Flexi betting means choosing the outlay on an exotic bet yourself and being paid the same share of the dividend that your outlay is of the full cost: flexi % = outlay / (combinations x $1) x 100. $15 on a box of 60 combinations is a 25% flexi. Each combination carries 25c, and if the box lands at an illustrative $400 dividend it returns $400 x 0.25 = $100. Nothing about what has to happen changes: the ticket holds the same 60 combinations, and the percentage sets how much of the dividend comes back.
Queensland's Wagering Rule, in effect from 22 September 2026, defines a flexi bet as one where the amount on each combination is a percentage of a $1 investment, and a winning one is paid that percentage of the dividend on $1 (s 18). It applies to exotic bets, where one ticket covers many combinations, and horse racing betting sets those beside the simpler bets.
How flexi works, step by step
Take a trifecta box of five runners at $15:
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Count the combinations | 5 x 4 x 3 | 60 |
| Full cost at $1 a combination | 60 x $1 | $60 |
| Flexi percentage | $15 / $60 x 100 | 25% |
| Amount on each combination | $15 / 60 | 25c |
| Collect if it lands at $400 | $400 x 0.25 | $100 |
| Profit | $100 - $15 | $85 |
The dividend is per $1, stake included, so the collect is a return, not a profit. Trifecta betting lists box and standout counts to start from. The flexi calculator runs these steps for a quinella, exacta, trifecta or first four: boxed, as a standout or roving banker, or with every runner named for one place only.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Even when this ticket lands, a dividend under $60 returns less than the $15 it cost, and a ticket that misses loses all of it. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Flexi above 100%
The percentage can go above 100. $90 on the same 60 combinations is 90 / 60 x 100 = 150%, so each combination carries $1.50 and the $400 dividend returns $600. That is the same as a $1.50 unit on every combination.
Which bets allow flexi
Flexi needs combinations to divide the outlay across, so it belongs to exotic and multi-race tote bets. The tote rules gazetted in WA in 2010 make it available on the trifecta, first four, quaddie and Big 6, or any other pool the operator decides (rule 3.5(b)). Queensland's rule lets the operator choose which pools take flexi, subject to government approval (s 18(4)).
| Bet | Combinations | Flexi under the 2010 WA rules |
|---|---|---|
| Trifecta | Box of n: n x (n - 1) x (n - 2) | Yes |
| First four | Box of n: n x (n - 1) x (n - 2) x (n - 3) | Yes |
| Quaddie | Runners in each of four legs, multiplied | Yes |
| Big 6 | Runners in each of six legs, multiplied | Yes |
| Quinella, duet | Pairs: n x (n - 1) / 2 | Only if the operator adds it |
| Exacta | Box of n: n x (n - 1) | Only if the operator adds it |
| Running and daily doubles | Runners in leg 1 x runners in leg 2 | Only if the operator adds it |
| Win, place, each way | One runner, nothing to divide | Not a combination bet |
A bookmaker that takes exotics on a dividend its terms name sets its own flexi rules, if it offers flexi at all, so check its terms before you build a flexi ticket with it. Quaddie betting works flexi across four legs, and the Big 6 across six.
Minimum outlays and the 1c floor
Under rule 3.5(a) of the 2010 WA-gazetted rules, the floor for a flexi bet is whichever is greater: 1c for each combination, or a minimum the operator sets. Queensland's rule hands the minimum investment to the operator (s 28). An operator's minimum can be set on the whole ticket, on each combination or on the percentage, so check yours before you build a ticket near it.
At the 1c floor, an outlay covers at most 100 combinations for every dollar. Some tickets and their floors:
| Ticket | Combinations | Floor at 1c a combination |
|---|---|---|
| Trifecta box of 9 runners | 9 x 8 x 7 = 504 | $5.04 |
| Quaddie with 4, 6, 3 and 5 runners | 4 x 6 x 3 x 5 = 360 | $3.60 |
| Big 6 with 2, 3, 2, 4, 3 and 2 runners | 2 x 3 x 2 x 4 x 3 x 2 = 288 | $2.88 |
| First four, one runner to win and seven others | 7 x 6 x 5 = 210 | $2.10 |
A ticket at the floor holds 1% of each dividend, so the trifecta box of nine at $5.04 needs a dividend of at least $504 to return its outlay.
How flexi bets are rounded
Rounding happens at several points, and each follows its own rule:
- The amount on each combination: the outlay divided by the combinations, rounded down to the nearest ten-thousandth of a cent, with the remainder going into the pool (Queensland s 18(2) and (3); 2010 WA rule 3.5(c) and (d)). $10 over 210 combinations is 4.7619c each, 210 x 4.7619c = 999.999c in all, so 0.001c joins the pool.
