Tricast betting is popular with those who are looking to bet with the hope of landing a big win. It’s certainly not easy, though, as you need to predict the first, second and third in a contest. Usually available on greyhound racing, selected horse races and a small number of other events, with a tricast bet, you need all the help you can get.
This is exactly why a combination tricast was created. This gives you the option to place a bet that provides full coverage of your three selections, covering every possible order of them, finishing first, second and third, in a total of six bets, to give you the best chance of winning.
The bet will cost you six times your unit stake, so the cost is something you need to factor in when making your picks and choosing your stake, but with this coverage, you have six chances to win and just need your three picks to come home as the first three, in any order. A bet this tricky needs all the help it can get, and a combination tricast gives you that.
What Can You Place a Combination Tricast Bet On?
The options for this kind of bet are actually quite limited. All greyhound races with six runners can have combination tricast bets placed on them. When it comes to horse racing, this bet is available on races with eight or more runners, which are handicap races, other than the very biggest races, which are exceptions to the rule, they are not handicaps but will have tricast betting, as long as there are eight or more runners.
Other than these two sports, there isn’t really anything else you can place a combination tricast on. Some big events, like the Premier League season or the World Cup, may have tricast betting available for who will finish first, second and third, but these are single tricast bets at fixed odds, so you can’t place a combination bet on them. Instead, you would need to place a separate bet on each one you wanted.
How to Place a Combination Tricast Bet?
When you are on your online betting site, you should see a specific forecast and tricast betting market or option that you can use to place your combination tricast bets. Make sure you choose tricast when you are here and select the choices you want in any order.
Each site works a little differently, but most offer you something to click on or highlight that says ‘any order’ so that your bookmaker knows this is a combination bet. When you have done this, in your betslip, you will be able to select a combination tricast, which is a total of six bets and costs six times your unit stake.
For example, when you have picked your three selections, if you place a £1 combination tricast, then the bet costs a total of £6.
How Many Bets in a Combination Tricast?
As we’ve just said, inside your combination tricast, you have a total of six individual bets. The reason for this is to cover every possible combination of three in your wager so that it doesn’t matter what the race order is, as long as your three selections are the first three to finish.
The six bets in a combination tricast are shown below, using horse racing as an example.
- 1st Horse A, 2nd Horse B, 3rd Horse C
- 1st Horse A, 2nd Horse C, 3rd Horse B
- 1st Horse B, 2nd Horse A, 3rd Horse C
- 1st Horse B, 2nd Horse C, 3rd Horse A
- 1st Horse C, 2nd Horse A, 3rd Horse B
- 1st Horse C, 2nd Horse B, 3rd Horse A
As you can see from the above, regardless of what order your three runners are in, you have a winning bet somewhere as long as they are the first three to finish.
Can You Select More than Three in a Combination Tricast?
Something that not too many people know about combination tricast betting is that you don’t have to stick to three runners. This is where the bet can become a little complex, so if you are new to tricast betting, then this type of wager may be better left alone.
You can combine any number of selections in a combination tricast, and if you place this bet, then you will have full coverage across them all. For example, if you have a combination tricast across four horses, then as long as three of them come home as first, second and third, you will have a winning bet somewhere inside your combination tricast.
There is one vital point to note here, and that is the number of bets because this is a full coverage wager. When you move onto four selections, the number of bets increases, and it does so again if you go to five, which can make this quite an expensive way of betting, even if you are giving yourself more chance of seeing a return.
To see how quickly this increases, here are the bets in a combination tricast with more selections.
- 4 Selections = 24 Bets
- 5 Selections = 60 Bets
- 6 Selections = 120 Bets
Advantages of a Combination Tricast
A combination tricast bet does not suit all people. Tricasts are hard to win with, so you must be patient, while a combination bet does give you a slightly better chance of winning because of the coverage it offers.
To round off, here are some advantages of a combination tricast bet:
- Full coverage, so you win regardless of the order your runners finish, as long as you’ve chosen the first three home
- The potential for a big win from small stakes because the odds are far greater than placing a single bet on a winner
- With three selections, you have six chances of winning, compared to just one with a straight tricast
- You can add more selections to the bet to try and increase your chances of having a winner
