What is Patent?

How a Patent Works

A Patent comprises seven individual bets across three selections: three singles (one on each selection), three doubles (each possible two-selection combination), and one treble covering all three. To place a Patent at £1 per bet, you stake £7 in total. The seven bets are fixed — you cannot remove any component without changing to a different bet type entirely.

Because singles are included, a Patent returns something if only one of your three selections wins. A Trixie, by contrast, requires at least two winners before you see any return. The trade-off is straightforward: a Patent costs more (seven bets versus four in a Trixie) but offers greater protection. With two winners you collect on two singles and one double; with all three up you collect on all seven bets. Odds and any applicable Rule 4 Deductions or non-runner adjustments are applied separately to each of the seven component bets.

A Worked Example

Suppose you back three horses at 3/1, 4/1, and 5/1 at £1 per bet (£7 stake total). If only the 3/1 shot wins, your single on that horse returns £4 (£3 profit plus £1 stake), so you recover part of your outlay. If the 3/1 and 4/1 selections both win, you collect on two singles and one double: the double pays £1 × 4 × 5 = £20, giving total returns of £4 + £5 + £20 = £29 from a £7 stake.

If all three win, all seven bets land: three singles return £4 + £5 + £6 = £15; the three doubles return £20 + £24 + £30 = £74; the treble returns £1 × 4 × 5 × 6 = £120. Total returns: £209 from £7 staked. These figures assume no each-way element, no deductions, and standard win-only terms. Each-way Patents are also available and double the number of bets to 14, which bookmakers handle differently — check the operator's rules before placing.

Why It Matters When Judging a Tipster

When a tipster advises Patents rather than singles, their headline strike rate and yield figures become harder to interpret. A tipster whose selections win at 30% may still show a profit on Patents simply because combinations amplify returns when two or more selections land together — but the same combinations magnify losses when selections drift or are subject to Rule 4 Deductions. Always check whether a tipster's published record is based on level stakes singles or on compound bets such as Patents, as the two are not directly comparable.

Patent-based services also require you to assess whether advised odds are consistently available. If a tipster recommends three selections but you can only obtain reduced prices on one or more of them, your actual returns across all seven bets will fall short of the proofed results. TipsterCheck records advised odds separately from starting prices precisely for this reason. A long sample size is especially important when evaluating Patent tipsters, since variance across seven-bet combinations can produce misleading short-term results in either direction.

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