Double Chance Betting Explained: 1X, X2 & 12

Double chance lets you cover two of the three match results in one bet, so you win whether your pick happens or the game ends another of the two ways you backed. It's the simplest way to take the draw out of the equation in football. The trade is straightforward: you win far more often, but the odds are shorter because you're covering more ground. This guide explains what 1X, X2 and 12 cover, how the price is worked out, and when the safety is actually worth paying for.

What is double chance betting?

Double chance is a market that covers two of the three possible results of a match in a single bet, so it wins on either of the two outcomes you back. It exists because football has three results, not two: home win, draw and away win. By covering two of them at once, you raise your chance of a return well above an even-money shot, in exchange for a shorter price. It's a variation of the 1X2 match result market, and one of the core options in our betting markets guide.

The appeal is control over the draw. In the standard 1X2 market a draw is a separate losing result, so backing a team to win means a level score costs you the stake. Double chance folds the draw into your bet, which is why it's a favourite for cautious bets on tight matches.

What do 1X, X2 and 12 mean?

The three double chance options each pair two of the 1X2 results. The labels use the same notation as the match-result coupon, where 1 is the home win, X is the draw and 2 is the away win.

Option	Wins if	Loses if
1X	Home win or draw	Away win
X2	Away win or draw	Home win
12	Home win or away win	Draw

1X and X2 are the two you'll reach for most. Both back a team to win or draw, removing the risk of a single dropped result. The 12 option is the odd one out: it backs both teams to win, so it loses only on a draw. Think of 12 as a bet against the draw, handy when you expect an open game between two sides who both go for the win.

How are double chance odds worked out?

A double chance price is built by adding the chances of the two results it covers. Convert each 1X2 price to its implied probability (divide 100 by the decimal odds), add the two you're covering, and invert that to get the fair double chance price. The worked example below uses a typical three-way market.

1X2 price	Implied chance
Home 2.10	47.6%
Draw 3.40	29.4%
Away 3.60	27.8%

From those, double chance 1X (home or draw) covers 47.6% + 29.4% = 77%, for fair odds near 1.30. X2 (away or draw) covers 57.2%, around 1.75, and 12 (home or away) covers 75.4%, around 1.33. The price you're offered is a touch shorter than these fair figures because the bookmaker adds a margin. In fact the three double chance prices together imply more than 200%, since each result is counted twice across the market, so the built-in edge tends to be larger than on the 1X2 line. Our guide to how betting odds work covers the conversion and the margin in full.

Double chance vs draw no bet

Double chance and draw no bet both protect against the draw, but they settle it differently. With double chance, a draw is a winning result: back 1X and a level score pays out at the double chance odds. With draw no bet, a draw voids the bet and your stake is refunded, with no profit. So the practical gap is simple: double chance pays you on a draw, draw no bet just hands your money back.

That difference shows up in the odds. Because double chance pays out on more outcomes, its price is the shortest of the three. Draw no bet sits in the middle, and the straight 1X2 win is the longest. Pick double chance when you'd happily take a draw as a winning result, and draw no bet when you only want the draw to cost you nothing.

When should you use double chance?

Use double chance when not losing matters more than the size of the win. It fits a solid underdog you expect to hold a strong side to a draw, a defensive team in a low-scoring league, or a cup tie where one side just needs to avoid defeat. It also works as the safer anchor leg of an accumulator, where one banker result steadies a riskier slip.

One rule keeps the value honest: double chance settles on normal time only, 90 minutes plus stoppage. If you back a team to win or draw and they lose in extra time of a knockout, the bet still wins, because extra time and penalties don't count. That makes 1X or X2 a tidy way to back a side to "not lose in 90 minutes" of a cup game that could go the distance.

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