Arbusers

Whenever you hear punters using betting terms you don't know, pop in—we are happy to break the uncomfortable silence around popular betting expressions.

The handy guide below lets you grasp the idea and rules of accumulator betting.

What is an accumulator bet?

Accumulator betting, commonly known as acca, also referred to as a parlay bet in Canada and the US, is a single bet that involves several selections.

Each selection you add is known as a leg or fold, and the more you add, the greater the potential payout.

While a bettor can make two selections (known as doubles) or three selections (known as trebles) following the same rules, these bettings aren't commonly called accumulators. Instead, the term "accumulator" customarily applies to a bet that includes four or more selections. With most online bookmakers, there can be up to 20 selections in an accumulator.

Before you roll multiple selections into a single bet, let's see how it works. Many accumulators fail because of a lack of knowledge and strategy, so it is a good thing to tackle a few dos and don'ts beforehand.

How does an accumulator bet work?

In a standard accumulator, i.e., in a bet that combines multiple selections into a single wager, you gain a return only when all parts win.

Does it make it harder to win an accumulator bet? Of course. Is it worth the chase? Given that these bets are designed to land a big win, the sweat can pay off nicely, being one of the biggest advantages of this type of betting.

So, while an accumulator generally means less chance of you winning—and more chance that the bookie gets hold of your money—there is a bright side of the story, as bright as a few shiny extra coins in your pocket.

Truth be told, accumulators allow you to rack up massive profits, but winnings are much higher at the expense of increased risk. Consider that only a single selection needs to lose for the entire bet to lose.

An accumulator bet in practice

Most sports have accumulators available, whether football, horse racing, or tennis. Yet, mind that bookies may stop you from combining multiple sports into an accumulator.

An accumulator bet is one of the most popular forms of multiple bets available, particularly common in football, where punters can bet on a range of matches across one or several leagues.

Assuming you bet on four football teams (let's say, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Juventus, and FC Barcelona), even if only one of them loses, your entire bet will be settled as a loser.

On the other hand, if all of them win, your payout will be far greater than if you had split your stake into four parts and backed each team independently.

An accumulator creates an opportunity for a bigger payout from betting that combines bets from multiple games. Let's break it down.

The returns of an accumulator are elaborated by converting the fractions into decimals and multiplying the odds from the four singles together.

Supposing a bettor have put on a $1 bet on the four games, and the odds (and their decimals) are: 2/1 (2), 3/1 (3), 2/1 (2), and 4/1 (4); the Acca total is 179/1 (180). The total profit of this accumulator winning would be $179 winnings + $1 stake, i.e., $180. (read more on Telegraph)

An each-way accumulator bet

Following the rules of a standard accumulator, the risk runs high because if only one of your teams loses a game, the entire accumulator bet loses. Yet, there is a solution. An each-way accumulator bet is commonly used, for example, on horse racing betting.

An each-way accumulator bet comes as two separate bets. It means that the stake you are placing is then doubled. This two-part bet is designed to ensure bettors get something back if their runners fail to win outright but manage to place—explains William Hill)

The first part of an each-way accumulator is a standard accumulator bet, where a punter places one bet on four or more selections altogether to win their races. In the second part of an each-way accumulator, a single bet is placed on all selections individually to "place," i.e., finish in the top three or four of the race.

I's not rocket science that with this strategy, the risk you take isn't as stressful as in the standard type of accumulator bet. If your outright accumulator lets you down by one runner, you can still make a tidy profit if that runner still places.