Yankee Bet: 11 Lines and the Two-Winner Break-Even
The bet type is easy to describe and almost every guide stops at the description. What decides whether the bet was worth placing is the price the surviving selections need to reach, and that number changes by a factor of six as you move up the same family of bets.
§ ON THIS PAGE · 11 sections
What the 11 bets are
Two operators publish the composition in the same terms:
“A Yankee consists of 11 bets involving 4 selections in different events.”
“A Yankee has eleven bets involving four selections. You have six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold.”
The 11 lines, written out, with A, B, C and D as the four selections:
Doubles
- Count
- 6
- The actual combinations
- AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD
Trebles
- Count
- 4
- The actual combinations
- ABC, ABD, ACD, BCD
Fourfold
- Count
- 1
- The actual combinations
- ABCD
| Line type | Count | The actual combinations |
|---|---|---|
| Doubles | 6 | AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD |
| Trebles | 4 | ABC, ABD, ACD, BCD |
| Fourfold | 1 | ABCD |
There are no singles. That single fact drives everything else on this page, because it means no individual selection can ever return on its own. Two have to win before any line settles as a winner, and when exactly two win, exactly one of the 11 lines pays.
One structural restriction applies to all of them and catches people trying to build a Yankee out of one race:
“There can be no related contingency.”
The full-cover ladder without singles
A Yankee is one rung of a family. The names change, the structure does not: it is every possible combination of two or more from your selections.
Trixie
- Selections
- 3
- Lines
- 4
- Composition
- 3 doubles, 1 treble
Yankee
- Selections
- 4
- Lines
- 11
- Composition
- 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold
Canadian, or Super Yankee
- Selections
- 5
- Lines
- 26
- Composition
- 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds, 1 fivefold
Heinz
- Selections
- 6
- Lines
- 57
- Composition
- 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds, 1 sixfold
Super Heinz
- Selections
- 7
- Lines
- 120
- Composition
- 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, 7 sixfolds, 1 sevenfold
Goliath
- Selections
- 8
- Lines
- 247
- Composition
- 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, 8 sevenfolds, 1 eightfold
| Bet | Selections | Lines | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trixie | 3 | 4 | 3 doubles, 1 treble |
| Yankee | 4 | 11 | 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold |
| Canadian, or Super Yankee | 5 | 26 | 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds, 1 fivefold |
| Heinz | 6 | 57 | 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds, 1 sixfold |
| Super Heinz | 7 | 120 | 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, 7 sixfolds, 1 sevenfold |
| Goliath | 8 | 247 | 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, 8 sevenfolds, 1 eightfold |
“A Goliath consists of 247 bets involving 8 selections in different events.”
“A Canadian (sometimes known as a Super Yankee) has five selections which total 26 bets. There are ten doubles, ten trebles, five four-folds plus one five-fold.”
Note the line count against the selection count. Adding one selection to a Heinz more than doubles the bet, from 57 lines to 120. A Goliath at 1 unit per line is a 247 unit bet from a slip where the stake box says 1.
What the two-winner guarantee is worth
The same sentence appears against every bet in the family, and it is the sentence that sells them:
“A minimum of 2 successful selections will guarantee a return.”
It is accurate. Two winners always produce a return, because the double combining them is always one of the lines. What the sentence does not say is that two winners produce exactly one winning line no matter how large the bet is, while the stake scales with the number of lines.
