What is an accumulator bet? All types of accas explained

The accumulator continues to be one of the most popular multiple bets for punters because it offers much greater potential returns. The caveat, of course, is that all the selections have to win.

Football has become synonymous with accumulators as bettors try and guess the outcome of several matches in a test of sports betting skill and luck, with betting sites offering great promotions.

Also known as accas, accumulators can seem confusing to newcomers, but our handy guide will show you they can be one of the easiest multiples to understand. Here is everything you need to know about accumulator betting.

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What is an accumulator bet?

An accumulator is one bet made up of multiple selections (also called legs), all of which need to come in for the bet to win. The potential return is much higher because the return (and returned stake) from the first leg becomes the stake for the second leg, then the return (and returned stake) from the second leg becomes the stake for the third leg and so on.

There are numerous international matches and Premier League games this month, so there are plenty of opportunities to place an accumulator.

Accumulators can be placed on most sports, including football, horse racing and tennis, but bookmakers may stop you from combining multiple sports into an accumulator.

Multiple selections from the same game would not be an accumulator, but rather a same game multiple, which is a different type of bet as the odds do not roll up in the same way.

Types of an accumulator bet

An accumulator is a bet that consists of four or more selections. Bets that contain two or three selections are known as a double or treble respectively. There can be up to 20 selections in an accumulator with most online bookmakers.

Example of an accumulator bet

Below is a good example of an accumulator using the results of four football matches to make a four-fold accumulator. We will then show you the outcome of each bet and the odds for each of them, then show you how bookies calculate the accumulator odds.

The accumulator returns are worked out by converting the fractions into decimals and multiplying the odds from the four singles together. If you have put on a £1 bet on the four games above in an accumulator bet, these would be the odds.

That means if you put a £1 bet on this 179/1 accumulator your total profit would be: £179 winnings + £1 stake = £180.

As you can see, the odds are massively increased for an accumulator, a lot more so than if you were to bet on each individual selection at its own odds. However, if one of those selections was to fail to win, the entire accumulator would lose. Here is an example of a losing accumulator bet.

Because Chelsea vs Liverpool was a draw and Chelsea failed to win, the entire accumulator bet loses.

What is an each-way accumulator bet?

As you can see from the accumulator example above, the risk is very high of the bet losing due to one leg failing to win. Some of this risk can be alleviated on accumulators on other sports such as horse racing where bookmakers will allow you to place an each-way accumulator bet. Here is an example of an each way accumulator on horse racing.

Each-way accumulator bets come as two separate bets, meaning that the stake you are placing is then doubled.

For example, if we were to place a £1 bet on the above accumulator and make it each way, the stake would become £2 as it is covering the two bets. This is designed to give the punter the best chance of seeing a return if their horses fail to win but manage to place.

The first outcome is the ‘to win’ part of the bet, which would need all four horses to come first for the bet to win. This would lose in the 179/1 accumulator above as selection four came second and therefore placed.

The second part of the bet is the ‘to place’ part of the bet, which means you need the horses to come in the top places to win. Bookies determine how many top places there are in a race depending on how big the field is, usually the top three or four. 

The winnings can be calculated by taking the original odds for each selection and applying the each-way fraction, which is usually 1/5 of the odds. So, if we take the 179/1 accumulator above, take each selection’s original odds and divide them by 1/5, then multiply them together we will get the odds for our ‘place’ part of the bet.

If the same example above occurred where three horses win and one places, your ‘to place’ part of the bet would return £5.64 (£1 stake + £4.64 winnings = £5.64). If any horses lose, the ‘to place’ part of the bet would also lose.

How to place an accumulator bet

Placing an accumulator bet is very simple on most online bookies and can be done within minutes. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to place an accumulator bet.

• Go to your chosen sport e.g. football
• Select your type of bet you want to make e.g. team to win
• Make your selection you want for your accumulator
• Add your selections to your bet slip
• Look under the ‘multiples’ section and there will be ‘accumulator’
• Enter the amount you want to stake
• Double-check your selections and click ‘place bets’

Are accumulator bets worth it?

Accumulator bets are certainly one of the best forms of betting if you like to lengthen the odds rather than stake money on the individual events at shorter odds.

This strategy can definitely help give the bettor the chance of a much bigger return for small stakes but it should always be remembered that the bigger the number of variables the more difficult it is to win an accumulator.

Before selecting the accumulator, you should make sure you have researched every selection to give yourself the best chance of winning as the chance of losing is very high. This is where an each-way accumulator might be a better option, especially if your selections are not the favourites as it means you can still see a return if your picks place.

Accumulators can definitely be worth it a lot of the time but must always be backed with caution as they won’t always win due to the probability of multiple outcomes being much higher.