Accumulators (also known as accas) are an exciting type of bet, usually placed on football. In fact, accas have become a ‘must do’ for many fans as part of their Saturday afternoon entertainment! This post will look at answering the question, “what is an accumulator bet?”
Because of the way accumulators are calculated, the winnings from these ‘all or nothing bets’ can be huge! However, the downside is that all matches or ‘legs’ have to win for the accumulator to return a profit.
Imagine the thrill of one of your teams scoring in the dying seconds to steal a win for your accumulator.
It’s the drama of accumulators that make them a favourite as a fantastic way to liven up your weekend!
What is an accumulator bet?
Accumulators join together four or more bets or ‘legs’ to form one bet. Each leg must be placed on a different sporting event. They’re called accumulators because you accumulate (or gather) money as each leg win.
If the first leg of an accumulator bet wins, the returns are placed onto the second leg as the stake. If the second leg wins, the returns are then placed onto the third leg as the stake, and so on. As each leg wins, the returns multiply and if all legs of a betting accumulator win, there’s the chance to win amazing amounts of money! However, only one leg in an accumulator has to lose for the whole bet to lose. Accumulator betting is not for the faint-hearted!
How do accumulator bets work?
Football accas are generally made up of 5 or 6 legs but there can be as many legs as you like. However: for every leg added to an acca, the odds increase accordingly, making it harder to win!
You must remember that if a football match is postponed or abandoned the number of legs in the acca reduces. Returns are then calculated without that leg. Therefore, a 6 leg acca would become a 5 leg acca.
Bookmakers frequently offer percentage (%) bonuses, enhanced odds or ‘acca insurance’ for their accumulator bets.
What sports can accumulators be used for?
Accumulators can be placed on a variety of sports, but football’s usually the favourite. To find out more about football accumulators, read this post. However, there are certain types of accumulators that are more suited to other sports, like horse racing.
How do you build and place an acca?
- Open an account with a bookmaker.
- Choose the sport you want your accumulator to be on.
- Find your first bet and add it to your betslip.
- Keep adding more legs to your betslip.
- You’ll need to mark that it’s an accumulator on the betslip. How you do this, will depend on the bookie you’ve chosen.
- Once you’ve finished, click to place your bet.
Why choose accumulators?
It’s the combination of relatively small stakes and the chance of winning a vast amount of money that make accas appealing! Add to that, the thrill of the chase, and it’s easy to see why accas are so tempting.
Types of accumulators
Technically ‘Doubles’ (2 legs) and ‘Trebles’ (3 legs) are accumulators, as they contain multiple selections. However, as the odds on football matches tend to be quite low, they aren’t really worth considering. So, for the purposes of football accas it’s advisable to stick with:
- Fourfold: A single bet with 4 legs.
- Fivefold: A single bet with 5 legs.
- Sixfold: A single bet with 6 legs.
You can add as many legs as you want, but remember: for every leg that is added to an acca, the harder it is to win!
In horse racing, there are all sorts of weird and wonderful accumulator names including: Trixie, Patent, Yankee, Lucky 15, Canadian or Super Yankee, Lucky 31, Heinz, Lucky 63, Super Heinz and Goliath!
Can you make money from accumulators?
Now I’ve answered the question, “what is an accumulator bet?” I’ll show you how it’s possible to make money from them. There are ways to increase your chances of making money from accumulator bets. Under the umbrella of matched betting, there are different accumulator methods. Examples include the ‘lock in’ and ‘lay at the start’ methods.
Here on OddsMonkey, we’ve got specially-built tools which help you make money from acca bets. The AccaMatcher and AccaFinder work to find and deliver odds. One brings you pre-built accas, whilst the other lets you build your own.
We’ve also got training and support available to help you make money from accumulator bets.
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