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What Does Single Action Mean In Sports Betting and Wagering?

by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Stephen Curry of Davidson.

In today’s world, convenience is king. Being able to do something without having to exert any extra time or energy is how most millennials live their life. However, being a successful handicapper is far from convenient. The amount of time and energy all great handicappers put can’t be measured because it never stops. They are always looking for their next move and always looking for the right opportunity to maximize their profit. The “single action” betting option offers some semblance of convenience. This is a great bet if you know you are going to be away from the sportsbook or computer for a time period and can’t get your bets in.

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What Does Single Action Mean?

When you hear someone using the phrase “single action” they are referring to a bet that acts like a parlay, but involves two or more teams that must play at different times of the day. This is also known as an “if bet”. 

How Does a Single Action Bet Work?

This concept may be difficult to follow, so let’s take a look at an example for clarification.

Let’s say you start your “if bet” with a bet on the Kansas City Royals at -120 and your wager amount is $120. The simplest part of this bet to understand is that if they lose, your bet loses too.

If the Royals were to win, you would have a total of $220 – the initial $120 you bet plus the $100 profit. With an “if bet” you have the ability to decide how much of that money you will bet on the second game. You could choose to bet it all or any amount you feel comfortable with. For the sake of the example, let’s say you bet $120 on the second game. If the second game goes according to plan and you win, you would then be given the total profit on the two bets. If the second game loses, the difference of $100 would be returned to you or your account.

Why to Bet the Single Action Option

To be quite honest, there is not really a major reason to bet this kind of wagering option. The only thing that comes to mind is convenience, since you won’t have to sit at the sports book or by a computer to make each bet manually. You can also place a “single action” bet on a second game while the first bet is in action – as long as you have a live bet on that first game.

Single Action versus Double Action

There are different ways you can make an “if bet” – most notable the single action or double action options. When an if bet is single action, the second bet is only made if the first bet is a winner – just like the above example. In terms of a “double action” bet, the second bet would go live not only if the first bet won, but if the first bet was a push or cancelled for any reason. You can also have a “lose” single or double action bet, which operates the same as a normal if-bet, but in this case the second bet is only made if the first bet loses.

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