What Is An Accumulator Bet?

An accumulator bet combines four or more selections from different events into one bet and is often referred to as an ‘acca’.

It’s very similar to placing a double or treble bet, but an accumulator bet has at least four selections making it more difficult to predict and therefore harder to win. However, when it does win, it delivers handsome rewards making it a popular and interesting type of bet.

In basic terms, accumulator betting is combining four or more single bets into one bet in order to multiply the odds and increase the potential payout.

So, let’s take a look at the different types of accumulator bets you can place, how it differs in various sports, how to place an accumulator bet, tips on placing accumulator bets and where to find the best odds.

How Do Accumulator Bets Work?

An accumulator bet is when you bet on outcomes of at least four separate matches or events. In order for the bet to win, all of the outcomes need to happen. If just one fails, the bet will lose.

Four is the minimum amount of selections on an accumulator bet, and this is referred to as a four-fold acca. But you can also have five-fold accumulators and six-fold accumulators for example. However, as you make more selections, the level of risk goes up along with the potential payout.

Bets such as Yankees and Lucky 15 bets are more complex forms of accumulators which cover up to 11 and 15 different outcomes in one bet. But in this article, we’ll concentrate on a basic accumulator.

Accumulator bets cannot be placed on the same event, they must cover different events, but they can be on a variety of different markets. If you want to place a bet that covers four or more elements within the same match, then this is a Bet Builder, not an acca.

Betting on accumulators is highly popular with regular bettors due to the increased odds. They are commonly used on a footballing weekend, or a big race day when bettors try to predict the result of multiple matches or races in one go. They are also popular because they can deliver big wins with relatively small stakes.

Accumulator bets give much higher odds than placing four single bets because the odds are multiplied, this can be seen in the example below:

In the above example if you placed a £10 single bet on each of these results, and they were all successful, you would win a total of £83.30 (£14 + £4 + £33.30 +£32.00). You would also have to outlay £40 to place the four bets.

However, if you combined them into an accumulator bet, the odds are multiplied together (2.40 x 1.40 x 4.33 x 4.20 = 61.15) to give £601.50 profit - a difference of £518.20 profit. And all for just one £10 outlay.

In this scenario, you would receive over six times the amount of profit from placing the accumulator bet over the single bets. But, and it’s a bit but, if just one of the results ends in a draw or a defeat for your chosen team, the whole bet is lost.

The other thing to keep in mind about accumulators is that if one of the selections is void, say for example one of the horses you’ve picked is a non-runner, then the bet will continue as if that bet wasn’t included – a six-fold accumulator would become a five-fold accumulator.

Examples Of Accumulator Bets

When placing accumulator bets, it doesn’t have to all be about the match results. You can be as creative and varied as the betting markets allow.

If we stick with football for the time being, this means you can create accumulator bets with selections on total goals in the match, goal scorers, cards, corners, clean sheets, fouls, league winners or specific scores. They can also go over different leagues, different tournaments, and different countries.

Basically when you place an acca, you can include any football markets that the bookies have on offer. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples below:

Accumulator Bets In Different Sports

As we’ve just shown, when you place accumulator bets you can choose from the huge range of markets available in each sport.

You can also place accumulator bets across different sports too. If you want to place a bet on Lewis Hamilton to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Luke Littler to win the PDC World Championships, Tommy Fleetwood to win the Masters and Ronnie O’Sullivan to win the World Snooker Championships all on one accumulator, then you can.

Most bettors prefer to place accumulators on events that run over the same time-frame such as a big race day or a sporting weekend or tournament. That way the results all come in together and you can settle the bet quickly. It’s very common for punters to back the winners in a series of horse races in one day for example.

