A Super Flag is one of the most forgiving five-selection bets in racing and sports betting, precisely because it doesn’t require every pick to win. A single winner among your five selections is enough to guarantee some kind of return.
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That safety net comes from combining a Canadian (10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds, 1 five-fold) with 10 Single Stakes About pairs, bringing the total to 46 separate bets from just five selections. This calculator works out exactly how much each part of that 46-bet structure returns.
Whether you’re weighing up a Super Flag against a plain Canadian, or trying to understand why two winners alone can sometimes produce a profit, the breakdown below shows precisely where every pound, dollar, or euro of return comes from.
📊 How to Use the Super Flag Calculator
Enter decimal odds for all five selections, then mark each one as Lost or Won (or Placed, if you switch on Each-Way mode). Set your stake per bet – this is the unit stake, not your total outlay.
Your total stake is always 46 times your stake-per-bet in Win Only mode, or 92 times in Each-Way mode, since each-way splits every bet into a win half and a place half.
The calculator then works out returns for every one of the 46 bets and groups them by type, so you can see exactly which combinations paid out and which didn’t.
🔢 Calculator Fields Explained
Bet Mode – Win Only calculates the standard 46-bet Super Flag; Each-Way doubles every bet type into a win-half and place-half, for 92 total bets.
Place Terms – the fraction of the win odds paid on the place part of an each-way bet (only shown in Each-Way mode).
Stake per Bet – the unit stake applied to every one of the 46 (or 92) individual bets that make up the Super Flag.
Currency – the currency symbol used to display stakes and returns.
Selection Name / Odds / Result – the five events you’re backing, their decimal odds, and whether each finished Lost, Placed, or Won.
💰 Understanding the Results
| Result Field | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Doubles / Trebles / Four-folds / Five-fold | How many of the 10, 10, 5, and 1 possible combinations at that level paid out, and their combined return |
| SSA Pairs | How many of the 10 up-and-down pairs paid out – each requires both selections in the pair to win (or place) |
| Total Bets | 46 in Win Only mode, 92 in Each-Way mode |
| Total Stake | Your unit stake multiplied by the total number of individual bets |
| Profit / Loss | Total return minus total stake across all 46 (or 92) bets combined |
The SSA Pairs row is usually the one that surprises people. Unlike doubles, a Single Stakes About pair pays nothing if only one of its two selections wins – both need to land.
A Super Flag guarantees a return with just one winner only because of the group of singles the source system otherwise implies – in reality, this structure needs at least two winners to guarantee any return at all, exactly like the underlying Canadian bet it’s built from.
Every part of a Super Flag – doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-fold, and SSA pairs alike – requires a minimum of two winning selections before any individual bet within it can pay out. That’s the structural fact that determines whether your bet returns anything at all.
📐 Calculation Formulas
| Bet Component | Formula | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Double return | Stake × Odds₁ × Odds₂ | 10 |
| Treble return | Stake × Odds₁ × Odds₂ × Odds₃ | 10 |
| Four-fold return | Stake × Odds₁ × Odds₂ × Odds₃ × Odds₄ | 5 |
| Five-fold return | Stake × Odds₁ × Odds₂ × Odds₃ × Odds₄ × Odds₅ | 1 |
| SSA pair return (both win) | 2 × Stake × Oddsᵢ × Oddsⱼ | 10 pairs (20 bets) |
The SSA formula doubling reflects the up-and-down structure directly: one leg carries winnings from selection i onward to selection j, and the mirrored leg does the reverse. When both selections win, both legs land, effectively paying the double twice.
When calculating each-way SSA pairs, the place-half uses place odds (1 + (odds – 1) × place fraction) in place of win odds, but the same both-must-land rule and doubling still apply.
This is exactly why a Super Flag is described as “the same as a Canadian, with SSA pairs added” – the doubles, trebles, four-folds and five-fold math is completely unchanged from a Canadian bet.
📝 Practical Examples
Example 1 – Two winners. Selections 1 and 2 win at 2.5 and 3.0, the other three lose. At a $1 stake per bet, the single double between them returns $7.50, and both SSA legs on that pair return $15 combined – a total return of $22.50 against a $46 stake.
Example 2 – Three winners. Adding a third winner at 1.8 unlocks three doubles, one treble, and three SSA pairs, all involving that selection alongside the other two winners – the return climbs sharply since every combination between the three winners now pays.
Going from two to three winning selections in a Super Flag typically multiplies your return several times over, since the number of winning combinations grows much faster than the number of winning selections.
Example 3 – Only one winner. If just one selection wins and the other four lose, every double, treble, four-fold, five-fold and SSA pair requires at least one more winner than you have – so the entire 46-bet Super Flag returns $0.
Example 4 – All five win. With all five selections winning, every one of the 46 bets pays out, including the five-fold accumulator at the product of all five prices. A full house on a Super Flag with modest odds around 2.00 average can still return well over ten times the total stake.
Example 5 – Each-way with two placers. Two selections place but don’t win, at 1/4 odds terms. No win-side bets pay, but every combination containing only those two selections still returns via the place-half calculation, giving a partial return even without any outright winners.
💡 Tips & Best Practices
Remember the minimum-two-winners rule before entering a Super Flag expecting insurance from a single winner – that protection actually comes from Lucky 15/31/63 style bets, which add genuine singles.
Check the breakdown table rather than just the total return figure. Seeing which specific bet types paid out helps you understand whether your result came from a couple of doubles or a full house.
Use Each-Way mode whenever you’re betting on horse racing with more than a handful of runners, since place terms materially change the calculator’s minimum-return scenarios.
