Your Guide to Bet Types: Singles, Accumulators, Handicaps and Systems
Building a bet slip starts with one simple decision: back a single selection or combine several, and choose how to link them. That choice shapes your potential return, your chance of winning and the share of the bookmaker's margin you take on. Below, each main bet type is explained through easy examples in Canadian dollars. All odds shown are illustrations rather than prices from any operator.
Single bets
With a single, you back one selection on one bet. A win pays your stake multiplied by the odds, while a loss costs only that stake. For example, C$10 at 1.80 returns C$18. This format keeps things tidy, since every decision stands alone and only one market's margin applies. Singles also make a betting log wonderfully easy to read, and keeping one is a great habit: you can quickly spot which sports and markets suit you and which to leave aside.
Accumulators (parlays)
Accumulators roll two or more selections into a single bet and multiply their odds. Take three picks at 1.80, 1.70 and 2.00: the combined odds come to about 6.12, turning C$10 into a return of roughly C$61. The trade-off is simple. Every leg has to land, and a single miss sinks the whole slip.
Margins are the quieter trade-off. Every pick includes the bookmaker's cut, and those cuts compound in an accumulator just as the odds do. One leg's modest margin may seem minor, yet five similar legs hand the bookmaker a far bigger edge than any single would. It explains why accumulators get so much promotion. Stick to short slips, and add a leg only when you truly like the pick, not because the total looks tempting.
Handicap bets
Handicaps hand one side an imaginary lead or deficit before play begins. On a three-way handicap, a team at −1 needs to win by at least two goals, and a tie on the adjusted score counts as its own outcome. Asian handicaps take the tie away: whole-number lines give your stake back when the adjusted score is level, while quarter lines (like −0.75) divide your stake between two adjacent lines, so one half can win or be refunded while the other settles differently. They come in handy when a favourite's regular odds are too short to excite you.
Over/under (totals)
With totals, it doesn't matter who wins. You simply decide whether a statistic such as goals, points, games or corners will finish over or under the bookmaker's line. A line ending in .5, like 2.5 goals, can't produce a push, while a whole-number line can finish level and typically sees your stake returned. This market suits anyone who reads how two teams play more than who is the stronger side.
System bets
System bets bundle several accumulators built from your picks into one go. Under a "2 from 3" system, three picks become three doubles, and two winning picks are enough for one double to pay. Since each combination counts as its own bet, the total stake runs higher, but one bad pick no longer wipes out the lot. Think of it as a middle ground between steady singles and multiplying accumulators, just keep an eye on the stake, which climbs faster than many bettors assume.
Finding the format that suits you
Singles are your best match if you like control and clean records. Fancy bigger swings? Limit accumulators to two or three legs and give them a small slice of your budget. Turn to handicaps and totals whenever the main market lacks a price you like. Whichever route appeals, decide your stake per bet before the weekend's games begin, rather than once the first score is in.
How the rules work across Canada
Across Canada, the provinces oversee gambling. Ontario's permitted sports betting providers are registered by the AGCO, hold a contract with iGaming Ontario and appear in its directory of regulated operators. Elsewhere, provincial lottery corporations run the only legal online sites. A licence from Curaçao or Anjouan gives an operator no authorisation in any Canadian province. Whether Razed's operator is listed is not stated here, so look it up at igamingontario.ca and match the company name against the site's terms. Return to the sports betting overview, or explore football markets.