An Alphabet bet calculator is the easiest way to settle a bet with an odd shape. An Alphabet is 26 bets on six selections, and the free calculator above shows all of them. At £1 a bet it costs £26. With odds of 2/1, 5/2, 3/1, 7/4, 4/1 and 9/4, three winners in the first three picks return £103. All six winning return £2,550.50.
The name comes from the 26 bets, one for each letter. The structure is what makes it different.
Alphabet bet calculator: the 26 bets
- A Patent on selections 1, 2 and 3: three singles, three doubles and a treble. 7 bets.
- A Patent on selections 4, 5 and 6: another 7 bets.
- A Yankee on selections 2, 3, 4 and 5: six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold. 11 bets.
- A six-fold accumulator on all six. 1 bet.
The order you write the selections matters, which is unusual. Your two strongest picks belong in positions 2 to 5, where they’re in a Patent and the Yankee. Picks 1 and 6 are only in one Patent and the six-fold.
Why three winners can pay well
In the example, winners 1, 2 and 3 land the whole first Patent: £10.50 from singles, £36.50 from doubles and £42 from the treble. Selections 2 and 3 are also in the Yankee, so their double pays another £14. That’s £103 on £26. Swap them for winners 4, 5 and 6 and the second Patent plus one Yankee double return a similar amount.
Spread the same three winners differently, say 1, 3 and 6, and the return drops sharply. That’s the trade: Patents give singles cover, but a lot depends on where the winners sit.
Each way and non-runners
Tick each way and the stake doubles to £52 for £1 each way, with a place version of every bet. Non-runners count as void legs, so a Patent with a void becomes a smaller bet at full odds on the rest. To compare with a full cover bet on six picks, try the Goliath or Lucky 63 calculator, or the main bet calculator.
26 bets add up quickly. Work out the total stake before you place it. BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential if it stops being fun.