Using the heinz calculator
The heinz calculator starts at 50p a bet with six sample prices. Type your own odds (5/2, 3.5, +250 or evs) and mark each selection Won, Lost or Void. Pick Per bet to enter the unit stake from your slip or Total to enter what you spent. Switch on Each way to set the place terms and mark placed horses, open Rule 4 / dead heat on a row if a deduction applies, and use See every bet to check all 57 lines.
57 bets: what is inside a Heinz
A Heinz covers six selections in different races in every combination of two or more. There are no singles.
| Bet | Number |
|---|---|
| Doubles | 15 |
| Trebles | 20 |
| Four-folds | 15 |
| Five-folds | 6 |
| Six-fold | 1 |
| Total | 57 |
The name comes from the 57 bets: it borrows the H. J. Heinz Company's "57 varieties" advertising slogan.
What a Heinz costs at common stakes:
| Stake per bet | Win only (57 bets) | Each way (114 bets) |
|---|---|---|
| 10p | £5.70 | £11.40 |
| 50p | £28.50 | £57.00 |
| £1 | £57.00 | £114.00 |
Because the stake is multiplied by 57, most people play a Heinz at 10p to 50p a bet.
How the returns build up
Each bet pays only if every selection in it wins, so the number of paying bets climbs steeply with each extra winner:
| Winners | Bets that pay |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 11 |
| 5 | 26 |
| 6 | 57 |
With the sample prices at 50p a bet (£28.50 staked), three winners at 2/1, 5/2 and 7/2 return £43.50. Add a 4/1 winner and the return jumps to £288.50, the worked example below. Even at short prices a full house pays well: a £1 Heinz with six winners at evens returns £716 for £57.
Each way Heinz bets
Each way, a Heinz is 114 bets: 57 win lines and 57 place lines. A winner counts in both; a horse that only places counts in the place lines alone, at the place fraction of its odds (1/4 or 1/5, depending on the race). That softens bad days but does not guarantee a profit.
Take 50p each way (£57 staked) at 1/4 odds with the sample prices: 2/1 and 3/1 win, 5/2 and 7/2 place, 4/1 and 9/2 lose. One win line pays (the double of the two winners, £6) and 11 place lines pay, for £28.06 back in total. At 1/5 odds the same result returns £23.46. Place terms matter, so set them in the calculator exactly as your slip shows; our each way calculator explains them.
Heinz, Lucky 63 or Super Heinz
A Lucky 63 is a Heinz plus the six singles, so it costs 63 units and returns something with one winner. A Super Heinz goes the other way: seven selections and 120 bets. With five selections the matching bet is a Canadian, 26 bets.