A treble calculator multiplies three prices into one. £10 on evens, 6/4 and 1/2 comes back as £75. That’s the example loaded in the treble bet calculator above. It’s free, so swap in your own picks and the result updates as you type.
The tricky bit with trebles isn’t the maths, though. It’s how often three “safe” picks fail to all come in.
Using the treble bet calculator
Enter the three prices, then mark each leg as won, lost or void. The calculator shows the return, profit and combined odds (here 7.5, or 13/2). The sum behind it:
Return = stake × odds 1 × odds 2 × odds 3 (decimal) £10 × 2.0 × 2.5 × 1.5 = £75
If one leg is void, that leg becomes 1.0 and the bet carries on as a double. Lose any leg and the whole treble’s gone.
The three bankers problem
Put three 1/2 favourites in a treble and you get odds of a bit under 5/2. £10 returns £33.75. It feels like a near-certainty because each one is “only” 1/2. But even if those prices were perfectly fair, each wins two times in three, and all three together win just under 30% of the time. Seven trebles in ten lose. Add the bookie’s margin and it’s worse.
That’s not a reason to avoid trebles. It’s a reason to know what you’re buying. A treble on short prices is a long shot wearing a disguise.
Each way trebles
An each way treble is a win treble plus a place treble, so it costs double. The place treble pays if all three win or place, at the place odds of each. It works best for racing in big fields where the place terms are generous. In football there’s no each way on a match result, so just leave it unticked.
Want some cover?
If you’d like two winners out of three to pay something, look at a Trixie (three doubles and the treble) or a Patent (the same plus three singles). Both are in the bet type list here, and the Patent calculator explains the trade-off. For two legs, use the double bet calculator. For four or more, the acca calculator.
Short prices multiplied together aren’t short any more. Bet with that in mind. BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential if it stops being fun.