What Is a First Four Bet?
A First Four bet is a special bet where the player gets to predict the first four runners in a race. It’s typically used in horse racing, and it’s very similar to the Trifecta bet, with the only difference that you get to choose the first four horses instead of three.
Even though it’s easy to understand, the bet is quite hard to win. The more selections you need to make, the harder it is to guess which runners will win the race.
Types of First Four Bet
To truly understand how the First Four bet works, you need to learn all the types of First Four bets. There are four of them:
Straight First Four
Straight First Four is the most basic form of the First Four bet and the hardest one to win. The bet requires you to guess correctly which four horses will take the first four spots and in which order.
This First Four bet is always the cheapest one to place, but it still requires a tremendous amount of knowledge and a bit of luck to win.
Boxed First Four
The Boxed First Four bet requires you to choose which four horses will take the first four spots, just like the Straight First Four bet, but you won’t have to guess in which order they’ll win.
This makes the bet much easier, but it’s still not easy to win as there are many horses in the race. Plus, it’s hard to guess which ones will take the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th spot, even though you don’t have to predict which horse will win which place.
Also, as four horses can take four spots in the race, there are 24 possible combinations. For this reason, the Boxed First Four bet costs 24 times more than a typical Straight First Four bet. In most cases, you’ll have to wager at least $24. The odds are still quite high, so you will be able to win a lot of money if you guess correctly.
Standout First Four
With this bet, you’re required to choose a standout horse, and it has to win the race, i.e., finish it in the first spot. Then you also need to choose three or more horses to finish the race in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places.
This bet is also not an easy one to win as it features several combinations. This also means that you’ll have to wager more money if you want to place this bet.
Multiple First Four
Multiple First Four bet is the most interesting one as it features many more combinations than the other three First Four bets. It requires you to pick two or more horses to finish in the first place. However, you also need to choose three or more runners to finish in the next three spots.
How to Place a First Four Bet
Placing a First Four Bet is fairly straightforward. First of all, you will need to select the First Four bet in the race you want to bet on within the betting site you’ve chosen. Once you do that, the boxed form of the bet will be selected as it offers the most freedom.
Then you will only need to tick boxes next to the runners to create your bet, and once you’ve made your choice, you’ll only need to confirm the bet, choose your stake, and click confirm to place the bet.
For example, let’s imagine there are 13 horses in the race you want to bet on. You decide you want to pick Horse 1, 5, 10, and 11 for the first four spots. To place the Boxed First Four bet, you will only need to tick the boxes next to their name as the boxed bet is on by default.
If you want to place the Straight First Four bet, you will have to click on the box representing the exact place in the race you believe the horse will finish. Do this for each of the four horses. For example, Horse 5 to finish 1st, Horse 10 to finish 2nd, Horse 11 to finish 3rd, and Horse 1 to finish 4th.
Follow a similar procedure for the other two forms of First Four bet and just tick the specific boxes that signify which places you believe the horse will reach. However, here, you’ll be able to tick more than a single box per horse, as the bets don’t require you to pick a specific horse for a particular spot.
Flexi First Four Betting
Flexi First Four betting allows you to choose to bet a specific percentage of your bet. It allows you to invest as much as you want, but you still have the chance to use as many horses as your budget allows.
When Is the First Four Bet Void?
If any of the four runners you choose on your bet ends up being declared a non-runner, then your bet becomes void, and the stake is refunded to you. If any of the runners you’re betting on gets scratched, the bet will also be void, and your stake will be returned to you.
