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Betting basics · 21 of 36
Backup bet
In one line: A second bet lined up as a fallback in case the first one does not play out.
On this page
Worked example
You take $100 on one side at +150. The best price on the other side is -170. The balanced backup is $100 x 2.50 / 1.5882, about $157.41, so the card uses $157. If your side wins, you net $150 - $157 = -$7.00. If the other side wins, you net $157 x (1.5882 - 1) - $100 = -$7.65. Neither result is a profit, so the card says Not locked: both results lose at these prices.
Illustrative prices, not a live quote.
What a backup bet is
A backup bet is a second bet on the other side of the same game. Only one side can win, so if your first bet loses, the backup is there to pay out.
The stake on the backup is set so that either result leaves you with about the same outcome. The prices decide whether that outcome is a profit.
How Antic builds one
On the Games tab, Antic shows a backup bet under a game where you have an open single bet, when the game's own lines give one. It matches your bet to a moneyline, spread or total at the same number.
It finds the other side in that game's lines and takes the best price on it across the books you use in Antic. Then it works out the backup stake that makes the two results match, and rounds that stake to whole dollars.
What the card shows
The card lists your bet and the backup, with the book and price for each. It shows what you net if your side wins and what you net if the other side wins.
The verdict says Locked, with the least you profit either way, when both results are a profit. Otherwise it says Not locked, and says why.
When there is no card
There is no backup card for a parlay, a settled bet, a player prop, a team total or a three-way moneyline, because those have no single other side.
A free bet is sized differently, because its stake is not returned on a win. Antic uses its winnings for the math. No card appears when the backup stake would round to less than $1.
What locked means
A locked profit happens only when the best prices on the two sides leave no margin for the books. That situation is called an arbitrage. Without it, the card shows Not locked.