In betting, 1X2 is a bet on the result of a game with three possible outcomes: 1 is a home win, X is a draw and 2 is an away win. You pick one of the three, and the bet wins only if that is how the game ends.
It is the standard way to bet soccer, where a draw is a common result. In the 2025-26 Premier League, 104 of the 380 matches ended level, 27.4% of them, so a draw is a real outcome with a real price.
What each symbol means
- 1: the home team wins. It is the team listed first.
- X: the game ends in a draw.
- 2: the away team wins. It is the team listed second.
Some books in the United States call the same market a three-way moneyline, with the draw as its own price. The bet is the same whichever name it carries.
How a 1X2 bet pays
Take an example price for a soccer match, shown in decimal odds, which is how 1X2 is usually quoted, with the American equivalent beside it.
| Outcome | Decimal | American | Implied chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (home win) | 2.10 | +110 | 47.6% |
| X (draw) | 3.40 | +240 | 29.4% |
| 2 (away win) | 3.60 | +260 | 27.8% |
A decimal price is the total you get back for each dollar staked, stake included. A $20 bet on the home win at 2.10 returns $42: your $20 back plus $22 profit. If the match is drawn or the away team wins, the $20 is lost.
The implied chance is 1 divided by the decimal price. Add the three together and you get 104.8%, not 100%. The extra 4.8% is the book’s margin, and it is why a 1X2 market always adds up to more than the whole. Our guide to how betting odds work covers the conversions in full.
1X2 and the two-way moneyline
In a two-way moneyline, the kind used for most American sports, there are only two sides, and overtime counts. In a 1X2 market the draw is the third side, and if you back either team, a draw loses your bet.
That is why the same team is usually a longer price in 1X2 than in a two-way market: the draw takes a share of the probability away from both sides. Soccer’s draw rate is what makes this matter. At 27.4% in the last Premier League season, a bettor who backs a side is giving up more than a quarter of the possible results.
Three-way lines in hockey, basketball and football
Books also post three-way lines on sports where the game cannot end in a draw, and there the draw means a tie at the end of regulation. Overtime and shootouts do not count. That changes a hockey bet sharply. In the 2025-26 NHL regular season, 326 of the 1,312 games went past 60 minutes, 24.8% of them, and 119 of those went to a shootout.
So a team that wins in overtime is a winner in the standings and a loser on a three-way ticket. Ties at the end of regulation are rarer in basketball and football, which is why the draw price in those sports is long. Before you bet any three-way line, read the book’s house rules on what the draw covers.
Double chance and draw no bet
Two variations take the draw out of the way, at a lower price:
- Double chance covers two of the three outcomes: 1X (home win or draw), X2 (draw or away win) or 12 (either team wins).
- Draw no bet is a bet on one team where a draw returns your stake.
Both cost you price. On the example board above, 1X adds the 47.6% and 29.4% implied chances to 77.0%, which works out to a decimal price near 1.30, and the book pays that or less. They suit a bettor who has a view on one side losing and not on the other side winning.
How to use 1X2 odds
- Turn every price into an implied chance, and bet only when you rate the outcome higher than the price does.
- Compare all three prices across books, the draw included, and add them up: the lower the total, the smaller the margin you are paying.
- Check the rules on overtime before any three-way bet outside soccer.
For games with a pick already made, see our soccer predictions and Premier League predictions. New to betting altogether? Start with our beginner’s guide to sports betting.