How Does Draw No Bet Work in an Accumulator?

Sports betting has evolved beyond belief recently and placing wagers on football is the most popular betting market in the UK.

The diversity of bets available is massive and one very popular betting option is the Draw No Bet (DNB).

Some bettors like the DNB option as it can provide a safety net if your choice doesn’t win and the game ends in a draw.

Whereas other punters don’t think the reduction in odds is worth it to protect themselves.

It’s actually possible to use Draw No Bet within accumulator bets as part of a strategy.

In this article, we’ll have a look at how the Draw No Bet works as part of an accumulator, the pros and cons of doing it and strategies to help you try and enhance your profits.

This article ties in nicely with two of our previous articles, What is Draw no Bet and What is an Accumulator Bet.

Understanding Accumulators And Draw No Bet

Before we get to the intricacies of the combined bet, let’s cover what each element is as they originate from two different types of bets.

Accumulator Bet

An Accumulator Bet (Acca) contains a minimum of 4 selections that combine into one bet.

The odds for each of those 4 selections are multiplied to give bettors some incredible odds compared to if you placed each selection as a single bet.

However, nothing is free when it comes to the bookies.  Accumulators are very hard to predict and just one loss sees the whole bet lose. 

For example, let’s look at a football Acca to show the difference between single bets and and using them in an accumulator bet with a £10 stake for each bet.

As you can see, an Acca has the potential to offer handsome rewards.

It’s also worth pointing out that an Acca bet doesn’t have to be on the same sport or competition.  You can choose your four selections from different sports and events.

Draw No Bet

As it suggests, when you place a bet on football that includes Draw No Bet, you’re removing the draw element from the wager.  This allows you to focus on who you think the winner will be as should it end in a draw, you get your stake returned.

As football is the market for Draw No Bet, let’s use Arsenal as an example.  Here’s the possible outcomes for a bet on Arsenal with DNB:

• Arsenal win - the bet wins

• Arsenal draw - You get your stake refunded

• Arsenal lose - the best loses

If the bet didn’t include Draw No Bet, anything but an Arsenal victory would see your bet lose.

Draw No Bet In An Accumulator

Okay, it’s time to get down to business and look at how DNB is treated when used as part of an accumulator.

So, as we know, a single Draw No Bet will result in either a win, a loss or a refund of your stake. In essence, the mechanics of DNB in an accumulator are the same but with a slight twist.

If you add a Draw No Bet selection to an accumulator and that match ends in a draw, that part of the Acca is void and effectively removed from the bet. So, whilst they don’t add to any potential winnings, nor are they treated as a loss.

Let’s have a look at how this works in practical terms. As an example, let’s use a five-fold acca where each selection qualifies for the Draw No Bet market.

• Game 1: Arsenal (DNB) at odds of 3/1 (4.0) - Win
• Game 2: Crystal Palace (DNB) at odds of 6/1 (7.0) - Draw (void bet)

• Game 2: Crystal Palace (DNB) at odds of 6/1 (7.0) - Draw (void bet)

• Game 3: Manchester City (DNB) at odds of 2/1 (3.0) - Win

• Game 4: Liverpool (DNB) at odds of 2/1 (3.0) - Win

• Game 5: Chelsea (DNB) at odds of 5/1 (6.0) - Win

In this example, as the Crystal Palace game ended in a draw, this part of the accumulator is void.  This means that your bet then changes to a four-fold acca  and continues until each game is complete.

So, what would the returns look like if all the teams won apart from Crystal Palace. Remember that the Palace bet is removed from the acca so doesn’t enter the equation.

Arsenal 4.0 x Man City 3.0 x Liverpool 3.0 x Chelsea 6.0 = total odds of 216.  You then multiply the total odds by your stake.  So, a £10 stake would return £2,160 (£2,150 profit).

Using the same above example, if three of the teams won and the other two ended in a draw, the accumulator bet would still be a winner.  As before, the draw bets are void so this would end up being a winning treble bet.  

As mentioned before, any losses in either of the above examples would result in the whole acca bet losing.

Should You Use Draw No Bet Selections In Your Acca Bets?

An experienced gambler knows that purely betting on accumulators is very unlikely to bring long term success.  For most, placing accas is a way of making it a bit more interesting and exciting with the possibility of a big win from a minimal stake.

It can be quite exciting watching the odds increase with every selection you add to your acca.  However, each selection you add, makes it more unlikely to come in.  

By adding DNB selections to your acca, you’re benefiting from mitigating the risks a little. Instead of having to consider the 3 outcome markets, you only need to concentrate on 2 markets.   

Draw No bet was a welcome addition to the football betting markets given that football can sometimes be unpredictable.  Bad reffing decisions, player errors, missed penalties can often let fans and punters down.  DNB provides punters with a bit of insurance should the unexpected happen. 

