Football Betting Accumulator – Useful Tips on How to Use It in Your Advantage

Nowadays, you can't place a football wager without coming across accumulator bets. They are very popular, and you almost get the feeling people are serving them to you on a silver platter. However, bookmakers have a serious financial interest in acca bets because they win a lot of money from them.

In this article, we show you what accumulator bets are, how they work, and how to place them. We also clarify when to play them and how the most common acca bonuses work. This information will come in very handy if you decide to play this type of bet.

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Accumulator Betting in Football – What Is It?

Accumulator bets, or accas, are a special type of wager where you combine several selections into a single bet. Each selection of the acca is called a 'leg'. The direct benefit of accumulator bets is that you multiply the odds of all legs to get the final odds of the bet. Thus, accas can result in massive winnings if they are successful.

That's why you see a lot of punters placing these at least once a week on the weekend matches. This is usually a quick and convenient way to place several legs on several events, and you have the outcomes by the end of the day. Moreover, if you frequent betting shops, there is always at least one old-timer who has a penchant for accumulator betting, and if you stay and listen to their insights, you may learn quite a bit about playing accas.

However, winning can be a challenge because all it takes is one leg failing to make the whole accumulator fail. Therefore, accas can be described as high-risk bets. Moreover, depending on the odds of the legs, not all accumulators are high-reward wagers. If you combine many low-odds selections, you will end up with a relatively low-odds acca. Still, there are ways to mitigate risk to increase the value of accumulator bets.

Start Betting – Accumulators Explained in Detail

Acca bets are fairly simple to place. You first decide on how many legs to use because once you start adding selections to your accumulator, it can be hard to stop. A lot of us have felt like a kid in a candy shop with accas, where we keep asking ourselves whether we can have 'just one more'. And we love to spoil ourselves. Therefore, decide on a limit right from the start. Also, depending on the number of legs, the name of an acca bet changes. Here is how they go:

Once you have decided on the number of legs, you can start adding selections. You can either pick outcomes from only a single match or choose independent events, and you can even mix and match. In our example, we are using selections from the four opening weekend matches from the 2019/2020 season's Premier League. For clarity, we are using only 1X2 bets.

Match Selection Odds
West Ham v Man City Man City winning 11/50
Bournemouth v Sheff Utd Bournemouth winning 19/20
Burnley v Southampton Draw 11/5
Crystal Palace v Everton Everton winning 3/2

These games were played on August 10 of the 2019/2020 season, and they all set the tone for the year ahead. Moreover, there was much excitement in the air from both participants and spectators. After all, these games were setting up the expectations for the remainder of the season. In essence, nobody knows how a team will perform with their new transfers and whatnot — so it's the perfect time for an acca.

The total odds in this accumulator bet can be calculated by multiplying all the lines. Here is how we calculate our accumulator bet odds: 11/50 x 19/20 x 11/5 x 3/2 = 19.06. In this case, all the selections need to be successful for the bet to win. If even just one of the outcomes fails, so does the whole acca.

Even though we are betting on relatively low-odds selections, the cumulative pay-out is almost twenty times our stake. This is the appeal that attracts most punters. There are a lot of cases in which people win thousands by betting only a fiver. History has even seen millionaires from acca bets. Still, don't forget that the majority of punters lose on accas.

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How to Place an Accumulator Bet?

Placing an acca bet is as easy as possible nowadays. The best football betting sites have integrated this function into the very betslip. While there is some variety in betslip design, the functionality always comes down to three simple steps. This is how you place a football accumulator bet:

  1. Select the odds

    Browse the sportsbook and pick your wagers. You can select anything you fancy from both the in-play and pre-match markets. Moreover, selecting consecutive events in the future may offer a strategical advantage (more on that later in our betting accumulator tips).

  2. Select your stake amount

    As soon as you have more than one selection, you have the option to place them as an accumulator bet. Depending on the betslip, this option might be located on the lower end, but it is usually above the system bet options (Trixies, Yankees, etc.). Once you locate the option, you usually need to specify the sum you want to bet.

