Yankee bet
A Yankee is a full-cover multiple bet on four selections in separate events, made up of 11 bets: six doubles, four trebles and one fourfold. Your stake is per bet, so a €1 Yankee costs €11. There are no singles inside it, which means at least two selections have to win before anything comes back.
How the eleven bets are built
Label the selections A, B, C and D. The six doubles are every possible pair, the four trebles are every group of three, and the fourfold needs all four to land.
A loser only kills the lines it appears in.
Each-way doubles the bet count to 22, half on the win odds and half on the place terms, so a €1 each-way Yankee costs €22. Place terms and any bonuses vary between bookmakers, so read the bet slip rather than assuming one standard.
A worked example at 2/1
Take four selections at 2/1 each, which is 3.00 in decimal and an implied probability of 33.3% before any margin. At €1 a bet the ticket costs €11.
Two winners return one double: €9, a loss of €2 on the ticket. Three winners pay three doubles and one treble, €54 in all. Four winners land every line: €54 from the doubles, €108 from the trebles and €81 from the fourfold, €243 returned.
A return is not a profit until it beats the €11 you paid.
Yankee or Lucky 15?
The Lucky 15 is the bet most often mixed up with a Yankee, since it uses the same four selections and the same eleven multiples with four singles added on top.
Yankee | Lucky 15 |
|---|---|
| 11 bets | 15 bets |
| €11 at €1 a bet | €15 at €1 a bet |
| Two winners needed for a return | One winner returns something |
| All stake in the multiples | Stake shared with singles |
| Bookmaker bonuses less common | Often carries consolation bonuses |
What a Yankee is not
A Yankee is not a fourfold accumulator. The fourfold is a single line that dies with one loser, while a Yankee buys ten smaller combinations around it.
The five-selection version, with 26 bets, is called a Canadian or Super Yankee.
