Alphabet Calculator

Work out the returns on an Alphabet: two Patents, a Yankee and a six-fold across six football selections, twenty-six bets in all.

An Alphabet calculator works out the returns on a six-selection system bet that bundles a Patent, a Yankee, and another Patent together with a six-fold, twenty-six bets in total.

What Is an Alphabet?

An Alphabet is unusual among system bets because it is not a full cover — it does not attempt to combine every possible permutation of six selections into one integrated bet slip. Instead it bundles four separate bets together: a Patent across the first three selections, a Yankee across the middle four, a Patent across the last three, and a six-fold across all six. The result is twenty-six lines, each at your unit stake, for a total outlay of 26 times that stake.

The name reflects its structure — there are six positions, call them A through F, and you fill the slip from left to right. The first three positions form one Patent, the last three form another, the middle four form a Yankee, and all six combine into the final six-fold. This is radically different from a Heinz or Lucky 63, which cover every combination up to a certain size. An Alphabet covers specific clusters: the head, the middle, the tail, and the whole slip together. That focused coverage is both its constraint and its logic — it costs far less than a Heinz (26 lines against 57) while still giving you multiple ways to make a return if not every selection wins.

The defining feature of an Alphabet is that the order you list your selections genuinely changes the bet. Selections at either end — the first and the sixth — appear in only one component each. Selections two through five occupy the middle ground, appearing in two components. The six-fold includes them all. This layered coverage means the slip is not just a list; it is a structure.

How the Alphabet Is Calculated

An Alphabet divides six selections into four component bets that overlap. To understand its calculation, you need to know what each component covers.

The first Patent uses selections 1, 2 and 3, creating 7 bets: three singles, three doubles (1–2, 1–3, 2–3) and one treble (1–2–3). If you pick those three wisely and all three win, this component alone returns a tidy profit.

The Yankee then runs across selections 2, 3, 4 and 5, creating 11 bets: four singles, six doubles (2–3, 2–4, 2–5, 3–4, 3–5, 4–5), four trebles (2–3–4, 2–3–5, 2–4–5, 3–4–5) and one four-fold (2–3–4–5). This is where the middle selections pull double duty — they are already in the first Patent, now they anchor a second bet.

The second Patent covers selections 4, 5 and 6, mirroring the first: three singles, three doubles and one treble. Selection 6 makes its sole appearance here.

Finally, a six-fold across all six selections gives you the coverage that ties the whole slip together. Every selection needs every other to win for this line to return; it is the ultimate all-in bet on your entire slip.

When you enter your six decimal prices and unit stake, the calculator totals up all 26 lines at that stake and shows you the potential return if every selection wins. If any selection is voided or loses, the calculator removes it from the affected components and recomputes the return from the surviving lines.

What the Calculator Shows You

Enter six decimal odds, a unit stake in euros, and the outcome for each selection (Win, Loss or Void), and the calculator returns your total outlay, total return if all win, and profit. It also breaks down the return from each of the four component bets — the two Patents, the Yankee and the six-fold — so you can see how much of your profit comes from which part of the slip.

Total outlay is simply 26 times your unit stake, since an Alphabet always has 26 lines. Return if all win multiplies each unit stake by the appropriate combined odds for that line, then sums all 26. Profit is the return minus your outlay. The calculator also shows each component’s contribution to the total, which is useful if you are tracking the slip through the matches and want to know what different partial outcomes are worth.

Worked Example

Take an Alphabet on six Swiss league selections at a EUR 0.50 unit stake. The six picks are Lugano to win (1.60), St Gallen to win (1.90), Zurich to win (2.10), Grasshopper to win (1.70), Sion to win (2.30) and Winterthur to win (1.50).

Your total outlay is 26 × EUR 0.50 = EUR 13.00. If all six win, each line generates its own return by multiplying the appropriate selections’ odds. The first Patent returns from its single and combined bets using the first three selections, the Yankee generates returns across the middle four, the second Patent across the final three, and the six-fold sums the return on all six combined.

When all selections win, the total return across all 26 lines is EUR 76.10, which gives a profit of EUR 76.10 − EUR 13.00 = EUR 63.10. This example shows how 26 carefully chosen lines, struck at a low unit stake, can still yield substantial profit when every pick lands. It also shows why the order matters: if Sion (2.30) had been placed at one end of the slip instead of in the middle, it would appear in one component rather than two, and the total return would shrink.

The Four Bets That Make Up an Alphabet

An Alphabet is distinctive because its 26 lines break down into four separate components, each using a different subset of your six selections.

How Often Each Selection Is Used

The Alphabet’s structure means selections do not carry equal weight across the slip. Selections at the head and tail appear least often; those in the middle appear twice.

Order and Weighting in an Alphabet

Order is not cosmetic in an Alphabet — it genuinely changes which bets you are striking. Selections one and six appear in only one component each, while selections two through five appear in two, and every selection appears in the six-fold. This tiered coverage rewards thought about where you place each selection.

Putting your strongest fancy at either end of the list wastes it; that selection then rides only one of the four components. Placing it in the middle — say, position three or four — puts it into both a Patent and the Yankee, multiplying its role across the slip. Some bettors build their Alphabet by starting with their most confident picks and slotting them into positions two through five, reserving the ends for selections they like but are less sure about. No other bet on this site rewards the order of the slip in this way, and most bettors assemble it without noticing. That oversight costs them.

The six-fold is another subtle point. Because it sits on top of all 26 lines rather than replacing any of them, an Alphabet always includes a full six-fold bet alongside the three shorter component bets. That six-fold is what turns the slip from a safe, diverse bet into one with genuine skyscraper potential if all six win. It also means a four-fold winner is not sufficient — you need either all six to land or a very specific partial outcome (such as all four of the Yankee selections winning) to make real money.

When an Alphabet Makes Sense

An Alphabet sits in an interesting middle ground. It costs much less than a Heinz (26 lines against 57) but covers more ways to profit than a simpler bet. It is more flexible than a full-cover bet because you can shape which selections do the heavy lifting by placing them strategically. It is tougher than a simple four-fold because it requires more selections and includes more lines at risk.

An Alphabet makes sense when you have six selections you like well enough to back, but you do not want to risk a Heinz’s outlay. It also makes sense when you think some selections are stronger than others and want to leverage that confidence by positioning your fancies in the middle of the slip, where they work twice. It makes least sense when you are unsure about most of the selections or when you are trying to cover truly independent markets — an Alphabet assumes a cluster of related picks, not six unrelated games.

The discipline required is placing the selections carefully. Lazy slips kill value: if you have six picks but little conviction in how they rank, an Alphabet offers no advantage over simpler bets. When you do have a tiered view — three strong picks, two okay ones, and a risky outsider — an Alphabet rewards you for that judgment by placing the strong ones where they count most.

Common Mistakes

Bettors often list the selections in a random order, which quietly changes the whole bet without them noticing. Many also expect an Alphabet to be a full cover bet, forgetting that it is four separate bets bundled together and does not combine every permutation. Some forget to multiply their unit stake by twenty-six when calculating the total outlay. Finally, many assume every selection carries equal weight across the slip, missing the opportunity to position their strongest picks in the middle where they work twice.

Alphabet vs Other Six-Selection Bets

An Alphabet offers a middle ground between a Yankee and a full-cover system.