Accumulator Bet Explained
You've probably heard of accumulators, parlays, or multis—they're all the same thing, just called different names depending on where you're from. You're stacking a bunch of bets into one big wager, and the more picks you add, the higher the payout.
Sounds great, right? But here's the catch: the more you add, the riskier it gets.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the ins and outs of making these bets work in your favor, whether you’re new to the game or you’ve been betting for a while.
Note: Throughout this article, we use the term "multi-leg bets" to refer to wagers where multiple selections are combined. While terms like parlays, accumulators, and multis are commonly used in different regions, they all refer to the same concept of stacking several bets into one larger wager. Odds may appear in fractional, decimal, or American formats depending on your region, but the principles behind the bet remain the same.
What is an Accumulator?
Accumulator bets allow you to combine multiple single bets into one combo bet, combining the odds to create an acca. Your accumulator bet will only pay out if every part of your prediction is correct.
Each selection is known as a leg, and the more legs you add, the bigger the payout you’ll potentially receive. You can combine different types of bets into one accumulator, with acca legs from various other markets and events.
How Do Multi-Leg Bets Work?
Accumulator bets come in all shapes and sizes. Fancy a flutter on multiple football matches kicking off at 3 p.m. on a Saturday? Then, a football accumulator is the way to go.
You can place an accumulator bet across the same league or several different competitions/sports.
For example, you could place a weekend football accumulator backing Real Madrid (Spain's La Liga), Hertha Berlin (German Bundesliga), and Tottenham (Premier League) to win. If they all win, you're in the money, but if one team loses, you're out of luck.
Bookmakers also offer combinations of singles, doubles, trebles, and multi-leg bets in the same bet, as outlined above. With these accumulator bets, not every selection has to be successful for a payout.
Only a certain number of bets need to be successful, which means some of your losses will be covered if only one or two legs fail.
How to Calculate Winnings for Multi-Leg Bets
Most online bookmakers will work hard for you here, so you don't need to get the calculator out.
However, here's an example of how your winnings would be calculated from a fourfold football accumulator.
You pick (all to win):
- Paris Saint-Germain at 1/1 (2.0)
- Real Madrid at 1/1 (2.0)
- Crystal Palace 3/1 (4.0)
- RB Leipzig 2/1 (3.0)
If you bet £1, you would profit £48, as all the odds multiply together (2 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 48/1).
What Happens if One Leg of a Multi-Leg Bet is Voided?
Each bookmaker will have its terms and conditions for void bets, but most will remove the voided odds from your accumulator and recalculate your payout based on the remaining selections.
For example, let’s look again at our earlier fourfold football accumulator: We had Real Madrid (2.0), Paris Saint-Germain (2.0), Crystal Palace (4.0), and RB Leipzig (3.0).
The initial payout for this football accumulator from a £1 stake was £48 (2.0 x 2.0 x 4.0 x 3.0). However, if the Crystal Palace game were voided, your profit from £1 would be £12 (2.0 x 2.0 x 3.0).
Types of Acca Bets
- Trixie: A trixie consists of four bets on three selections, with three double accumulator bets and one treble accumulator bet. If you place a £1 Trixie, you are betting £4. If two or more selections win, you’ll claim a payout.
- Patent: A patent consists of seven bets on three selections, consisting of three singles, three doubles, and one treble. A £1 bet costs £7. One or more choices must be successful for you to make a profit.
- Yankee: A Yankee bet consists of 11 bets on four selections: six double accumulator bets, four trebles, and a fourfold accumulator bet. A£1bet costs £11. Two or more legs must be successful for the bet to pay out.
- Lucky 15: A lucky 15 combines a Yankee with single bets on each selection. It comprises 15 bets on four selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles, and a fourfold accumulator bet. A £1 bet will cost £15. One or more selections must be successful for a return.
- Super Yankee/Canadian: A Super Yankee or Canadian bet consists of 26 bets on five selections: 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five fourfold accumulator bets, and one fivefold accumulator. A £1 Super Yankee will cost £26. Two or more selections must be correct for the bet to return.
- Lucky 31: A lucky 31, like the lucky 15, is a Super Yankee/Canadian bet that includes single bets. It consists of 31 bets on five selections: five singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five fourfold accumulator bets, and one fivefold accumulator bet. A £1 Lucky 31 will cost £31. One or more selections must be successful to pay out.
- Heinz: A Heinz bet consists of 57 bets on six selections. Therefore, a £1 Heinz bet will cost £57. It includes 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfold accumulator bets, six fivefold accumulator bets, and one sixfold accumulator. Two or more selections must be successful for a return.
Each-Way Multi-Leg Betting
The risk of accumulator betting is present with all sports, but horse racing is one of the most unpredictable sports you can bet on.
You can, however, cover more options by placing an each-way bet.
An each-way bet will return a portion of your stake to you if your horse finishes in second or third. Some bookmakers even offer each-way betting up to five places for certain races.
You must place two bets for each way and double your stake.
Consider the horse racing accumulator bet below:
| Selection | Fractional Odds | Decimal Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Horse 1 | 4/1 | 5 |
| Horse 2 | 1/1 | 2 |
| Horse 3 | 5/1 | 6 |
| Horse 4 | 3/1 | 4 |
| Horse 5 | 2/1 | 3 |
| Totas Odds | 719/1 | 720 |
If all selections are correct, a £1 stake will return you £720.
But what if one of the selections finished second?