Compare the Super Flag total stake against an equivalent Canadian bet before committing – the SSA pairs add real cost, and you should be comfortable with that extra 20-bet outlay.
Enter realistic decimal odds rather than round numbers when testing scenarios, since even small odds differences compound noticeably across four- and five-selection combinations.
Running a few “what if” combinations through the calculator before placing a real Super Flag is the fastest way to build intuition for how sensitive the bet is to your weakest selection.
Consider mixing shorter and longer-priced selections rather than five near-identical prices, since a spread of odds tends to produce more varied and often larger SSA and double returns when only some selections land.
- Note your break-even number of winners before placing the bet
- Keep a record of which combinations paid out for future reference
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Assuming One Winner Guarantees a Return
Some bettors confuse a Super Flag with bets like Lucky 15 that include genuine singles, and assume a single winning selection will always produce something back.
A Super Flag contains no singles at all – every one of its 46 bets needs a minimum of two winning selections, so one winner alone returns exactly $0.
If genuine single-winner insurance matters to you, a Lucky 31 (which adds singles to the same five-selection Canadian base) may be the better fit.
Forgetting SSA Pairs Need Both Selections
It’s tempting to assume the “Single Stakes About” name means a single winner is enough, but the pair itself only pays when both members land.
Treat each SSA pair exactly like a double for payout purposes – the “single stakes” language describes how the stake moves between legs, not a reduced winning requirement.
Use the breakdown table’s SSA row to confirm exactly how many pairs actually paid out on your bet.
Confusing Each-Way Stake with Total Outlay
Entering your intended total budget directly as the stake-per-bet field massively overstates your actual bet size once multiplied by 46 or 92 bets.
Entering a total budget as the per-bet stake instead of dividing it first is the costliest input mistake on this calculator, since it can inflate the real total stake by dozens of times.
Ignoring Place Terms Variation
Using the wrong place-terms fraction for the specific race or market (1/4 versus 1/5, for example) can meaningfully shift each-way return estimates.
Always check the bookmaker’s stated place terms for that particular race before running each-way numbers through the calculator.
🎯 When to Use This Calculator
Use this tool whenever you’re considering a five-selection Super Flag and want to understand exactly how many winners you’d realistically need to turn a profit, given your specific odds. It’s especially useful for comparing a Super Flag against a plain Canadian at the same stake level.
A Super Flag doesn’t reward a single winner – it rewards being right about at least two things at once, and pays progressively more generously the more of those things you get right.
It’s also a useful planning tool before placing an each-way version, since place terms can change the minimum-return scenario significantly compared to a win-only Super Flag.
🔗 Related Calculators
Flag Calculator, Canadian (Super Yankee) Calculator, Lucky 31 Calculator, Heinz Flag Calculator, Yankee Calculator, Round Robin Calculator, Each-Way Calculator.
📖 Glossary
Super Flag – a 5-selection, 46-bet wager combining a Canadian bet with 10 Single Stakes About pairs.
Canadian (Super Yankee) – the 26-bet accumulator core of a Super Flag: 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds, and a five-fold.
Single Stakes About (SSA) – a pair of any-to-come bets where winnings from either selection are automatically staked on the other.
Up-and-Down – another name for the SSA structure, describing the stake moving in both directions between two selections.
Any-to-Come (ATC) – a bet where the return from one selection funds a further bet on another selection.
Each-Way – a bet split equally between a win part and a place part.
Place Terms – the fraction of win odds paid on the place part of an each-way bet.
Accumulator – a bet combining multiple selections, all of which must win for any return.
Flag – the 4-selection, 23-bet version of this same bet structure.
Decimal Odds – odds expressed as a single multiplier of the stake, including the stake itself.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How many winners do I need for a Super Flag to return anything?
You need at least two of your five selections to win (or place, in each-way mode) before any part of the 46-bet structure can pay out.
With exactly one winner, every double, treble, four-fold, five-fold, and SSA pair fails its condition, so the total return is $0.
What’s the difference between a Super Flag and a Canadian?
A Canadian is the 26-bet accumulator core alone; a Super Flag adds 10 Single Stakes About pairs (20 bets) on top of that same core, for 46 bets total.
The extra SSA pairs make a Super Flag cost roughly 77% more than an equivalent Canadian at the same per-bet stake, since 46 bets versus 26 is a meaningful jump in outlay.
Do SSA pairs pay differently from a double?
When both selections in the pair win, the pair pays exactly double the equivalent double bet’s return, since both mirrored legs land simultaneously.
If only one selection in the pair wins, the pair returns nothing at all – identical to how a plain double would behave in that scenario.
Should I use Each-Way mode for football accumulators?
No – each-way betting is a horse racing and greyhound racing concept tied to finishing positions, and doesn’t apply to football match outcomes.
Keep Bet Mode set to Win Only for football, esports, and most other sports where “placing” isn’t a relevant outcome.
Why did my Super Flag lose money despite two winners?
Two low-odds winners can produce a smaller return than the total stake if the combined odds across the qualifying combinations don’t clear the 46-bet outlay.
Two short-priced winners are often the scenario where a Super Flag returns less than its total stake, even though technically “something” comes back.
Can I use different stakes for different bet types within the Super Flag?
This calculator assumes a single unit stake applied evenly across all 46 (or 92) bets, matching how Super Flags are typically placed with bookmakers.
If you want uneven stakes per bet type, you’d need to place the doubles, trebles, and SSA pairs as separate individual system bets instead of one combined Super Flag.
⚖️ Legal Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or gambling advice, and results should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future performance. Gambling involves risk of financial loss. Please gamble responsibly and within your means, and seek independent professional advice if you have concerns about your betting behavior or finances.