Hold the price constant at 5/1 and the unit stake at 1, and change only the bet:
Trixie
- Stake
- 4
- Winning lines with 2 winners
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- +32.00
Yankee
- Stake
- 11
- Winning lines with 2 winners
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- +25.00
Canadian
- Stake
- 26
- Winning lines with 2 winners
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- +10.00
Heinz
- Stake
- 57
- Winning lines with 2 winners
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- -21.00
Super Heinz
- Stake
- 120
- Winning lines with 2 winners
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- -84.00
Goliath
- Stake
- 247
- Winning lines with 2 winners
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- -211.00
| Bet | Stake | Winning lines with 2 winners | Return | Net result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trixie | 4 | 1 double | 36.00 | +32.00 |
| Yankee | 11 | 1 double | 36.00 | +25.00 |
| Canadian | 26 | 1 double | 36.00 | +10.00 |
| Heinz | 57 | 1 double | 36.00 | -21.00 |
| Super Heinz | 120 | 1 double | 36.00 | -84.00 |
| Goliath | 247 | 1 double | 36.00 | -211.00 |
Identical selections, identical prices, identical winning line, and the guaranteed return swings from a 32 unit profit to a 211 unit loss. Above the Canadian, the published guarantee guarantees a loss at this price. That is the single most useful thing to know about the family and it appears on none of the pages currently ranking for these terms.
The break-even price table
Turn it round and solve for the price instead. With exactly two winners the double must return the whole stake on its own, so both winners need to be priced at the square root of the line count in decimal terms.
Trixie
- Lines
- 4
- Both winners need at least
- Evens, 1/1
- In decimal
- 2.00
Yankee
- Lines
- 11
- Both winners need at least
- 2.32/1, so 7/3 or bigger
- In decimal
- 3.32
Canadian
- Lines
- 26
- Both winners need at least
- 4.10/1, so 9/2 or bigger
- In decimal
- 5.10
Heinz
- Lines
- 57
- Both winners need at least
- 6.55/1, so 13/2 or bigger
- In decimal
- 7.55
Super Heinz
- Lines
- 120
- Both winners need at least
- 9.95/1, so 10/1 or bigger
- In decimal
- 10.95
Goliath
- Lines
- 247
- Both winners need at least
- 14.72/1, so 15/1 or bigger
- In decimal
- 15.72
| Bet | Lines | Both winners need at least | In decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trixie | 4 | Evens, 1/1 | 2.00 |
| Yankee | 11 | 2.32/1, so 7/3 or bigger | 3.32 |
| Canadian | 26 | 4.10/1, so 9/2 or bigger | 5.10 |
| Heinz | 57 | 6.55/1, so 13/2 or bigger | 7.55 |
| Super Heinz | 120 | 9.95/1, so 10/1 or bigger | 10.95 |
| Goliath | 247 | 14.72/1, so 15/1 or bigger | 15.72 |
A Trixie needs two winners at evens to get your money back. A Goliath needs two winners at 15/1. Since almost nobody assembles eight selections that are all priced at 15/1, the honest reading is that a Goliath backed for the guarantee is a Goliath backed on a misunderstanding. The bet needs three or four winners to work, and at that point the guarantee was never the reason to place it.
The Yankee sits at the useful end of this. Two winners at 7/3 or better returns the stake, and 7/3 is an ordinary handicap price rather than an outsider. That is a defensible reason to prefer a Yankee to a Heinz even when you fancy six horses.
Yankee returns by winner count
Four selections all at 5/1, 1 unit per line, 11 units staked. Gross return including stake on the lines that win.
4
- Lines that return
- 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold
- Return
- 2,376.00
- Net result
- +2,365.00
3
- Lines that return
- 3 doubles, 1 treble
- Return
- 324.00
- Net result
- +313.00
2
- Lines that return
- 1 double
- Return
- 36.00
- Net result
- +25.00
1
- Lines that return
- None
- Return
- 0.00
- Net result
- -11.00
0
- Lines that return
- None
- Return
- 0.00
- Net result
- -11.00
| Winners | Lines that return | Return | Net result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold | 2,376.00 | +2,365.00 |
| 3 | 3 doubles, 1 treble | 324.00 | +313.00 |
| 2 | 1 double | 36.00 | +25.00 |
| 1 | None | 0.00 | -11.00 |
| 0 | None | 0.00 | -11.00 |
The gap between two winners and three is the shape of the bet. Going from two to three multiplies the return by nine, and going from three to four multiplies it by more than seven again. A Yankee is not a hedge, it is an accumulator with partial credit that only starts paying meaningfully at three from four.
