Accumulator bet explained - guide & tips
An accumulator bet has the potential to rack up some large odds as you effectively combine a variety of selections from different bets into one large bet. Accumulators tend to be long shots, but how do they work? Read on for a simplified explanation of the accumulator bet.
How do accumulator bets work
You have likely heard of this type of bet, but how do accumulator bets work?
Accumulator betting effectively combines a number of selections. The more lines you add to the bet, the longer the odds will get as they accumulate and build up. If you usually back the favourites, then there is a chance that the odds may be quite low on each individual line. If you combine multiple selections though, the odds will be higher.
It’s important to remember that in order for an accumulator to win, all of the lines of the bet must win. You may sometimes see bets that have 10 selections and nine have won, but if the tenth does not come in then the overall bet is a loss. Only one part of the “chain” has to lose in order for you to lose your bet.
An accumulator is different from a bet builder. Bet builders are similar in that they combine multiple lines, but they tend to focus on wagers from the same game rather than from a variety of different events. Usually, accumulator bets can only combine wagers from different events, such as different football matches or races.
There are many types of accumulator bets. When you add a wager to the bet you will see options to place the bets in different formats. The simplest option is a simple double. This is where you pick two different lines and the odds are multiplied. A treble is the same but with three bets, and four becomes a four fold accumulator bet. You may be able to combine many different lines in your bet. If you feel as if you can call many different events correctly an accumulator will get you the best returns if you make the right picks.
Football accumulators
Accumulators and football betting go hand-in-hand. A lot of people go for an acca bet that combines multiple results from a day’s football action. For example, on a Saturday during the football season there may be 50+ professional games in the UK alone, even more when you combine the other countries in Europe and around the world.
A football accumulator bet is a way to try and maximise the odds by combining lots of these different lines. For example, you may pick 10 different teams that you think are going to win based on the games kicking off in one day.
You don’t have to choose only from the win/draw/win markets either. You can combine many different types of bets into an accumulator or choose other betting markets such as goals scored or even “draw no bet” within your accumulator bet. There is a lot of flexibility in this type of bet. People tend to place these bets with low stakes due to the higher odds, especially if there are a lot of lines.
Horse racing accumulator bets
Similarly, horse racing bets are another way to potentially build up an accumulator bet. The favourites in horse racing tend to have longer odds than the favourites in a football match, especially in races where there are a lot of runners. This can lead to long accumulator odds even if you just combine four or five runners.
In addition to horse racing winners, you may also be able to combine other lines and markets such as whether a horse will finish in a place position.
Accumulator bet example
Let’s look at an accumulator bet example and how the odds are calculated.
We are effectively placing multiple bets at once. To work out the odds, we work out what would happen in the scenario that the first line wins and the winnings plus stake are then bet on the next, and so on.
Let’s consider a sixfold accumulator with six different selections in it. To keep things simple, let’s say that four of the bets are at odds of evens, with two at odds of 1/2 on your bet slip.
The site will probably tell you the odds when you place the bet, but to work it out first, imagine that the first bet wins, then the winnings are placed on the second, and so forth.
Imagine the stake is €1:
Our first line at 1/1 will return €2 from this, including the stake and return
The second line is also 1/1 and therefore returns €4 from the potential winnings
The next line takes it to €8
The fourth line takes it to €16
The fifth line at 1/2 gives us €24 with €8 winnings, plus the stake back
Finally, the line at 1/2 then gives us €36 in winnings overall, making the acca’s odds 36/1
Your odds are likely to vary, of course, but you can use this formula to calculate your accumulator bet or you can use an acca calculator.
Each-way ACCA bet
Each-way bets like this usually take place when betting on horses. An each-way acca bet covers two different outcomes and is effectively two different bets. The first uses the odds of all the selections to win their race, and the second uses the each-way odds for each of the selections. This is usually 1/5 of the price a win would get you.
You will be placing two separate bets meaning two separate stakes. Of course, an each-way bet is more likely to win, but there is no guarantee.
Over under ACCA bet
When people are placing their bets on a football match, they may not necessarily stick to the win/draw/win markets. The over/under markets are another option.
For example, someone may form an accumulator bet out of a selection of different matches in which they think there will be a lot of goals. You can select over 1.5 goals, over 2.5 goals, or potentially even over 3.5 goals.
This appeals to those who don’t want to call a winner but think they know the potentially free-scoring games. On top of this, you may be able to combine some over/under bets with other wagers.
How to place an accumulator bet on LeoVegas
How do you place an accumulator bet? It is very straightforward to find your selections and combine them on LeoVegas.
- Go to LeoVegas and open an account. If you already have an account, you can simply log in. The buttons to do this are at the top right.
- Navigate to the sport or event you want to place your bets on, such as football, horse racing, or tennis.
- Add your selections to the bet slip.
- Within your bet slip, you will see the option to place an accumulator bet. Enter the stake and place your bet.
- Wait and watch to see if all the lines of your bet come in.
Good to know
The advantages of this type of bet include that it is a way to boost the odds of potentially low-odds selections. By betting on a range of events to all happen together, you will receive more favourable odds.
Of course, this comes along with some downsides to other bet types too. The main one is that all the different lines need to win in order for you to win the overall bet.
Some people like to choose a few different horses or longer-odds outcomes in order to place their bets, which can lead to much longer odds that aren’t that likely to come off. This means people often like to place these as a very long-odds option with small stakes. Of course, responsible gambling is required with every type of bet, and you should only ever bet what you can afford to lose.
Conclusions
Acca bets are very popular, especially for those who want to take a long-shot bet and try to call a lot of different outcomes on a wide range of events. If you think you can predict the outcomes of five or six different games, then this can be a way to combine them for the highest odds. Always keep in mind that each selection does need to be correct if you are going to collect any winnings at all though.
Many bets are split into coupons, so you can see all the fixtures from one specific league or one country. This means you can go through all the bets in one sheet and add your picks.
No two accumulators look the same, and as you are just combining different selections, there is the possibility for an acca to be odds-on or heavily odds-against. It all depends on your selections. It’s easy to choose your selections and place an accumulator bet right here on LeoVegas.