Here’s a few examples of the markets that you can bet on when placing accumulators in different sports:

Tennis – you can place accumulator bets on who you think will win the four Grand Slams in the year. Alternatively you can place them tournament by tournament or match by match on markets such as match winner, correct scores, set winners or number of aces served

Darts – you can place acca’s on tournament winners, match winners, correct scores, highest checkout, or how many 180’s will be thrown in a match

Snooker – accumulator bets can be placed on different combinations such as outright tournament winners, match winners, correct scores, 147’s, or highest breaks

Boxing – you can place accumulator bets on the full racecard, predicting who will win each fight or mix it up with method of victory or round betting

Cricket – choose from markets such as tournament or league winner, match winner, top batsman, top bowler, runs scored or even who will win the coin toss in four upcoming matches in your accumulator bet

Golf – place an accumulator bet on who you think will win the four major golf tournaments or you can get more intricate in each tournament by betting on round scores, birdies, bogies and even holes in one

How To Place An Accumulator Bet

Placing accumulator bets is actually quite easy. All you need to do is look for the selections you want to place, click on the odds each time you find one, and they will be automatically added to your electronic betslip.

On the betslip, you will see a list of each selection with their individual odds beside them.

Underneath the selections, you’ll be given the option of placing an accumulator bet with the multiplied odds beside it. Simply enter the stake that you want to wager in that box and then confirm your bet.

Tips On Placing Accumulator Bets

Accumulator bets are difficult to predict, the more selections you add, the more risk you take. There’s nothing worse than placing an eight-fold acca and just one of the bets letting you down. It’s heartbreaking!

There are never any guarantees or sure-wins when it comes to betting on accumulators but here’s some tips you can follow to help maximise your chances of winning.

Research/Statistics

There is an abundance of data out there when it comes to sports events and players. You can find detailed sports analysis online for almost every match and it is broken down into highly specific markers.

In football, you can find out how far the players run, how many passes they made, how many goals, assists, fouls, tackles, progressive runs, saves etc. plus how many corners or clean sheets a team keeps on average.

But this is also the case for every sport. Darts has data on checkouts and 180’s, snooker has data on breaks and 147’s, tennis has data on aces and how players perform on different surfaces, there is also lots of head-to-head information too from previous match-ups.

When placing accumulator bets, you can make use of this data to help you make your selections. If you’re not sure that a team will win, but know they are good at keeping clean sheets for example, then you might want to bet on that instead.

If you’re not one for in-depth data, then just keeping an eye on team news, injuries and suspensions will help you make more informed choices on your accumulator bet.

Accumulator Bet Boosts and Promotions

Many bookmakers offer bonuses on accumulator bets to encourage you to place them.

Examples include a refund or a free bet offer if one leg of your accumulator lets you down or an odds boost if all of your selections come in.

It’s worth looking out for the offers as this will give you some extra value either by adding more profit to your win or by providing you with a little insurance on your bet if one selection misses.

If you’re looking to place an accumulator bet, then check to see if the bookie offers an acca promotion first and if not, switch to one that does. Always read the terms and conditions of the offer so you know what the criteria is before you place the bet.

Find the Best Odds

Betting comparison sites such as Oddschecker can be used to make sure you’re getting the best odds for your bet.

They scour online bookmakers to find the current odds for all main markets and display them in a handy table with the best odds in bold.

Although you won’t be able to see all of your accumulator selections together, you can certainly look at them individually and then decide which bookie has the best overall odds for you to place your bet.

Tournament/League Betting

Accumulators are a great way to increase the odds when you’re betting on the favourites.

Tournaments such as tennis Grand Slams seed all of their top players. That means the early rounds are full of match-ups with high ranked players against much lower ranked players.

Betting on the favourites individually won’t deliver worthwhile odds, however, placing an acca on four, five, six or even more first round matches will deliver much more impressive odds.

The same can be said for mis-matched football, rugby or cricket matches, or in the early rounds of darts or snooker tournaments. Events such as the FA Cup, EFL Cup or the World Cup also bring up matches where top teams play much lower quality teams and accumulator bets are a great choice in this scenario.

Pros And Cons Of Accumulator Bets

There are obvious risks and benefits to place accumulator bets, but they are extremely popular. Let’s take a look at the main pros and cons.

Pros

• Reasonably easy to place

• Huge range of markets and sports to choose from

• Multiplied odds can deliver huge payouts for small stakes

• Can be placed strategically when betting on favourites

• Can use acca bookie offers to boost winnings and reduce risk

• Can use odds comparison sites to get the most value

Cons

• High risk

• All elements need to win in order to be successful