For comparison at the same prices and the same unit stake, a Lucky 15 on the same four selections costs 15 units instead of 11 and returns 6.00 on one winner, 48.00 on two and 342.00 on three. Two winners is the crossover: the Yankee returns 36.00 against the Lucky 15's 48.00, but the Yankee risked 4 fewer units. Beyond two winners the Lucky 15 leads on gross return, because it is simply the larger bet.
A non-runner turns a Yankee into two bets
When a selection is withdrawn, its lines are not deleted. Every line containing it shortens by one:
“If any selection in any leg is a non-runner or otherwise void under the Sportsbook Rules (e.g. an abandoned match) then all bets on that individual leg will be void and the Fixed Odds Multiple bet shall be adjusted accordingly. For example a treble including one void leg will become a double. If that voided legs mean that an individual bet within a multiple becomes a single bet, then this single bet will stand.”
“For accumulative bets, the stake will run on to the remaining selection/s - with a double becoming a single, a treble becoming a double and so on.”
The last clause of the Betfair rule is the one that matters here, because a Yankee has no singles until a leg is voided, and then it has three of them. Trace all 11 lines with D withdrawn:
AB, AC, BC
- Becomes
- Unchanged doubles
AD, BD, CD
- Becomes
- Singles on A, B and C
ABC
- Becomes
- Unchanged treble
ABD, ACD, BCD
- Becomes
- Doubles AB, AC and BC
ABCD
- Becomes
- Treble ABC
| Original line | Becomes |
|---|---|
| AB, AC, BC | Unchanged doubles |
| AD, BD, CD | Singles on A, B and C |
| ABC | Unchanged treble |
| ABD, ACD, BCD | Doubles AB, AC and BC |
| ABCD | Treble ABC |
Collect the terms and the result is exact: 3 singles, 6 doubles and 2 trebles. That is a Patent stacked on top of a Trixie, both on the three horses that ran, still staked at 11 units.
The important consequence is that a voided leg gives a Yankee something it never had: exposure on a single winner. Before the withdrawal, one winner returned nothing. After it, one winner from the three survivors returns on the single line created from its double with D. That is why the operator warns the estimate on the slip is only an estimate:
“If one (1) selection becomes void, returns will be settled on the remaining selections which might differ from what was originally stated in your potential returns.”
A late withdrawal can also cut the surviving prices instead of voiding cleanly, and on a Yankee the deduction touches every one of the 11 lines rather than a single bet:
“A Rule 4 deduction can apply if there's a late withdrawal.”
Bonuses, insurance and what does not apply
Two things are commonly assumed to attach to a Yankee and do not.
An advertised Yankee bonus does not carry into the Lucky family. If you upgrade the same four selections from a Yankee to a Lucky 15 to pick up the singles, you leave the Yankee bonus behind:
“Where William Hill advertise bonuses on Yankee, Canadian and Heinz bets, these won't apply to the Lucky 15/31/63.”
Where a bonus does apply, it is calculated on profit rather than on the returned stake:
“Bonus and consolation payments are based solely on winnings and don't include any stakes.”
Accumulator insurance products do not cover full-cover bets. The named exclusion is explicit:
“Not available for each-way accumulators, SP accumulators, bets placed with free bet tokens or permutation multiples (Yankee, Lucky 15 etc.).”
The reasoning is structural rather than commercial. A one-leg-lets-you-down refund is a promise about a single accumulator, and a Yankee already contains the shorter combinations that such a refund is meant to substitute for. You cannot buy the same protection twice.
One further limit applies to the largest bets in the family, and it is worth reading before assembling a Goliath at a stake that matters:
“Betfair reserves the right in its sole discretion not to accept certain multiple bets or to scale back stakes.”