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using Draw No Bet In Accumulator Bets

Advantages of Using DNB

Better Chance of Winning

• By adding DNB choices to your accumulator bet, you stand a better chance of getting returns as drawn games don’t result in the entire bet losing.

Risk Reduction

• Because a draw voids part of your acca instead of being treated like a loss, it allows your acca to continue with and reduces the risk of a total loss. Football and any sport can be unpredictable so DNB in an acca gives bettors a bit of insurance.

Adaptable to Betting Strategies

• This type of bet can be used as part of your betting strategy. If you think a draw might happen but don’t want the risk linked to standard win, draw, loss bets, this can be a good option. 

Disadvantages of Using DNB

Reduced Odds

• Bookies give nothing away for free. Because DNB removes the risk of a draw, the bookies offer reduced odds compared to a standard single bet. Obviously, this reduces the potential payout from you accumulator bet but the payouts can still be extremely rewarding.

Void Selections

• There’s a risk that there might be more than one drawn match in your acca. This will diminish possible profits as more selections become void. One consolation is that if all your selections draw, your acca stake will be returned.

Bet is Dependent on Wins

• Accumulators are hard to land. One loss results in the entire bet losing. DNB does mitigate risk but it doesn’t mean you might suffer losses. 

Draw No Bet Accumulator Strategies

There’s no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to betting.  However, there are ways you can enhance your potential chances of success and mitigate risks.

Consider Adding Favourites

• Adding strong favourites to your DNB acca can offer a safer bet when there’s still a chance of a draw. This can appeal to those who are averse to risk. The odds might not be as high but any return is better than none. 

Mix Up Your Bet Selections

• You don’t have to just use Draw No Bet selections in your accumulator. You could combine DNB and normal standard win bet selections. This can enhance your odds a little and offers a balance between risk and reward.

• For example: Barcelona to win (DNB), Manchester United to win, Liverpool to win (DNB) and Paris Saint-Germain to win.

Do Your Research

• There’s a wealth of stats available to punters on websites such as the Premier League and English Football League.  It might be worth studying stats to find out which leagues have the highest amount of draws, wins and losses.  This can help work out where DNB options could be more effective.

Size of Accumulators

• Whilst building bigger accumulator bets offers much more lucrative profit potential, it’s not always the best option. Using 2 or 3 selections might offer less profit but it will also reduce the chances of returns being impacted by void bets.

Using Promotions

• Sometimes bookmakers offer acca insurance or boosted odds for accumulator bets. You should keep an eye out for these offers as they have the potential to boost the profits on your Draw No Bet In Accumulator bets. 

Calculating DNB Accumulator Returns

Calculating these types of bets is relatively straight-forward but why have a dog and bark yourself!  It’s much quicker and easier to use an online calculator to work these things out.

In this section, we’ll combine examples with the Accumulator Calculator and also provide details of how to manually calculate potential returns in case you just love playing with numbers.

The calculation requires the odds of each selection to be multiplied by each other and then the total odds are multiplied by your stake.

In this example, we’ll look at four football matches with an acca bet of four selections to win:

Had you placed these bets as four single bets and they all won, your profit would be £90. Your returns would be £130 (£20 + £30 + £30 + £10) less your £40 stake (4 x £10) = £90.

As you can see, there’s a vast difference between the 4 singles and a four-fold acca when it comes to potential returns.

The total odds of 96.0 are from multiplying the odds of all 4 selections (3.0 x 4.0 x 4.0 x 2.0)

Let’s now put those same figures into the Accumulator Calculator:

Now let’s have a look at what happens if all 4 are DNB selections and one match ends in a draw. 

As the Leicester game was a draw, that selection becomes void so isn't included in the calculations.  This reverts the bet to a three-fold acca and significantly reduces the total odds and potential profits.

That said, a £230 profit from a £10 bet isn’t to be sniffed at.

Let’s now enter the figures into the calculator:

As can be seen above, we have been able to alter the 2nd selection to void as that game was a draw and the calculator shows us the new returns and profit.

Please read the Types of Accumulator Bets article if you want a more in-depth explanation of calculating different types of acca bets.

Conclusion

Doing football acca’s is about having a bit of fun on a weekend for a lot of bettors and they tend not to land most of the time.  By including Draw No Bet selections in your acca, the fun remains but you reduce your risk.

It gives punters a little bit of insurance against unexpected draws.  The odds may be a bit lower the DNB selections and void bets will reduce your aca odds further, but don’t let this put you off.  The returns on these bets can still be amazing. 

Draw No Bet Accumulators can be a very useful addition to any betting strategy.  By carrying out a little bit of research, you can make informed betting decisions that can reduce losses and increase possible profits.