An accumulator, often referred to as an Acca, is a bet made up of multiple selections on different outcomes, usually across different events. For example, choosing four or more different football teams to win their game. It works with the stake and return from the first selection rolling on to the next bet, and so on until the final bet is a winner too. All selected outcomes need to win for the bet to be successful with any losses nullifying the gamble.
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How does an accumulator bet work?
An accumulator, also known as an ‘Acca’ is a type of wager that combines multiple selections into one single bet. All the different selections within the bet must win for you to get a return on your stake, but as you are combining different bets, the returns are generally higher compared to the stake being placed. However, if just one selection loses, the whole bet loses.
An example of a Football Accumulator bet:
- Manchester City to win 10/11
- Liverpool to win 2/1
- Everton to win 2/1
- Aston Villa to win 5/2
- Leeds United to win 11/10
- Southampton to win 7/2
The odds for each outcome are multiplied and this accumulator would be a winning one if all teams won, returning £567 from a £1 stake
Most popular sports for accumulator bets and why
The most popular sports for accumulator bets are Football and Horse Racing. This is largely due to the number of events taking place on the same day and around the same time.
Football accumulators have become especially popular as a huge number of games take place at the same time and end at the same time. Punters can track the success of their bet as the action unfolds.
This is similar for Horse Racing as there are many races all on the same day. You can also choose horses to win across different race meetings and under different rules, such as combining runners in flat and jump races on the same accumulator.
Other popular sports for Accas include Tennis, Rugby, Greyhound Racing, and NFL.
Pros and cons of accumulator bets
As with most wagers, there are pros and cons for accumulator bets. The obvious positive is you can enjoy a huge win from a small stake because you are multiplying the different odds from each selection.
You can also get better value on selections with short odds, as these are generally considered to be certainties to win, by picking a number of them and enjoying their odds multiplying with each other to give you a better price.
However, as you are relying on several selections all to win, you are increasing the risk of just one bet losing – meaning the whole bet is lost.
Where to find accumulator bet tips
Many of the best-known bookmakers employ tipsters who will post daily tips and articles on their websites, giving you advice on the possible accumulators you could bet on that day. There has also been an explosion in the number of dedicated websites who offer accumulator tips, but who are independent from the bookmakers.
How are accumulator odds calculated?
The odds for an accumulator are calculated by multiplying the odds of each selection within the acca with each other, and the stake. The easiest way to do this is by converting fractional odds into a decimal format. For example, odds of 2/1 will become a decimal number of 3.0 as this is what you would get as a return from a £1 bet including your £1 stake:
- Manchester City to win 10/11 decimal number is 1.9
- Liverpool to win 2/1 3.0
- Everton to win 2/1 3.0
- Aston Villa to win 5/2 3.5
- Leeds United to win 11/10 2.1
- Southampton to win 7/2 4.5
Simply multiply the decimal numbers, for example:
1.9 x 3.0 x 3.0 x 3.5 x 2.1 x 4.5 = 565
Then multiply that total by your stake.