  3. Release the Kraken

    Accept your new bet. Congratulations! Now you know how to place a football accumulator bet. But there's still more to learn.

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Accumulator Betting – Start Developing Your Strategy

Betting on accumulators is difficult. The main issue is that they usually fail. While the odds can grow to impressive numbers, the probability of failing a leg can be overwhelming as well. However, there are ways in which you can manage the risk and even play it to your advantage. We have taken the liberty of letting you in on a few accumulator betting tips.

Use All the Bonuses You Can Find

Most bookies offer insurance for accumulator bets

Using the right betting promotion can mean a great deal when you make accumulator bets. You can use all the edges you can imagine, but in the end, the wager can still fail. Most bookmakers have some sort of insurance for accas that fail by just one leg, and it is wise to use them.

You Don't Need to Win Them All

The key to picking selections is time. For example, you could choose one match per weekday from Monday to Friday. If you are a weekend warrior, you can pick a few games starting at Saturday noon and ending Sunday night. What's important is to not choose games that take place simultaneously.

It is vital to make smart picks, but the goal is not to win the acca: The goal is to cash out. Each successful selection increases the cash-out value of your bet. If are betting on at least even odds (2/1), you will reach a decent cash-out value only after a few successful legs. Many punters hold onto their accas until the very last selection is resolved, but with football-betting accumulators, giving up can be the key to winning.

In order to benefit from this strategy, you may want to chain several clear winners or pick odds of at least 2.0 per selection. In both cases, keep an eye on the cash-out option after each successful match. As long as you can make at least twice your stake, you can make a decent profit by closing the bet. Often, you will be able to get much more by stopping early.

Go for the Push Whenever You Can

Win-or-lose scenarios are not so good in sports betting because of the losing part. It is much more advantageous to go for bets with a push chance. These bets are also known as 'Draw No Bet'. In the case of a draw, the bet is cancelled, and the stake returned. In the case of accas, however, only the specific selection is cancelled, while the acca remains active.

Therefore, it is wise to select wagers that have a push chance. Such bets include Asian handicap bets, which you can learn more about on our dedicated guide page. This is perhaps one of the more subtle betting tips for football accumulators.

Are Accas Worth It?

Without a doubt, accumulator bets are the sweetest wagers imaginable for bookies. Yes, they offer the potential to win big. Yes, there are a lot of bonuses and insurances out there for accas. Yes, they are a fascinating source of adrenaline rushes.

However, they are the type of bet that most commonly fails, and therefore, bookies love them and constantly promote them. Still, you can always enjoy the occasional acca like aged, expensive scotch – in moderation and careful planning so you can get the maximum value out of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What Happens If a Bet is Void in an Accumulator?

💬A: If a particular selection of your acca becomes void, it is removed from consideration. The odds of that selection are also no longer a part of the accumulator. In effect, the acca remains perfectly valid, but it has one less leg.

To illustrate this scenario, consider a two-fold accumulator on a Man City–Liverpool game for £5. The first selection is on Man City winning for 6/5, and the second selection is a -2-handicap bet on Man City to win for 4.20. The total odds for both selections are 9.24 (6/5 x 4.20).

The game ends in 2–0, and the handicap part is a 'push'. We remove the void selection from the accumulator. The bookie pays off only the remaining odds for the regular 1X2 bet. Thus, the punter gets only £11 (5 x 6/5).

Q: What Does 'Draw No Bet' Mean in Accumulator Betting?

💬A: When a bet is 'Draw No Bet', it is cancelled in the event of a draw, and the stake is returned to the bettor. In acca bets, the selection in question is cancelled, but the remaining selections remain active. Thus, it is considered a good strategy in accumulator betting to select 'Draw No Bet' wagers.

🏆Q: Who Is the Best Bookmaker for Accumulator Betting?

💬A: The main factors that affect attractive accumulator bets are odds, markets, and bonuses. You need good odds to earn more from your stakes. You need bets with a push chance, such as handicap bets. Finally, good acca bonuses can create additional value in playing accumulators. Here are the bookmakers that best suit these conditions: bet365, 888sport, William Hill

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