Double Chance Bet Explained: 1X, X2, 12 Odds and Fair Price

A double chance bet covers two of the three results of a football match: home or draw (1X), draw or away (X2), or home or away (12). You win if either of your two results happens and lose only on the third. It pays the same as an Asian handicap +0.5 on that team. You can also build it yourself from the 1X2 by splitting the stake.

Pinnacle's worked example (read 8 November 2026): Manchester City 1.971 and the draw 3.880 combine to a double chance price of 1.307, against 1.25 at another book. On €100 that is €30.70 profit instead of €25. The formula is one line: double chance odds = A × B / (A + B).

Definition. Double chance: a three-way football market reduced to a two-way bet by covering two outcomes. It never refunds. That is the difference from draw no bet, where a draw returns the stake.

Key takeaways

• 1X, X2 and 12 each win on two of the three 1X2 results.
• Double chance odds from a 1X2 = A × B / (A + B), where A and B are the two 1X2 prices you cover.
• Asian handicap +0.5 settles the same as 1X (home) or X2 (away). Pinnacle says so in its own articles.
• Built from vigged 1X2 prices, a double chance keeps the 1X2 margin. Compare a book's double chance with the fair price, not with the raw synthetic.
• Order of payouts on the same team: 1X2 win > draw no bet > double chance.

How does a double chance bet settle?

On the 90-minute result plus stoppage time, like the 1X2 it comes from. Pinnacle's betting rules (read 8 November 2026) say match markets settle at the end of "a scheduled 90 minutes of play unless otherwise stated", without extra time or penalties.

How do you calculate double chance odds from 1X2?

Pinnacle's article "Double Chance betting: Using odds to calculate your stake" (21 March 2017, read 8 November 2026) splits one total stake across the two outcomes so that both pay the same profit:

• Stake on home = TOTAL × DRAW / (DRAW + HOME)
• Stake on draw = TOTAL − stake on home
• Effective odds = HOME × DRAW / (HOME + DRAW)

X2 and 12 work the same way: swap in AWAY for the outcome you cover.

Pinnacle's example

Manchester City 1.971, draw 3.880, €100 total.

Effective odds: 1.971 × 3.880 / 5.851 = 1.307. The article's comparison book offered City win-or-draw at 1.25, a €25 profit, so the self-built bet made €5.70 more.

What is the fair double chance price?

The split above uses prices that already include margin, so the synthetic double chance still carries it. A quick check shows why: the implied probability of a synthetic 1X is exactly 1/HOME + 1/DRAW, the sum of the two raw implied probabilities.

To get a fair price, strip the 1X2 margin first, add the two fair probabilities, and invert. We used Pinnacle's own 1X2 from its draw-no-bet article (Aston Villa 7.790, draw 4.300, Chelsea 1.518, read 8 November 2026). Margin: 1/7.790 + 1/4.300 + 1/1.518 − 1 = 1.97%. Fair probabilities (multiplicative): Villa 12.59%, draw 22.81%, Chelsea 64.60%.

Our arithmetic, 8 November 2026. If a book quotes Chelsea-or-draw at 1.15, that is longer than both numbers. At 1.10 it is shorter than the synthetic you can build yourself. The devig calculator does the fair-probability step, and overround explained covers the 1X2 margin itself.

Stakes for the X2 on £100

Stake on Chelsea = 100 × 4.300 / (4.300 + 1.518) = £73.91; on the draw £26.09. Chelsea win returns 73.91 × 1.518 = £112.19; a draw returns 26.09 × 4.300 = £112.19. Both match the 1.122 synthetic.

Is double chance the same as Asian handicap +0.5?

Yes, in settlement. Home +0.5 wins if the home team wins or draws, which is 1X. Pinnacle writes in its double chance article that "a +0.5 Handicap works perfectly for Double Chance betting", and its draw-no-bet article says Asian handicap +0.5 "works exactly as Double Chance". When a book has both on the same match, the two prices should be close; a gap is worth checking. The Asian handicap guide covers the quarter lines next to +0.5.

Double chance vs draw no bet vs 1X2

Same match, same team, three payoffs. Chelsea from the Villa example:

The 1.165 is the synthetic DNB from the same Pinnacle prices. More cover means a shorter price. None of the three is "better" by itself: what matters is each price against its own fair value. Double chance on a heavy favourite is a very short odds-on price; it lowers variance, it does not add edge.

How Pinnacle Terminal handles this

Pinnacle Terminal shows Pinnacle's football 1X2 and Asian handicap lines on the same event, each with a fair price (Power by default). Each pre-match move is graded 0–10 (Big move, Sharp drop of about 20% or more from the recent high, Limit-backed, Downtrend, Rebound, Standard). Live in-play drops are shown and filtered, without a grade. When the 1X2 drops, you can rebuild the double chance from the new prices and compare it with what your book still has up. The terminal does not accept bets and is not affiliated with Pinnacle. Product: Pinnacle dropping odds. Plans: pricing.

FAQ

What does 1X mean in betting?

Home win or draw. 1 is the home team, X is the draw, 2 is the away team. X2 is draw or away; 12 is either team to win.

How are double chance odds calculated?

Multiply the two 1X2 prices you cover and divide by their sum: A × B / (A + B). For City 1.971 and draw 3.880 that is 1.307.

Is double chance a good bet?

Only when its price is longer than the fair price. It wins more often than a straight win bet because the price is shorter, not because it has more value.

What happens to a double chance bet if the match is a draw?

1X and X2 win. 12 (home or away) loses, because the draw is the one result it does not cover.

Does extra time count for double chance?

Not in a usual 90-minute market. Cup ties can be listed separately; read the market name.

Sources

• Pinnacle, "Double Chance betting: Using odds to calculate your stake", Betting Resources, 21 March 2017 (read 8 November 2026): City 1.971 / draw 3.880, €66.31 / €33.69, €30.70 / €30.72, effective 1.307 vs 1.25, stake and odds formulas, +0.5 handicap.
• Pinnacle, "How to calculate Draw No Bet from 1X2 odds", 6 August 2014 (read 8 November 2026): Villa 7.790 / draw 4.300 / Chelsea 1.518; "Asian Handicap +0.5 works exactly as Double Chance".
• Pinnacle, Betting rules (read 8 November 2026): 90 minutes plus stoppage time.
• 1.97% margin, fair probabilities, synthetic and fair 1X / X2 / 12, X2 stakes, synthetic DNB 1.165: our arithmetic, 8 November 2026.

Try it

Watch Pinnacle's 1X2 and Asian handicap on the same match, with a fair price on each line and every pre-match move graded 0–10: start the Pinnacle Terminal 7-day free trial. Nothing is charged before day 8. Plans: pricing.

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