, Flag and Super Flag bets can be rather complicated for punters to understand.
We give you a brief precis of each in order for you to get to grips with what each one entails so that you can use it if you ever want to.
Flag Bets
Flag Bets can be put together by choosing just four selections. These can be horses, football teams or other sporting selections. The Flag Bet contains 23 individual bets. Remember this, as a £1 Flag Bet would therefore cost you £23 in total.
The 23 bets are made up of 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 four-fold and 6 single-stakes-about bets. Each SSA Up-and-Down bet is two bets making 12, added to the other making 23 bets in total from four selections.
This is a useful bet for those who understand what it entails, and of course for those who have a very good working knowledge of the sport they are betting in. This is crucial. We don’t consider this bet to be for new bettors as it can take a long time to fully understand what is required.
Super Flag Bets
The Super Flag Bet contains five selections, making up 46 individual bets in total as it contains the maximum variation possible of doubles, trebles, accas single-stakes-about bets.
Once more, the 46 selections make this expensive. Always watch your unit stake when you place a Super Flag Bet as the total will by that, multiplied by 46.
Essentially then, the Super Flag Bet is a beefed-up version of the Flag Bet.
You can place a Super Flag bet on any sports as long as your bookmaker accepts it. Football and horse racing are the most popular, though you can also go for rugby, cricket and many others.
The only stipulation is that the selections, four in the Flag and five in the Super Flag, must be in separate events.
How Flag and Super Flag Bets Are Made Up
To work out how much you may be due back from your Flag Bet, all you need to do is know what each individual bet means.
Doubles
A double essentially means betting on two selections, each to win. If one fails to win, the whole bet is lost. If both win, the money returned from the first bet all goes onto the second.
A simple £5 double on two 2/1 shots returns £45 (£5 x 2/1 + £5 = £15 x 2/1 + £15 = £45). A double isn’t the most difficult to get right and boosts your returns, but you still need good knowledge.
Trebles
As above, this time with three selections. For a treble to be successful you need all three selections to win. Should even one be beaten, the bet is done.
Four-Fold Accumulator
In this case, all four selections in your bet will need to win.
Five-Fold Accumulator
Once again, all selections need to be successful. The more you add in to a bet, the more lucrative it may be but the risk of losing is also naturally higher. To illustrate how much your winnings can accrue, 5 successful selections at only 1/1 to 6/4 from just a £5 bet can look like this:
- £5 @ 1/1 (£10 return)
- £10 @ 5/4 (£22.50 return)
- £22.50 @ 11/8 (£53.44 return)
- £53.44 @ 11/10 (£112.22 return)
- £112.22 @ 6/4 (£280.55 return)
This is all theoretical of course, though it shows how much an accumulator can rack up.
Single-Stakes-About Bets
This is a type of Up-and-Down bet, contained in Flag and Super Flag Bets. Using an example of a £10 bank and backing two horses at 5/1, this is how it works out:
- Part one; £5 single on Horse 1 at 5/1. Winning return would be £30.
- Keep the £25 winnings and place the initial £5 on Horse 2.
- £5 on Horse 2 at 5/1 returns another £30.
- Total winnings would be £50.
Part two of the bet:
- £5 single on Horse 2 at 5/1, returning £30 if successful.
- Keep the £25 winnings from this bet and put £5 on Horse 1.
- £5 on Horse 1 at 5/1 means another £30.
- Total winnings is £50
The positive return from the entire bet now is £100, which is higher than if you’d simply placed two doubles. These bets are included in your Flag and Super Flag Bets.