Single Bets: How They Work
A single bet is the easiest type of bet to place. There is just one selection involved, so you know exactly what needs to happen for you to win. Say you fancy Liverpool this weekend. You back them to win and put R100 on the bet. That’s a single. Nothing else needs to happen. This is very different from an accumulator, where three, four or even ten results might all need to go your way. Singles normally offer smaller payouts, but they are much easier to follow. If you’re new to betting, they’re a good place to start.
What is a single bet?
A single is one bet on one outcome. It doesn’t have to be a team to win. You might think a football match will have over 2.5 goals. That’s a single. You could back a rugby team with a handicap. Still a single. Or maybe you think a certain tennis player will win. Same thing. The market doesn’t really matter. What matters is that only one selection is on your bet slip.
Suppose Kaizer Chiefs are 2.20 to win and you stake R100. Chiefs win and your bet pays. If they don’t, you’ve lost the bet. Nothing complicated there. This simplicity is one of the main reasons singles are popular with people who are still learning how sports betting works.
How to place a single bet
Find the match you want first. Have a look at the markets and decide what you want to back. We’ll use football. You see a home team at 1.80 and think they’ll win. Click the 1.80 price and it should appear on your bet slip. Now enter the stake. Let’s make it R50. The bookmaker will usually show your possible return before you place the bet.
Check everything before confirming it. Seriously. I’ve seen people get this wrong by rushing. Maybe you wanted over 2.5 goals but clicked under 2.5. Or perhaps you typed R500 instead of R50. It takes a few seconds to check the selection, odds and stake. Do that before pressing the final button.
How single bet odds work
The odds tell you how much the bet can return. Decimal odds make this pretty easy. R100 at 2.00 returns R200. R100 at 1.50 returns R150, while R100 at 3.00 returns R300. Your original stake is included in these amounts. That’s worth remembering.
If you put R100 on a team at 2.00 and receive R200 back, you’ve made R100 profit. You haven’t made R200. Higher odds mean a bigger possible return, which obviously sounds attractive. But don’t stop there. A team priced at 5.00 isn’t offering you all that extra money for nothing. The bookmaker believes that result is less likely than a team sitting at 1.50. Big odds can be tempting. They can also lose.
Common markets used for single bets
There’s plenty to choose from. Most beginners probably start with a team to win because it’s easy to understand. You think Manchester City will win, so you back City. But maybe you’re not sure who wins and you still expect goals. Both teams to score might make more sense. Over 2.5 goals is another popular choice. Then you’ve got corners, cards, handicaps and player markets.
Rugby is no different. You can back the winner, take a team on the handicap or bet on total match points. Take a Bulls game. Perhaps you don’t think they’ll win, but you’ve been offered Bulls +7.5 and expect a close match. That can be your single. One market and one selection. The type of market doesn’t make it a single. The fact that you’ve placed only one selection does.
Advantages of single bets
Here’s the part many people like about singles. One bad result doesn’t ruin four good ones. Imagine you’ve picked four football teams on Saturday. Three win and one loses. If you placed four singles, you’ve still got three winning bets. Put those same teams into one accumulator and the losing team wipes out the whole slip. Anyone who has played accumulators for a while knows that feeling.
Singles are also easier to keep an eye on. You’re not constantly checking five scores and trying to remember what still needs to happen. You know your bet, your stake and the possible return. The trade-off is obvious. You’re probably not going to see those massive potential payouts that come with long accumulators. For some bettors, that’s fine.
Single bets vs accumulators
Take three teams. Team A is 1.50, Team B is 1.80 and Team C is 2.00. Place each one as a separate single and they’re treated separately. If Team A loses, that doesn’t stop Team B or Team C from paying if they win.
An accumulator works differently. Put all three together and you normally need all three results. The upside is the price. Those odds combine to 5.40, meaning a R100 accumulator could return R540. Now you can see why people like accumulators. A fairly small stake can produce a much bigger possible payout.
There is another side to it, though. Three selections mean three opportunities for the bet to go wrong. Add a fourth team and the payout grows again, but you’ve also added another result that needs to land. Singles don’t give you the same combined odds, but one losing selection won’t take the others down with it.
Single bets in live betting
You don’t have to place your single before the match. Live betting lets you do it while the action is happening. Maybe you’ve been watching the first 20 minutes and spotted something you like. The home team is playing well but hasn’t scored. You check the market and they’re 2.10 to win. You decide to take it. That’s a live single.
Prices move all the time during a match. A goal changes things. So does a red card. In rugby, a try or yellow card can move the odds quickly. That’s part of live betting. Don’t rush just because a price is changing. If you miss it, you miss it. There will be another bet.
How to manage your bankroll with single bets
This doesn’t need to be complicated. Decide how much money you’re prepared to use for betting and work from there. Suppose you’ve got R1,000. Putting the whole R1,000 on one Saturday football match would leave you with nothing if it loses. Maybe R50 per bet suits you better. Maybe it’s R100. Your choice.
Where things can go badly is after a loss. You lose R100 and now you’re annoyed. The next bet becomes R200 because you want your money back. That loses as well, and suddenly R400 starts looking tempting. That’s chasing losses, and it can get expensive very quickly. A losing bet has already happened. Leave it there and judge the next bet on its own.
Common single betting mistakes
Short-priced favourites catch people out. You see 1.20 and think the bet is basically won already. It isn’t. The favourite can lose. Another mistake is betting on your favourite club every week. Supporting a team doesn’t mean you have to put money on them. Sometimes the odds are poor, sometimes they’re playing badly and sometimes the opposition is better than people think.
There’s also no need to bet on every match you watch. Friday night football doesn’t need a bet, and neither does Saturday rugby. If you can’t find anything you actually like, watch the game and enjoy it. Your money can stay where it is.
Tips for placing single bets
Don’t start by looking for the biggest payout. Start with the bet itself. Do you like it, and why? If you can’t answer that, maybe leave it. Then check the price. A favourite at 1.10 might win comfortably, but look at what you’re getting back. Put R100 on it and the return is R110. That’s only R10 profit. Is it worth risking R100 for R10? You decide.
Also check whether another bookmaker has a better price. One might offer 1.75 while another has 1.85 for exactly the same outcome. Take note of team news as well. This can be huge in rugby. A coach rests a few important players and suddenly the team you liked earlier in the week doesn’t look quite so good.
And here’s probably the easiest tip of all. You can skip a match. If nothing looks good, that’s fine. Wait for the next one.
What is a single bet?
A single bet has one selection, so only that selection needs to be settled.
How are single bet winnings calculated?
Multiply your stake by the decimal odds. R100 at 2.00 gives you R200 back.
Are single bets safer than accumulators?
Singles only depend on one selection, while accumulators usually need several results to go your way. Either can still lose.
Can I place a single bet during a live match?
Yes. Singles can be placed during a match, although live odds can move quickly as the game changes.
Writer / Betting tipster
I am what you call a sporting all-rounder with my favourite sports being rugby, football and cricket. I have been actively writing rugby and football articles for the last decade. These include previews, reviews and interesting topical pieces. I am a huge fan of Liverpool and a passionate supporter of the Springboks. My interests in recent years have also included iGaming as this is one of the fastest growing betting markets. Follow me for the best rugby odds in South Africa as I continue to find you the best bookie to place your bets.