Check your own numbers
| Name | Selections | Components | Singles included? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double | 2 | 1 | No |
| Trixie | 3 | 4 | No |
| Patent | 3 | 7 | Yes |
| Yankee | 4 | 11 | No |
| Lucky 15 | 4 | 15 | Yes |
| Canadian | 5 | 26 | No |
| Lucky 31 | 5 | 31 | Yes |
| Heinz | 6 | 57 | No |
| Lucky 63 | 6 | 63 | Yes |
| Super Heinz | 7 | 120 | No |
| Goliath | 8 | 247 | No |
- Selections
- 2
- Components
- 1
- Singles
- No
- Selections
- 3
- Components
- 4
- Singles
- No
- Selections
- 3
- Components
- 7
- Singles
- Yes
- Selections
- 4
- Components
- 11
- Singles
- No
- Selections
- 4
- Components
- 15
- Singles
- Yes
- Selections
- 5
- Components
- 26
- Singles
- No
- Selections
- 5
- Components
- 31
- Singles
- Yes
- Selections
- 6
- Components
- 57
- Singles
- No
- Selections
- 6
- Components
- 63
- Singles
- Yes
- Selections
- 7
- Components
- 120
- Singles
- No
- Selections
- 8
- Components
- 247
- Singles
- No
Calculate components, total stake and returns
Choose a common system, enter the stake per component and decimal odds, then mark which selections win. Returns exclude voids, deductions, commission and special settlement rules.
3 doubles, 1 treble. 3 of 3 selections marked as winners, producing 4 winning components.
- Components
- 4
- Total stake
- 4.00 units
- Gross return
- 33.50 units
- Profit / loss
- 29.50 units
Gross return includes returned stakes from winning components. Profit or loss subtracts the total stake across every component.
Enter the selections at the prices you were given and mark the winners. The calculator settles each line at the entered decimal price, which is the "return" column in the tables above. It does not apply a Rule 4 deduction, model the non-runner collapse or add any advertised bonus, so for a withdrawn selection do the collapse by hand: rewrite each affected line one leg shorter, then settle the rewritten set.
To get the break-even price for any bet in the family yourself, take the square root of the line count. Eleven lines gives 3.32 in decimal, which is 2.32/1. That is the price both of your two winners have to beat.
Ownership boundary
This page owns the full-cover bets without singles, Trixie through Goliath: the line counts, the minimum winners each needs and the price those winners must reach. Neighbouring subjects:
- Lucky 15 bet owns the singles-inclusive family and the bonus and consolation terms attached to it.
- System bet calculator owns the general K-of-N expansion and stake arithmetic for any combination size.
- Rule 4 deductions owns the deduction scale applied after a late withdrawal.
- Void bet rules owns voids arriving from abandonment and non‑participation.
- Accumulator vs Bet Builder owns same-event combinations and related contingencies.
Evidence manifest4 primary sources mapped to this guideView sources
Each source below is retained with the claims it supports. Operator sources describe published terms, not independent first‑hand performance.
- William Hill Support, Bet Types (opens in a new tab)
- A Yankee consists of 11 bets involving 4 selections in different events.
- A minimum of 2 successful selections will guarantee a return.
- A Trixie consists of four (4) bets involving three (3) selections in different events.
- A Patent consists of 7 bets involving 3 selections in different events.
- Just one successful selection guarantees a return.
- A Canadian (also known as a Super Yankee) consists of 26 bets involving 5 selections in different events.
- A Heinz consists of 57 bets involving 6 selections in different events.
- A Super Heinz consists of 120 bets involving 7 selections in different events.
- A Goliath consists of 247 bets involving 8 selections in different events.
- If one (1) selection becomes void, returns will be settled on the remaining selections which might differ from what was originally stated in your potential returns.
- For accumulative bets, the stake will run on to the remaining selection/s - with a double becoming a single, a treble becoming a double and so on.