With an each-way acca bet, even if your horse finishes second, you’ll still be able to pocket some winnings. Remember, you need to double your stake for each-way leg.
The returns are usually calculated by taking the original odds and applying an each-way fraction of 1/5. See how an each-way acca is calculated below:
| Results | Each Way Fractional | Each Way Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| Horse 1 - Won | 4/5 | 1.8 |
| Horse 2 - Placed | 1/5 | 1.2 |
| Horse 3 - Won | 5/5 | 1 |
| Horse 4 - Won | 3/5 | 1.6 |
| Horse 5 - Won | 2/5 | 1.4 |
| Totals | 96/25 | 4.84 |
Punters can build accumulator bets for horse races at the best horse racing betting sites.
Depending on your fancy, a horse racing accumulator bet can combine singles or each-way shots.
Football Accumulator Bets
Football multi-leg bets have never been so popular. Football bettors like to log in to the best betting sites every weekend and pick out many teams they predict will win their respective games. After they have populated the online bet slip with these teams, they will place an “acca,” as it is known in the UK, hoping to strike it rich.
Here are a few considerations regarding multi-leg football betting:
Match Odds Multi-Leg Betting vs. Handicap Odds Multi-Leg Betting
The downfall of many 1X2 multiples is that bettors can be lured in by the considerable odds of picking six or more selections. This can often lead to one or two teams letting you down, although if you make fewer selections as part of your accumulator, you get a potentially smaller return.
However, when it comes to match handicap betting, a multiple bet with just two or three teams can offer an attractive return. The handicap market effectively allows you to plump for sides to win by a bigger margin than just one goal.
Alternatively, a match handicap bet might see you go for the outsider with a +2 goal start. This means the team could still lose by a single goal for you to win on your bet, as you’ve backed them with a two-goal advantage.Can Accumulators Ever Be Value Bets?
Yes, they can. Some people regard accas as “mug bets,” but that’s not always true. Naturally, some bettors will load up any number of selections in the happy knowledge that they’re unlikely to get a return. However, that’s akin primarily to picking out some lottery numbers.
A shrewder bettor might go through a soccer coupon and pick out several teams they feel have a robust chance of winning. Never forget that there are always three potential outcomes in a soccer match, which means a treble involves getting the right outcome out of twenty-seven possibilities.
However, if you pick out three teams and the overall odds are even money, you might genuinely feel there’s a greater than 50% chance of those teams winning their respective matches.Narrowing Down Your Teams
By placing a handicap odds accumulator instead of a match odds accumulator, you can sometimes get as big a return from your stake by making three selections with a handicap multiple as you can by making six selections with a match odds multiple.
Having fewer selections reduces the chance of a particular leg letting you down, and you can focus hard on getting the proper selections for your handicap multiple bet.
For example, you might expect Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea to win their respective matches by at least two clear goals. Theoretically, each team could be -200 to win the game but +700 with a -1 goal handicap.
Therefore, by putting three -200 chances in your multiple, you create odds of +700 from those selections alone. You must hope the match favorites can win their respective matches by a comprehensive margin.
English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, and German Bundesliga matches are often one-sided, especially when you get one of the strongest teams against one of the weakest. The handicap market is a good route to go down, whether you’re considering a single, double, treble, or accumulator wager.Bet on the Handicap Market In-Play
Many bookmakers will bet more on the In-Play Handicap Markets than the 1X2 alternative, especially if the favorite takes an early lead and effectively renders the match noncompetitive from a 1X2 point of view.
Should Manchester City go 1-0 up against West Ham, you can back Manchester City -2 at -200 odds, while a bookmaker might also offer Manchester City -3 at +100. Bettors can then consider what margin the favorite might win by and bet accordingly.
Naturally, you can also bet on West Ham regarding the Handicap Market, especially if you think they can potentially work their way back into the game or keep things tight and only lose by a slender margin.
Why Place Accas & Multi-Leg Bets
It’s easy to understand the appeal of a multi-leg bet. Firstly, you're not restricted to the 1x2 market when combining selections. Second, you don’t have to risk much money to enjoy a substantial return.
There are several reasons why you might choose an acca over a single:
- More Risk, More Reward: The main incentive to place an accumulator is to increase the odds. Be careful not to get greedy, though, as the more legs you add, the less likely a win can become.
- Spread The Fun: Multi-leg bets can make watching sports much more exciting. You only need to set one stake for multiple games with an accumulator bet to stretch your betting excitement over a weekend or an afternoon.
- Test Your Knowledge: While single bets allow you to test your punting on one particular event/match, multi-leg bets allow you to use your knowledge of an entire sport, or multiple sports.
Top 5 Tips for Accumulator Betting Success
- Do Your Research: Research is key to a successful accumulator bet. For football multi-leg bets, make sure you know the ins and outs of the team you’re betting on, including their form, injuries, and the context of the fixture.
- Think About Handicaps: You don’t always have to place multi-leg bets on the final result. Handicap bets are a fun way to shake up your betting, increase your odds, and win more.
- Don't Always Bet on the Favourite: Bettors often make football multi-leg bets with only the favourites selected. You’ll get lower odds with these bets while still having quite a high risk.
- Mix & Match Selections: When building your acca, you can usually include several bet types. To add more variety to your accumulator bet, try niche markets that the oddsmakers might overlook.
- Bet Over An Extended Period: While building an accumulator bet for a single day of excitement is tempting, it can be more rewarding to spread your selections over an extended period if it makes for a smarter bet.
