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What is a bet builder and how do they work?
Discover everything you need to know to get started with bet builders in our in-depth guide
![What is a bet builder and how do they work?](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/betting/better-collective-new/what-is-a-bet-builder.jpg?imwidth=680)
Bookmakers have been offering bet builders for a number of years now but their popularity is still growing among sports bettors. Not everybody is familiar with how they work though and it’s important for customers to know how you can get the best out of them when combining selections from the same event.
Here, we take a deep dive into the wonderful world of bet building and the finer nuances of the popular punters’ choice.
How do bet builders work?
Bet builders are relatively self-explanatory and will be a familiar offering for regular punters. They allow bettors the opportunity to personally build a bet for football and a number of other sports.
The feature, which has rapidly grown in popularity over recent years, enables punters to customise their bets by choosing a number of selections within the same event with the odds boosted by every leg that is added. A number of bookmakers also allow you to combine a number of bet builders to create a cross-game bet builder over multiple fixtures, too.
Bet builders are extremely popular because they allow punters to bet on exactly what they want. For example, customers are able to bet on the winner of the game, a goalscorer and the number of goals scored, as well as the number of cards, shots and corners all in one bet, with most bookies allowing you to make at least 10 selections per bet within any given bet builder.
The main difference between a bet builder and an accumulator is that a bet builder allows related contingencies (outcomes) while an accumulator does not. An example of a related contingency would be a team to win a game plus a specific player to be carded – for example Manchester City to beat Everton AND Rodri to be carded.
That would not be available in an accumulator bet, but it is available in a bet builder and the odds will be boosted accordingly because of the added contingency within it.
What to look out for when searching for bet builder tips
The main factor to consider when placing your bet builder is how one selection will impact others.
You will be unable to place a bet on outright contradictory outcomes but there would be little sense in betting on one side to win to nil with the opposition to have 4+ shots on target, as it would mean that team squandering a number of opportunities in front of goal for your bet to land, which is highly unlikely in elite level football.
Instead, what you should focus on are selections that are not contradictory and completely unrelated. For example, if you think one side is going to dominate the fixture, you could bet on them to win to nil and, alongside this, the game to finish with over 40 booking points (1 yellow card = 10 booking points, 1 red card = 25 booking points) if one side has a particular reputation for fouls. This is a handy way for you to boost your odds of a specific bet and gain a little more control over the potential outcome.
This method of betting is a really good way for punters to add lots of value to a variety of different football matches, with Premier League and Champions League bet builders available to bet on both singly and combined throughout the season.
Best bookmakers for bet builders
bet365 was the pioneer in bet builders and its offering is still widely known as one of the best in the industry. This is helped by its excellent website and app, which clearly signpost the bet-builder tab and make it easy to navigate to and around.
With bet365, you can combine up to 12 selections to create one bet builder and you can even do so in play once an event has started. This allows you to get a feel of how things may play out before you make your selections. You can also cash out on both pre-game and in-play bet builders.
What really keeps bet365 ahead of the majority of its competitors is the option to create a cross-game bet builder, which opens up another opportunity to boost your odds. For example, if there are two games on a ‘Super Sunday’, you can combine multiple different selections from both fixtures to create a bigger priced cross-game bet builder.
There are of course other bookmakers who have a great bet-builder offering. Paddy Power also has a Bet Builder Insurance promotion. This means that if you place a bet builder of at least four legs and just one lets you down, then you will receive your stake back as a free bet, up to the value of £10. This helps provide a slither of comfort after coming so close.
The likes of Sky Bet, Betfred, William Hill and Coral all have good reputations among punters thanks to their user-friendly interfaces, and their bet builder features are no different. They are all easy to find once you select the game you want to bet on and come highly recommended by punters.
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What things should I consider when picking my bet builders?
Booking points and specific players picking up yellow cards are a great way to boost your odds if you feel that a particular result is going to land. It is always good to study the sides and if any players are coming back from injury – they could be susceptible to a booking as they may lack match sharpness.
