An Up and Down bet is not a wager with which too many modern sports betting fans will be familiar. However, whether you have simply read the phrase somewhere, been left baffled in the pub when friends are regaling their latest wins, or you actually want to place this type of bet, we’ve got all you need to know right here.
Note that an Up and Down bet is sometimes written as an Up-and-Down or variations on that, but henceforth, we shall refer to it as a UAD.
Up and Down Is an Any to Come Bet
UADs are a type of bet that falls under the wider umbrella of an Any-to-Come (ATC) bet. That has more than likely confused more people than it has enlightened and to muddy the waters yet further, these types of wagers are also sometimes referred to as “If Cash”, or sometimes as “conditional bets”. There are a number of different ATC bets which we will consider elsewhere on the site but they are typically built using a combination of full cover bets and UADs.
We have discussed full cover bets when detailing specific examples of them, such as a Trixie, a Yankee or a Heinz. But it is the UAD part that is less typically known and that we are looking at here. The various names this wager type is known by go some way to hinting at how it works, especially if we think about the term “If Cash” or the idea that these bets are conditional.
Two Selections, Two Bets
UADs work by taking two selections and creating two bets, each with its own stake. So, for example, a UAD on two horses, Golden Brown and Breakfast of Champions, to win two separate races, entails two stakes. The first bet is on the first horse, in this case Golden Brown, with the second going on Breakfast of Champions.
In each case, should that bet win, the net win from it is returned to the customer, with the original stake then going on to the other horse. The second part of each bet is, therefore, conditional on the first one winning. Or to put it another way, it is only placed if there is cash – hence the two names for this bet.
Single Stakes or Double Stakes
Typically when it comes to UADs and the various related ATC wagers, the stake is the same on both parts of the bet. So, if you have £5 on the first bet within a UAD and it wins, that initial £5 stake is rolled over onto the second part, whilst the net win is yours to keep. This is called a (sorry for all these odd terms and abbreviations!) Single Stakes About (SSA) bet. Unless specified, it is typically safe to assume that any UAD will be Single Stakes About.
However, you may occasionally see, or choose to place, a Double Stakes About (DSA) punt. This is a slightly more complex type of bet and one that is placed less frequently. If your first bet wins then rather than the stake carrying over and being the same for the second part of the bet, it is doubled. In order for this to be possible, the first selection must be placed at odds of at least evens. Where the first wager is made at exactly evens, no net win is retained and the original stake and the net win of the same amount roll over onto the second part of the wager, thus doubling the stake.
If the first part of your bet was placed on an odds-on favourite then it will not be possible to double the stake (as the winnings/net win will be smaller than the stake). In this event, all the available funds will be placed on the second portion of the bet, so whilst the stake will not be doubled, it will still be larger than the first bet.
How Up and Down Bets Work
We will now give a more detailed example of how a UAD works. Because DSA bets, where the stake is doubled, are rarely used by most punters, we will solely look at the more typical SSA bet, where the stake is the same for both parts of the bet.
The key points to note about an Up and Down are:
- Features two selections
- You will get a return if one wins
- Bet consists of two wagers and each of these wagers are broken down into two parts
For the sake of simplicity, we will imagine a bet on Horse 1 to win the 2.30 pm race at 2/1 and Horse 2 to win the 3.10 pm race at 4/1. Bet 1 sees Part 1 of the bet placed on Horse 1, with Part 2 placed on Horse 2 – if there is cash available to make the bet (which is to say that Horse 1 wins). Bet 2 operates the same way but in reverse, with Part 1 of the wager on Horse 2 and the second “leg”, should cash be there to make it, going on Horse 1.
Calculating Net Win
Let us assume that both horses win. A £10 Up and Down bet on the pair would cost a total of £20, with £10 on each bet. Again working on the basis that both horses win, a £10 single on each would return a total net win of £60. A more ambitious £20 double would yield a net win of a far bigger £280, but what about a £10 UAD?
- Bet 1, Part 1 – £10 win at 2/1 on Horse 1 returns £30
- Bet 1, Part 2 – £20 net win from above is retained and £10 staked on Horse 2 at 4/1 returns £50
Total Returns £70 (£20 net win from Part 1, £50 including stake from Part 2)
- Bet 2, Part 1 – £10 win at 4/1 on Horse 2 returns £50
- Bet 2, Part 2 – £40 net win from above is retained and £10 staked on Horse 1 at 2/1 returns £30
Total Returns £70 (£40 net win from Part 1, £30 including stake from Part 2)
With both horses winning, all parts of the bet win and your total return is £140. Allowing for your stake this means a net win of £120. This is twice as much as if you had backed the horses both as singles. On the other hand, it is around 43% of what you would have won had you opted for the all-or-nothing option of the double.
Comparing UADs with Singles and Doubles
Unsurprisingly, if both of your horses win, you would have been better off placing a £20 double on them, whilst the worst option would be to place singles. Equally unsurprising is that if neither of your picks gets over the line first, you are £20 down no matter which bet you plump for. But the important question when comparing these bets is what happens if just one of your two picks wins?
In the event of the double, you will, of course, lose your entire £20. This is the risk you take for the extra reward of the largest payout. In the case of the singles, you will either win £20 and lose £10, or win £40 and lose £10, depending on which horse wins, meaning an overall net win of either £10 or £30. When it comes to the UAD, we can see the calculation below for what would happen should the first horse win at 2/1 and the second lose at 4/1:
- Bet 1, Part 1 – £10 win at 2/1 on Horse 1 returns £30
- Bet 1, Part 2 – £20 net win from above is retained and £10 staked on Horse 2 at 4/1 loses
Total Returns £20
- Bet 2, Part 1 – £10 bet at 4/1 on Horse 2 loses
- Bet 2, Part 2 – As the first part lost this bet cannot be placed
Overall Total Returns – £20
As we can see, in this scenario you will break even, meaning you are £10 worse off than had you opted for the two singles. A similar picture can be seen if it is Horse 2 that wins and Horse 1 that loses:
- Bet 1, Part 1 – £10 bet at 2/1 on Horse 1 loses
- Bet 1, Part 2 – As Part 1 lost, there is no stake to fund Part 2 and the wager cannot be made
Total Returns – Zero
- Bet 2, Part 1 – £10 win at 4/1 on Horse 2 wins. £40 net win is retained and £10 bet is placed on Horse 1
- Bet 2, Part 2 – £10 bet at 2/1 loses
Total Returns from Bet 2 – £40 | Overall Returns – £40, meaning an overall net win of £20
So, as you can see, if the second horse wins your outcome is £10 worse than it would have been if you had simply placed two singles. Precise outcomes for these three similar types of bet (two singles, or one double, or one UAD – consisting of two bets) will vary according to the odds of your selections and winners. However, as we can see, UADs offer a nice option for those who want more bang for their buck than is offered by a single but without the all-in nature of a double where both legs must win.
What Can I Place an Up and Down on?
As with many of these types of bets, horse racing is the natural home of Up and Down betting. That said, as with most types of multiple bets, they can generally be placed on any sport or event. In essence, a UAD is a type of double and, as such, they must follow the same rules as a standard double. That is to say they cannot be placed on related contingencies, an issue we explain in much more detail in many of our articles, most notably the one about Doubles themselves.
In short, this means that you cannot place a UAD on two related bets, where the probability of one thing happening affects the other. This often means you cannot make your two selections on the same race, match, fight, tournament or contest. Other than that though you can generally place UADs on anything, so why not give them a try?