If Bets allow bettors to increase the amount of bets they can place on one ticket while limiting their risk. With If Bets, each individual bet after the first bet will only have action if the previous bet is a winner. This is a way to only risk a certain amount with the possibility of winning a lot more if you can string together a few wins in a row.
If Bets are useful is a bettor wants to make more than one bet, but doesn’t have the funds in his/her account to bet them all separately. If a bettor is down to his last $110 in his account, then an If Bet would make sense. Instead of betting say $55 on one game on $55 on another, he could just bet the whole $110 on the If Bet.
If Win – The bettor chooses the order of each bet in a series. The first bet will always be placed. Each bet thereafter is placed only if the previous bet wins. If any bet in the If Win series were to lose, tie or is considered no action, then all the additional bets on the ticket are considered no action.
If Action – The bettor will choose the order of each bet in the series. The first bet is always placed. Each bet thereafter is placed only if the previous bet wins, ties or is considered no action. If any bet in the If Action series loses, all additional bets on the ticket are considered no action.
Team A is the Seahawks -7 over the Packers. Team B is the Patriots -7 over the Colts. The Seattle game starts at at 3:05 EST on Sunday, January 18th. The New England game starts at 3:40 EST on Sunday, January 18th as well. You bet the Seattle game as the first leg of the If Bet because you feel more strongly about the Seahawks covering than the Patriots.
Let’s say you bet $110 to win $100 on the Seahawks. If the Seahawks win their game, then you are essentially free-rolling on the Patriots. If the Patriots then win, you will profit $200. If the Patriots lose, then you’ll lose only the $10 you paid in juice for the entire ticket.
Let’s stick with the Seahawks -7 over the Packers on January 18th for Team A. You are really confident in this game and you think there’s no way the Seahawks are going to lose. Well, you also feel strongly about an NBA game on January 15th. It is the Cavaliers -6 at the Lakers. The Cavaliers -6 will be your Team B.
So, in this instance, the Seattle game doesn’t go off until January 18th, so you’ll know by kickoff how much you stand to win if the Seahawks win because you will know the result of the Cavaliers game. Let’s say the Cavaliers covered the spread, so you know you’ll be either a $200 winner or a $10 loser.
As long as you place If Bets prior to the start of two to seven events, then they will have action. The bet in this instance as placed on January 14th. The second bet on the Cavaliers is placed even though the game starter prior to the first event. Even if the Cavaliers were to fail to cover, that bet would still have action if the Seahawks cover. In this case, you would be a $10 loser.
Many novice bettors mistake If Bets for parlays. In all reality, these are two completely different bets. Like parlays, you can have multiple teams in If Bets. Also like parlays, you stake a small amount to start with the chance of winning a bigger amount later. However, If Bets are essentially separate straight bets, while parlays are a combination of straight bets that all have to win for you to be paid.
Let’s say you did an If Bet with three teams and a parlay with the same three teams. You wager $110 on both the If Bet and the parlay separately. Team A & Team B win but Team C loses. On the If Bet, you would profit $90 because you would win $200 on Team A and Team B, but lose $110 on Team C. On a parlay, you would lose all $110 because you needed to go 3-0 for a winning ticket, but just went 2-1. There isn’t nearly as much of a house edge on an If Bet as there is a parlay.