A bet builder is one of the newer tools available to punters. It allows for creating a same-game multi on something like a football match. The bookmaker provides preset markets from which a bet builder wager can be constructed.
Select which and how many legs you want to include in the bet. On this page, we look at this exciting betting feature, how it works and how to use it.
Understanding How a Bet Builder Works – Betting Made Personal
A bet builder is a tool for creating a personalised bet, which is the significant selling feature of it. Typically, multi’s can only be made from different events. But the arrival of the bet builder tool changed all that, and now multi-bets can be applied to a single match.
Check Availability
The bet builder tool is not widespread across all sports but very commonly found in major areas like football, basketball and tennis.
Select the Bet Builder
Select the tool from the bookmaker’s match page if it’s available. You will then be presented with the bet builder markets from which you can select options.
Make Your Picks
Select from options like the match winner, over/under goals, a selected player to score or receive a yellow card, the final score, a team’s number of goals, etc.
How Many Selections?
In most instances, you can select up to 12 legs of a bet builder. So there’s plenty of scope – however, the more legs you have, the bigger the risk.
Check the Odds
As you add selections, the odds should update on the fly. They will naturally increase rapidly because the odds are cumulative based on your selections.
Advantages of Bet Builders
The bet builder’s personalisation angle is part of why it is so popular. You can fine-tune exactly what you are building and create a bet no other player has made.
You can make it fit precisely into your strategy and take selections that can be hedged elsewhere, like with a lay bet on an exchange.
Because the bet builder odds are cumulative, they often need a small stake, similar to an accumulator bet.
Tips for Using Bet Builders to Craft Your Ideal Bet
There are many options for a single match in a bet builder. Instead of randomly pulling selections together, it is essential to study statistics and let the results inform you which picks to make.
It could be that Team A has strong home form, and in their last three home wins, they have opened the scoring and won by a 1-goal margin. Again, look for trends that you can apply to bet builder selections.
Keep the goals of a bet builder realistic, though. Look for viable legs and stay disciplined in not getting tempted to throw something overly risky in there, such as a specific player getting a red card.
The goal is to craft the bet skillfully. Because of the riskier nature of the bet builder in that it has multiple legs that all have to win, it needs that degree of research and discipline.
Risks & Limitations of Bet Builders
Again, like an accumulator bet, some big profit can be targeted from a small stake. For example, if you combine four options into a bet builder, you will get bigger odds than if you played the four selections individually as win singles.
But that only happens because of the overall increased risk of a bet builder against a single bet.
The tool has some limitations, too, in that it is not always available for all sports, and many of the markets can be high-risk affairs like individual player cards, shots outside the box, player total shots on target and player total tackles.
Avert some risks by only picking from markets like the match outright, handicap, over/under goals, both teams to score etc., selections which good stats research can point to.
Bet Builder vs Traditional Betting
Deciding on a bet builder or traditional win singles involves risk management and assessing what the markets offer regarding value.
As an example, we took four single bets each at a £1 stake from a Serie A Milan derby:
Inter To Win @ 27/20 – £1.35 profit
BTTS No @ 10/11 – £0.91 profit
Draw/Inter HT/FT @ 4/1 – £4.00 profit
Lautaro Martinez Anytime Goalscorer @ 9/4 – £2.25 profit
Total profit = £8.51
Throwing all of those same options in a bet builder tool for the match returned 23/1 odds.
That would be a £92 possible profit if you applied the same overall £4 stake. But you must balance that with the greater risk of having all four selections win
Bet Builder Strategies – Building Your Winning Bets
Here are some key bet builder betting strategies that can help drive you towards building successful wagers.
Research & Analysis
As with all betting, the key to success is research and analysis. Look for patterns and trends that you can use to build a solid, data-backed bet.
Stick to a Plan
Develop a plan and stick to it. That’s from the type of selections to the amount of money staked. Avoid the temptation to deviate from your plan, especially when your emotions are running high.
Focus on Value
The cumulative odds in bet builders can rise rapidly. Don’t get swept up in them – look for the less risky markets. When they are combined, there should still be plenty of value, but decide whether the offered odds match what you expect to get for value.
Manage Your Money
Keep in control of your stakes and overall betting budget. A nice thing about bet builders is they are approachable with small stakes. But it’s still real money you are betting with, so set a budget per bet based on your overall bankroll.