- There can be no related contingency.
- A Rule 4 deduction can apply if there's a late withdrawal.
- An estimated return is displayed on your bet slip and is a rough guide for the amount of winnings which will be paid out if your selection/s are winners.
- Sky Bet help centre, Bet Types (opens in a new tab)
- A Yankee has eleven bets involving four selections. You have six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold.
- A Trixie has four bets and totals three selections. It contains three doubles and one treble bet.
- A Patent has seven bets, but is made up of three selections. Your three selections make up three single bets, three double bets and one treble bet.
- A Canadian (sometimes known as a Super Yankee) has five selections which total 26 bets. There are ten doubles, ten trebles, five four-folds plus one five-fold.
- A Heinz is 57 bets from six selections.
- A Super Heinz is 120 bets from seven selections.
- A Goliath consists of 247 bets from eight selections.
- Betfair Sportsbook, General Sports Betting Rules (opens in a new tab)
- A multiple bet consists of a number of legs. A leg is defined as one or more chosen selection in any individual event market.
- If any selection in any leg is a non-runner or otherwise void under the Sportsbook Rules (e.g. an abandoned match) then all bets on that individual leg will be void and the Fixed Odds Multiple bet shall be adjusted accordingly. For example a treble including one void leg will become a double. If that voided legs mean that an individual bet within a multiple becomes a single bet, then this single bet will stand.
- Not available for each-way accumulators, SP accumulators, bets placed with free bet tokens or permutation multiples (Yankee, Lucky 15 etc.).
- Betfair reserves the right in its sole discretion not to accept certain multiple bets or to scale back stakes.
- Each-way and win-only markets cannot be combined as part of a multiple bet.
- William Hill Support, Bonus and Consolation Bets: Rules (opens in a new tab)
- Where William Hill advertise bonuses on Yankee, Canadian and Heinz bets, these won't apply to the Lucky 15/31/63.
- Bonus and consolation payments are based solely on winnings and don't include any stakes.
FAQ
What is a Yankee bet?
Eleven bets across four selections: six doubles, four trebles and one fourfold. There are no singles, so at 1 unit per line it costs 11 units and at least two selections must win before any line returns.
How many winners do you need for a Yankee bet?
Two. The published rule is that a minimum of two successful selections will guarantee a return, because the double combining them is one of the 11 lines. Whether that return covers the stake is a separate question: both winners need to be priced at about 2.32/1 or longer.
What does a Yankee pay with two winners?
One line, the double of the two winners. At 5/1 each that is 36.00 on an 11 unit bet, a profit of 25.00. At 2/1 each it is 9.00 on the same 11 unit bet, a loss of 2.00, which is why the price matters more than the winner count.
Is a Yankee better than a Lucky 15?
They answer different questions. The Yankee costs 11 units and pays nothing on a single winner. The Lucky 15 costs 15 units for the same four selections and returns on one. At 5/1 with two winners the Yankee returns 36.00 for 11 staked and the Lucky 15 returns 48.00 for 15 staked, so the Yankee gives more back per unit risked at that point.
What happens to a Yankee if one selection is a non-runner?
Each line containing it shortens by one leg, so the six doubles become three doubles and three singles, the four trebles become one treble and three doubles, and the fourfold becomes a treble. The result is a Patent plus a Trixie on the three that ran, still staked at 11 units. Three winners at 5/1 then return 666.00 against 324.00 if that fourth selection had run and lost.
How many bets are in a Heinz or a Goliath?
A Heinz is 57 bets from six selections and a Goliath is 247 bets from eight. Both carry the same two-winner guarantee as a Yankee, but at 5/1 two winners return 36.00 against stakes of 57 and 247, so the guarantee produces a loss at that price.
Can you get acca insurance on a Yankee?
No. Published terms exclude permutation multiples from one-leg-lets-you-down refunds by name, alongside each-way accumulators, SP accumulators and bets placed with free bet tokens.