A tri bet is a special type of margin bet that splits the range of possible points margins in a match into three outcomes.
Team A to win by 15.5+ points, Either Team A or Team B to win by under 15.5 points and Team B to win by 15.5+ points. The size of the points margin range depends on the sport.
The critical difference between tri bets and other forms of margin betting is that one of the three outcomes can have either team win, so long as it is under the points threshold. Having one outcome where either side can prevail allows the bookmaker to break up the final points margin into three results.
Tri bets are best explained using real life sports betting examples. Let’s look at an AFL tri bet for a match between Essendon and Geelong:
The favoured outcome ($1.50) is Geelong to win by a margin greater than 15.5 points. If either Geelong or Essendon wins by a margin less than 15.5 points, the tri bet will pay a fixed price of $3.40. If Essendon causes an upset and wins by more than 15.5 points, the tri bet will pay $7.50.
All sports betting sites offer tri bets on the AFL, NRL and many other sports.
If the match ends in a draw, then the ‘either team under 15.5 points’ margin outcome will prevail; thus eliminating the draw from the equation. However, it is different from a Draw No Bet wager. One key difference between tri bets as opposed to Asian handicapping or even line bets is that the margin is always fixed. However, the odds adjust to reflect the chances of each outcome prevailing.
An NRL tri bet works much the same as it does for the AFL; however, the points margin is different. A 6.5 points margin is used as opposed to the 15.5 margin used for AFL betting. See below:
