Our Guide to Accumulator Betting

Posted by Harry Kane on Wednesday, September 15, 2021

In a previous blog post, we created a beginners’ guide to spread betting, which is one of the popular widely used terms in the sports betting marketplace (both on and offline).

Another relatively well-known term and type of wager is the so-called “accumulator bet”, but this concept is often misunderstood and not fully utilised by bettors across the length-and-breadth of the UK.

In this article, we’ll share a brief guide to accumulator betting, while asking how you can optimise your profitability and chances of winning with this type of wagering.

What is an Accumulator Bet?

In simple terms, an accumulator bet is a single wager that comprises multiple selections, with each individual outcome needing to come in if you’re to bank any winnings.

Typically, an accumulator bet will pay out at higher odds than if you were place each individual selection as a single bet, as the fact that they all need to come in for you to win increases your risk and lengthens the cumulative odds considerably.

This ultimately creates a fascinating value proposition, and one that balances said risk with the potential for increased and potentially seismic returns.

You’ll find accumulators available across a diverse array of sports, but most commonly in football, tennis and horse racing betting. However, sportsbooks will prevent you from combining selections from all of these sports into a single accumulator, so you’ll need to keep this in mind as a punter.

An Example of an Accumulator Bet

From a technical perspective, an accumulator wager refers to a bet that consists of four selections or more.

Wagers that feature two or three selections are referred to as ‘double’ or ‘treble’ bets respectively, while you can include up to 20 selections in an ‘acca’ with most reputable sportsbooks.

OK, we hear you ask, but what’s the best example of an accumulator bet? Well, we’ve inserted a four-fold accumulator below, based on the opening match of the EPL season (which commences on August 13th). We’ve also assumed that each result is successful, while explaining how an accumulator’s overall odds and potential return is calculated:

Once you’ve placed this wager, the accumulators’ potential returns are calculated by converting the fractions into decimals and multiplying the odds from each of the four selections together.

In this case, you’ll create a cumulative price of 179/1, creating a return of £179 with a £1 wager and a £180 win in total. This is reflective of the risk and probability of the accumulator winning, while you can also see how much more profitable this type of wager would be than placing £1 on each of the selections as an individual bet (for a total stake of £4).

In this case, you’d bank just £11, so the risk-reward ratio is clearly improved by incorporating all four selections into a single accumulator.

Of course, if just one of these wagers fails to come in as part of an accumulator, the entire bet becomes null and void, which is why acca betting remains such a fascinating and challenging option for punters across the board.

3 Tips to Remember When Placing Your Accumulator Bet

At this stage, you should have a far greater understanding of accumulator betting, while understanding how odds and potential returns are calculated.

So, to complete our guide, we’ve presented three key tips to help you successfully place acca wagers and optimise your chances of achieving success.

1. Choose Your Sport Wisely

Let’s start with the basics; as it’s important to choose your sport (and acca selections) carefully if you’re to maximise your chances of being successful.

In terms of the former, choosing a sport in which you have existing knowledge and comprehension is key, as this will enable you to make informed decisions and identify value even in close or keenly-contested prices.

The same consideration must be given to your individual acca selections, as so that you create a carefully cultivated wager that strikes the ideal balance between risk and reward.

Similarly, we’d recommend limiting the number of selections to as few as possible, with anywhere between four or six usually enough to unlock exceptional value and achieve significant profits.

So, although you can select eight-fold accumulator (or indeed wagers with up to 20 different selections), this may create an imbalance in the relationship between risk and reward and cause you to chase almost impossible gains.

2. Leverage Each-Way Accumulator Bets Where Possible

If you’re looking to place a horse racing acca, we’d also recommend considering leveraging a so-called “each-way” accumulator.

In this case, your acca will include two separate bets that effectively double your stake, while making a provision for each horse to win to achieve a place in the top three or four (depending on the race in question).

While this will increase the cost of your wager and potential deliver less returns than if you’ve backed all of your horses to win, it also dramatically increases your chances of making a profit as your selections don’t have to win for the bet to come in.

This is ideal for those of you who may be new to accumulators or risk-averse by nature, as you can control your risk much more effectively and enhance the probability of your winning without forcing you to increase your stake too significantly.

3. Pick Favourites to Achieve Incremental Gains

On a similar note, football punters can also increase their chances of placing a winning acca, albeit at the expense of potentially larger returns.

But how exactly can this be achieved? Well, the key lies in selecting clear favourites and short-priced teams to prevail, with popular bets across the opening weekend of the EPL season including Manchester United (7/12), Rangers (3/10), Manchester City (4/5) and Liverpool (6/17).

Backing these selections dramatically increases the chances of your accumulator coming in, while you can also increase your stake in line with the acca’s enhanced risk profile.

The only downside is that you’ll have to accept significantly lower returns, as the cumulative odds will be much lower than the example we referenced earlier in the blog post.

However, the value proposition in play means that you can a higher volume of such accumulators with a greater degree of success, leading to the potential for incremental and more sustained returns over time.