What is an Accumulator Bet?

Accumulators are effectively a single 

bet but one that encompasses several bets .This means you make one bet on the outcome of several sporting events and to win, all the multiple bets need to be in your favour. This makes accumulators high risk but also a lot of fun if results start to go your way. With a single bet involving several outcomes the rewards can be far greater as the odds start to multiply with each success. However, a single bet that relies on several outcomes can quickly go wrong, it only takes one of your bets to fail to lose.

There are not really any boundaries on the number of bets you can make in an accumulator. Within one bet you can choose as many outcomes as you wish. However, the more predictions you make, the more chances you have of losing. Making four predictions in one bet is known as four-fold and five predictions, five-fold. You can also have fewer bets when making an accumulator, starting from as little as two, which is known as a double, or three, which is a treble.

Understanding accumulator bets is simple once. When each bet is a success the return from one result will become the stake of the following bet. Due to this, the returns can rapidly increase each time you win. That said, only one incorrect bet placed will mean the accumulator is lost.

We can help you to understand by creating an example of an accumulator. On this occasion your accumulator may be a four-fold bet on the results of football matches. In this case let us assume the matches are in the Portuguese Primera Liga.

Bet 1: Benfica v Boavista – Benfica to win at odds 2.0

Bet 2: Porto v Vitoria de Guimaraes – Porto to win at odds 2.5

Bet 3: Sporting CP v Gil Vicente – Sporting CP to win at odds 2.0

Bet 4: Braga v Maritimo – Braga to win at odds 3.0

With the four-fold accumulator placed with a stake of $5 the first match will win you $10 if Benfica win. If Porto go on to win the second match your winnings will increase to $25. A win for Sporting CP will then return $50 and if Braga beat Maritimo the accumulator is won and you would take home a satisfying $150. Winning four bets by placing one stake can be exciting bearing in mind the amounts you can win, however, as soon as one of those teams loses, you will lose the bet.

To understand your potential return is very simple. All you have to do is multiply the odds each time you win. As above, the return is simply calculated by multiplying 2.0 x 2.5 x 2.0 x 3.0 to create a win of $150 based on a $5 stake.

Betting with accumulators can be incredibly exciting, especially each time the results go in your favour. They can be a way of creating incredible wins that can bring huge returns. However, you must remember that they are not easy to win as accumulators depend on the outcome of more than one result. There is a much higher risk in losing the bet as only one bad result will mean you lose the bet.

An example of how exciting an accumulator can be and the potential high profit attached came in the form of a £5 bet from Kyle Jordan. He placed a six-fold football accumulator with Liverpool to beat Aston Villa, Reading to beat Burnley, Cardiff to beat Charlton, Bury to beat Coventry, Sheffield United to beat Doncaster and Everton to beat West Brom. It turned out that five of the bets had a positive result and Kyle was focused on a nail-biting Everton match. Everton were losing the game until they equalised with 15 minutes of the match left. In the final minute Everton scored a winner and Kyle Jordan won a massive £45,000.

All you need to do when creating an accumulator is select the bets you want to include on the betslip. Combine the bets into an accumulator and confirm the type of accumulator, for example, four-fold. Check the odds that are available with the accumulator to make sure you are happy with your bet before placing it.

There are also alternative accumulators that you can try. Each-way accumulators are popular in horse racing where if you do not win there remains a chance to get some return from the bet that has been made. If you do not win a placing finish during the event. For example, third or fourth can help you to win something, instead of losing your stake if the traditional accumulator does not win.

You can use each-way accumulators to reduce your risk compared to an accumulator that is based on win only. A traditional accumulator creates greater risk however, the return can be far higher. In short, when used sensibly, accumulators can be one of the most exciting ways to place a bet.