What is double chance in betting, and when does 1X still lose?

Double chance has three picks, each built from two of the 1X2 results. SportPesa shows them on the match card as 1 OR X, X OR 2 and 1 OR 2, and its rules define the market as predicting two out of three possible outcomes with one bet.

The result is read at full time, which SportPesa sets at 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties play no part, so a 1-1 cup tie settled on penalties counts as a draw: 1X and X2 win, 12 loses.

Double chance is built on the 1X2 market, which is why the codes reuse 1, X and 2: a pick joins two of them and loses only on the third. 1X suits a home side you trust to avoid defeat, X2 an away side you expect to hold on, and 12 a match you think will have a winner.

A double chance bet works like a single 1X2 pick at a lower price, because two results now pay. The odds sit below those of either result it covers, and that is the cost of the extra cover.

Take AFC Leopards away from home on X OR 2 at 1.45 with KSh 1,000. A draw or a Leopards win gives a possible win of KSh 1,450. The 20% withholding tax takes KSh 90 from the KSh 450 profit, so the payout is KSh 1,360. A home win loses the stake.

On SportPesa, punters asking what is double chance in betting find the market on the main match card, next to 1X2, OVER/UNDER 2.5 and BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE, so it can be added to a betslip without opening the extra markets.

Double chance odds can be worked out from the 1X2 prices: 1 divided by (1/first price + 1/second price). With a home win at 2.50 and a draw at 3.20, 1X comes to 1 / (0.40 + 0.3125) = 1.40. A 1 OR X price well below that figure carries more margin than the 1X2 prices it is built from.

Prices near 1.10 or 1.20 leave little profit after tax: KSh 1,000 at 1.15 pays KSh 1,120, a gain of KSh 120 for a bet that still loses on one result.

Yes, a double chance bet loses on the one result it leaves out. 1X loses to an away win, X2 to a home win and 12 to a draw, and the whole stake goes.

The risk adds up in a multibet. Three double chance legs at 1.25, 1.30 and 1.40 multiply to total odds of 2.275, so KSh 400 gives a possible win of KSh 910 and a payout of KSh 808 after tax. One upset among the three loses the slip.

If you only want your stake back on a draw, draw no bet pays a bigger price on the same team. Daily selections for the market are on the double chance predictions page, and the best betting sites in Kenya list shows where to place them.