At a time when the economy is struggling so greatly, more people than ever are living paycheck to paycheck and seeking assistance with food. A half million dollar win may not seem like much; but for those struggling to cover bills and feed themselves it can be lifesaving. One lucky Monmouth County resident grabbed this fortune by buying tickets at Stop& Shop Middletown New Jersey.

The winning ticket was for a four selection Yankee bet, which consists of 11 separate wagers combined into one ticket – six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold accumulator. A Yankee bet’s advantage lies in its independence of each leg from one another so if any selection loses it does not spell disaster for your entire wager.

For instance, if one of your selections falls in a single, you are compensated to its individual winner (1x). If two selections fail in double or treble bets then these combinations will also be paid out according to their value (2x). Should all four selections fail simultaneously then that would result in no profit but this outcome should rarely occur.

Yankee bets can also be placed as each-way bets, doubling your stake and supporting all your selections to win or place, so even two of your selections might come through for a payout! To calculate an each-way yankee’s price simply combine each individual odds into an overall total and multiply that total number by your unit stake amount.