- The dividend: the Northern Territory's tote rules, as in force on 14 April 2020, round each dividend down to a multiple of 5c and let the operator keep the difference (rule 3).
- The percentage on screen: a display shows a rounded figure, such as 4.76% for that ticket, while the bet carries 4.7619c a combination. At an illustrative $1,286.35 dividend, 4.7619c collects $1,286.35 x 0.047619 = $61.25, where a flat 4.76% would pay $1,286.35 x 0.0476 = $61.23.
- The collect and the outlay: how a collect is rounded to the cent, and whether an outlay must be entered in set steps, are set in each operator's or bookmaker's own terms. Check yours before you rely on a figure to the cent.
The differences are cents, but they explain why a collect can be a few cents off a percentage worked on a phone.
Flexi against unit betting on the same ticket
A unit bet fixes the amount on each combination; flexi fixes the total. Under Queensland's rule the base unit for every investment is 50c, and the dividend is calculated per base unit and can be shown per 50c or per $1 (ss 16 and 17). The 2010 WA rules declare dividends per base unit the same way (rule 3.6). With a 6-runner trifecta box of 120 combinations and an illustrative $262.40 dividend:
| Entered as | On each combination | Outlay | Share of the dividend | Collect at $262.40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50c units | 50c | $60.00 | 50% | $131.20 |
| $1 units | $1 | $120.00 | 100% | $262.40 |
| $45 flexi | 37.5c | $45.00 | 37.5% | $98.40 |
| $9 flexi | 7.5c | $9.00 | 7.5% | $19.68 |
A 50c unit bet is a 50% flexi under another name. The difference shows when the ticket changes. Add a seventh runner and the box grows to 210 combinations: at $1 units it costs $210 and keeps 100%, while $45 of flexi keeps its cost and falls to 45 / 210 x 100 = 21.43%.
A second ticket lets you weight a box, whether you enter it as units or as flexi. Add a standout to the $9 box: your top runner to win with the other five for second and third, 20 combinations at $1 units, or the same $20 entered as a 100% flexi. Those 20 orders then carry $1.075 each, 107.5% of any dividend, and the other 100 orders keep 7.5c, for $29 in all.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Weighting a ticket puts more on the orders you rate, and if your ratings are wrong it loses more on those orders too. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
When less than one unit sits on the winning combination
Queensland's rule divides a trifecta or first four pool by the greater of one 50c base unit and the units on the winning combination (ss 149 and 171). If the money on that combination adds up to less than 50c, the part of the pool not paid out jackpots into a later pool of the same kind (ss 150 and 172). The 2010 WA rules do the same for flexi pools (rule 7.3).
Example: Illustrative. A first four pool holds $8,000 after commission, and the only ticket on the winning order is a 20% flexi carrying 20c. That is less than one base unit, so the pool is divided by one: $8,000 per 50c, shown as $16,000 per $1. The ticket collects 20% x $16,000 = $3,200, and the other $4,800 jackpots.
A small flexi ticket cannot take a whole pool on its own. The pool is divided as if one 50c base unit sat on the order, and the ticket takes its share of that unit: here 20c of 50c, or 40% of the pool.
Note: Tabcorp has moved its tote pools to a single national pool (reported from October 2026). Under s 104B of Queensland's rule, bets the state's operator places into a national pool run by another host follow that host's betting rules on dividends, commission, jackpots and refunds. Check the current rules for the pool you bet into.
Where flexi goes wrong
- Adding runners at the same outlay. $15 on a 6-runner box of 120 combinations is 12.5%, so the $400 dividend returns $50 instead of $100.
- Forgetting the dividend has to beat the combination count. The $45 flexi on 120 combinations lands on an illustrative $84 dividend and returns $84 x 0.375 = $31.50, a loss of $13.50.
- Reading a low percentage as low risk. A 7.5% ticket needs exactly the same result as a 100% ticket, and loses its whole outlay on every other result.
- Building under the floor. $3 across 600 combinations is 3 / 600 = 0.5c a combination, below the 2010 rules' 1c minimum, so the ticket can be refused.
Skip a single flexi ticket when you want different amounts on different orders: a second ticket over the orders you rate does that job. Skip flexi, too, on any ticket so wide that the percentage leaves most likely results paying less than the outlay.
Flexi tickets and the Terminal
Flexi sizes a ticket; it does not choose one. The runners on it start with the win market, and the Terminal shows racing and sports prices from 40+ bookmakers side by side, with Betfair back and lay and flucs beside them. B337 does not rate runners or choose selections either: the runners and the percentage on a ticket are yours to set.
Betfair's columns start with Terminal View, and a free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds. Bookmaker names are trade marks of their owners. B337 is not affiliated with them. Betfair is a trade mark of its owner, and B337 is not affiliated with it. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A lower percentage lowers the outlay and the collect together, never the chance of missing, and there is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.