Types of Sports Bets: If-Bets

One common type of sports bet you will encounter in the US is the if-bet.  This bet requires a chronological succession of wagers to work out in order in order to proceed to the next bet.  Say for example that your if-bet involved two wagers, A and B.  You would need to win selection A in order to proceed to selection B.  If you lose selection A, there is no action at all for Selection B.  You can generally have up to around 15 selections in a single if-bet chain (the upper limit may vary depending on your online betting site and their rules). 

Some online betting sites may also allow you to proceed to selection B if selection A is a tie or a cancelation.  If this is the case, it is known as a double-action if-bet.  Should your first selection win, tie or cancel, you can proceed to your second pick.  If you are required to win your first pick, however, it is known as a single-action if-bet. 

So let’s take a simple example of an if-bet.  Let’s say you are betting on the Denver Broncos to beat the San Diego Chargers, and that represents selection A in your if-bet.  You have a second selection as part of your if-bet as well.  Selection B is a bet that the Green Bay Packers will defeat the Chicago Bears. 

If you are involved in a single-action if-bet, the Broncos must win in order for action on Selection B to occur.  If the Broncos lose, you lose the if-bet.  If they win, however, your wager will be placed on the Packers.  If the Packers win as well, you have the chance to score a pretty awesome payout.  If the Packers lose, you will lose overall on the if-bet, but your loss will be reduced by your win on Selection A. 

If you entered into a double-action if-bet, you’d get to press on to Selection B even if the Broncos didn’t win.  If they tied or the match was cancelled, your bet on the Packers would still go into effect.  If the Broncos lose, you still will not get entered into your Selection B wager. 

So what happens in the example above if the Broncos lose and the Packers win?  Since you didn’t get to enter into Selection B, and you have only the loss on Selection A, you lose your wager outright. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of entering into an if-bet?  The biggest risk is that you will lose the entire if-bet and miss your opportunity to win on Selection B because Selection A loses.  You would not want to hinge a bet you are certain on (Selection B) on a bet you are less certain of (Selection A).  If however you were more certain on Selection A and less certain on Selection B, an if-bet would make a lot of sense.  You give yourself the chance to win on both bets, but if you lose Selection B, Selection A helps to compensate.  Of course, you would have been more profitable in that case if you had ignored Selection B entirely and just gone with a straight bet on Selection A. 

For that reason, you want to be fairly confident of both Selections A and B when you enter into an if-bet on two teams.  Remember, you can generally add up to 15 selections to a single if-bet.  The last thing you would want to do is stack those selections up so that you have to get through 14 uncertain bets to get to one you are certain of at the end.  So always arrange them in order of confidence.  Make Selection A your most confident wager, Selection B your next most confident wager, Selection C your next most confident bet, and so on.  If-bets can be very exciting and also very profitable if you play them smartly!