What is a Canadian Bet? Full Info and How to Place One

So, why a Canadian?

You’re probably wondering why a Canadian bet is called a Canadian bet. Many system bets have odd names, and while names some are easy to understand (a Heinz bet has 57 bets, and of course the tagline of the Heinz company has been ’57 varieties’ for decades) while others (Yankee?) are perhaps not.

Well, no one is completely sure why a Canadian bet is called a Canadian bet, however the best bet is that it derives from its alternative name, the Super Yankee. A Yankee bet is eleven bets from four selections, while a Super Yankee is 26 bets from five selections. It’s thought that some witty person decided that a ‘super Yankee’ (i.e. someone superior to an American) would be a Canadian, and the name stuck.

Of course we also need to explain the betting term ‘Yankee’. The round robin bet was introduced to the UK by US soldiers around the time of World War II, so placing such a bet became known as a ‘Yankee’ bet, after the casual name for Americans at the time.

10 Doubles:

• Manchester U, Liverpool (odds 1.52 x 1.48 =) 2.25
• Manchester U, Wolves (odds 1.52 x 2.75 =) 4.18
• Manchester U, Nottingham F (odds 1.52 x 5.6 =) 8.51
• Manchester U, West Ham (odds 1.52 x 2.4 =) 3.65
• Liverpool, Wolves (odds 1.48 x 2.75 =) 4.07
• Liverpool, Nottingham F (odds 1.48 x 5.6 =) 8.29
• Liverpool, West Ham (odds 1.48 x 2.4 =) 3.55
• Wolves, Nottingham F (odds 2.75 x 5.6 =) 15.4
• Wolves, West Ham (odds 2.75 x 2.4 =) 6.60
• Nottingham F, West Ham (odds 5.6 x 2.4 =) 13.44

10 Trebles:

• Manchester U, Liverpool, Wolves (odds 1.52 x 1.48 x 2.75 =) 6.19
• Manchester U, Liverpool, Nottingham F (odds 1.52 x 1.48 x 5.6 =) 12.6
• Manchester U, Liverpool, West Ham (odds 1.52 x 1.48 x 2.4 =) 5.4
• Manchester U, Wolves, Nottingham F (odds 1.52 x 2.75 x 5.6 =) 23.41
• Manchester U, Wolves, West Ham (odds 1.52 x 2.75 x 2.4 =) 10.03
• Manchester U, Nottingham F, West Ham (odds 1.52 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 20.43
• Liverpool, Wolves, Nottingham F (odds 1.48 x 2.75 x 5.6 =) 22.79
• Liverpool, Wolves, West Ham (odds 1.48 x 2.75 x 2.4 =) 9.79
• Liverpool, Nottingham F, West Ham (odds 1.28 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 17.2
• Wolves, Nottingham F, West Ham (odds 2.75 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 23.52

5 Fourfolds:

• Manchester U, Liverpool, Wolves, Nottingham F (1.52 x 1.48 x 2.75 x 5.6 =) 34.64
• Manchester U, Liverpool, Wolves, West Ham (1.52 x 1.48 x 2.75 x 2.4 =) 14.85
• Manchester U, Liverpool, Nottingham F, West Ham (1.52 x 1.48 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 30.23
• Manchester U, Wolves, Nottingham F, West Ham (1.52 x 2.75 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 56.18
• Liverpool, Wolves, Nottingham F, West Ham (1.48 x 2.75 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 54.70

One Accumulator:

• Manchester U, Liverpool, Wolves, Nottingham F, West Ham (1.52 x 1.48 x 2.75 x 5.6 x 2.4 =) 83.14

What is a Canadian Bet in Horse Racing?

The Canadian bet is traditionally a horse racing bet. It was the custom for track bookies to accept five selections at a meeting and add all 26 bets to the book for the punter placing the bet. When betting shops were legalised in the 1960s, they would accept system bets such as Canadian bets too, although they would allow the selections to be spread across different meetings.

These days, thanks to online bookies in the UK you can place a Canadian horse bet online at multiple meetings, over multiple days, across multiple continents. You can place an each way Canadian bet, in which half of each leg stake goes on a win bet, and half on a place bet. These bets are kept separate though – so if three of your selections win but only two place, then the win side of your Canadian bet will only return a single double, whereas the place side will return five successful bets (usually at one quarter of the odds).

What is a Canadian Bet in Football?

High street bookies do not generally take Canadian bets on football, but the option exists at Canadian bet sites, i.e. sites that accept Canadian beta. The UK has the EPL as a popular league for Canadian multiple bet options, with punters choosing five EPL matches from the same match week for their bet. Of course you cannot place an each way Canadian bet on football – that option only really exists on horse racing.

Competitions such as the UEFA Champions League are popular at Canadian bet sites too, with the necessary five selections for a single round of matches. You can of course spread any Canadian bet across as many football leagues or competitions as you want.

What is a Canadian Bet in US Sports?

Okay, so Canada is not in the US (although Canadian teams do compete in US sports leagues) but Canadian bets are popular with US sports betting enthusiasts. Indeed, ‘parlay’ or ’round robin’ bets (system bets that tend to not include singles) are very popular in North American, and of course it was an American who created the ‘Super Yankee’ (which became the Canadian), or so we are led to believe.

Weekly NFL fixture lists are superb for Canadian bets. The NBA and MLB also have an incredible number of games from which you can make your Canadian bet selections.

Others

Greyhounds are great for Canadian bets, and you can create an each way Canadian bet with greyhound races as place bets are applicable to greyhound races. Other team sports such as both rugby codes and ice hockey are good choices, plus cricket as long as he matches you back are limited over fixtures. You can create a ‘Super Yankee’ at Canadian bet sites for any sports, and across multiple sports too, if permitted.

Mix and Match it up When it Comes to the Odds

While it may give you your best chance of winning, having five odds-on bets for your Canadian multiple bet will barely make the returns worth it, especially if just once of your selections doesn’t do the business. Likewise, having five long-shots is just throwing money away. Our tip – choose two odds-on selections, two just over evens, and then one fancied winner with longer odds than your previous four selections.

Cover Your Bets With Singles Too

The sole element of confusion when it comes to learning what is a Canadian 26 bet is that people do not realise (or they forget) that the bet does not include any singles. It can be annoying if your ‘long-shot’ wins but all the other selections with tighter odds let you down. You can mitigate the chances of this happening by placing a single on any long-shot included within your Canadian multiple bet selections. We don’t think it’s worthwhile placing singles on odds-on selections, though.

Don’t Stop at the Canadian Multiple Bet

Have you narrowed down your selections to seven or six, and you can’t decide which selection or selections to drop in order to get them down to five? Well, here’s our tip in this case – don’t! You don’t have to place a Canadian bet as other systems bets with six selections (called a ‘Heinz’ as it consists of six picks) or seven (a ‘Super Heinz’) are available.

Don’t think you have to increase your outlay, either. If you were going to place a £13 Canadian (26 bets at 50p) just place a £13 Heinz instead (57 bets at 23p, or thereabouts, instead).