Goliath

The aptly named Goliath bet is the largest standard multiple bet available with most bookmakers.

The Goliath involves gamblers making eight different selections and consists of a whopping 247 total bets as follows: 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 four-folds, 56 five-folds, 28 six-folds, eight seven-folds and one eight-fold accumulator.

The Goliath is another type of full coverage multiple bet. As such, it offers full coverage on all the different possible bet combinations from doubles upwards from your eight different selections. This means there’s a good chance of at least some return from your wager as long as two of your selections win. As with all other forms of gambling, though, the returns are dependent on the odds, obviously.

This can make the Goliath a good choice for gamblers who want to take a fairly conservative approach (and in this way is similar to hedging one’s bets) but who also want to have the simultaneous possibility of multiplying their returns manifold. Depending on the nature of the events being gambled on, punters can be unlikely not to generate at least some return. If, for example, the eight selections were on the outcomes of fairly evenly matched tennis matches, and four selections won, you would have 11 successful bets: six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold accumulator. So, one or two additional winning selections really help to multiply the returns.

On the other hand, eight horses at long odds could, of course, see a nil return and a 100% loss on your stake.

Obviously, the returns are all about the winning odds involved, and the investment is a big one simply by virtue of the 247 bets involved; even betting at just 50p per line will involve an initial outlay of £123.50. This is why the Goliath is usually a choice for more experienced gamblers who expect to achieve at least two successes but who also have a good track record in multiple bets and think their chances of multiple wins are at least reasonably good.

To illustrate the potential for big returns, let’s suppose that each of your eight selections was successful and that each was a 3-1 chance. Now let’s suppose you gambled £1 per Goliath bet, meaning an initial outlay of £247. In this happy scenario, your total return would be £390,592. But if only four of those selections won at 3-1, your return would be £608.