It is also worth taking a look at which players are coming up against players who win a lot of fouls. For instance, say that Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew is the most fouled player in the Premier League – on average 3.4 times per game.
This would mean that the full-back defending directly against Ayew could find it difficult to contain the tricky forward, but may not be an obvious pick on the face of it and as such would potentially be priced favourably.
Another market to look at is players who could have a shot or a shot on target in a game who may not be renowned for their shooting.
For example, say Luton’s Carlton Morris is in the top 17 players for shots per game in the Premier League. The Hatters striker could add value to your next bet builder, even if Luton are playing a bigger club, because of Morris’s potency in the final third.
Such players usually offer some good bet-building value, alongside unassuming centre-backs, who could easily record a shot – or better yet a shot on target – by getting on the end of corners.
What are cross-game bet builders?
Cross-game bet builders are another fantastic way of boosting your odds by combining selections from different games. They are not offered by every bookmaker but the likes of bet365 do allow customers to pick selections from several different fixtures.
Cross-game bet builders work like traditional bet builders, whereby you make various selections within a game and then combine them with an array of different selections from another game. The two bets then work as a double offering you the chance to win big money from a small stake.
An example of a cross-game bet builder would be something like:
- Harry Kane to score and Eric Dier to be carded in Tottenham vs Aston Villa
- Marcus Rashford to score and Casemiro to be carded in Man Utd vs Southampton
These are likely return high odds due to there being a lot of different contingencies in play across two separate fixtures.
Can you cash out your bet builders?
Not every bookmaker will give customers the opportunity to cash out a bet builder but the likes of bet365, Sky Bet and a number of others do give them this chance.
You should consider cashing out when there is a certain player that you are waiting on – either to receive a booking, to score or to have a shot on target – who typically gets substituted in the latter stages of matches. So it’s also worth doing your research on whether players you pick come off.
On the other hand, it may not be worthwhile cashing out if the team you have backed to get a result have a reputation for scoring at the death. If you are relying on booking points, then you should research whether the sides involved have a tendency to receive cards late on.
If you do decide to cash out it means that your bet will not settle for the full potential winnings. You should always fully consider this when deciding whether you want to risk it for the full possible returns or sacrifice it for a smaller profit.
What are the drawbacks to bet builders?
One major drawback to bet builders is that they never show the other side of your selections. For example, the odds will not be shown for a specific player not to have two shots on target, only the odds for them to do so.
Customers may wonder, do bet builders count in extra time? Unfortunately, they do not as they apply to the regulation 90 minutes (plus stoppage time), meaning that placing selections on cup games can be more tricky and you may want to bet on a side to progress to the next round instead.
Another drawback to bet builders offered by some bookies is that cashing out is not always available. The likes of bet365 and Sky Bet do offer cash-out on their Bet Builders, but this is not the case with every bookmaker, with some removing the option towards the end of a fixture.
Different terminology used by bookmakers for bet builders
While bet builders are offered by a number of bookmakers, they are not always called bet builders. Some bookmakers like to use their own names for this feature – a list of which can be found below:
- bet365 – Bet Builder
- Paddy Power – Bet Builder
- Betfair – Bet Builder
- Sky Bet – BuildABet
- Betfred – #PickYourPunt
- William Hill – #YourOdds
- Coral – Build Your Bet
- Ladbrokes – Bet Builder
- Fitzdares – CreateABet
- QuinnBet – Create A Bet
Can you create bet builders for sports other than football?
While football remains one of the most popular sports to bet on, bookmakers offer the opportunity to take advantage of their bet builder feature on other sports, like basketball and tennis.
NBA bet builders and the like will not be available on every bookmaker but bet365 offer an NBA Bet Builder that works in the same way as their football offering. Punters will be able to make selections on points spread, money line, game totals and player points among many other options.
Tennis bet builders are another popular type of bet builder. If you have a strong feeling as to how a particular game is going to play out, this gives you the opportunity to place a same-game multiple bet on it.
For example, you might want to select who will win the first set alongside how many aces a player records in the game, as well as the outright winner of the overall match.