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US Gambling Sites / Betting Guide / Accumulator Bets: What is Accumulator in Betting & How to Use It

Accumulator Bets: What is Accumulator in Betting & How to Use It

In the current sports betting space, you have many different types of bets to choose from. Each of them will have their own benefits and some drawbacks. Different situations and scenarios will be better suited to certain types of bets than others. Therefore, knowing all about the different markets on offer is a great way to arm yourself with the knowledge to make the most out of your sports betting activity.

The Accumulator bet is one of the most popular sports bets that is used today. In some areas, they call it a parlay bet. It is the combination of numerous separate selections into a single bet. People like using it so much because you can get massive odds with only a minimal stake. The chance of winning big off small stakes has long been a draw for people, whether it is for lotteries, casino games or sports betting. This article will walk you through what is an Accumulator bet and what situations in which it is best used.

Most Important Facts About Accumulator Bets

  • High risk, high reward
  • Four or more selections make up your bet
  • Different variations of accumulators
  • Value betting is the best approach

What is an Accumulator Bet?

An Accumulator bet has at least four selections combined into a single bet. You will only receive a return on your stake when each of these selections proves to be successful. Some sports betting sites will offer you insurance on your accumulator. This means that if one of your Accumulator selections loses but the rest of them are successful then you will get your stake returned to you.

Other operators will have Accumulator bonuses, whereby the odds of your bet will be enhanced by a certain %. Generally, this type of bet gives you the chance to win high sums of money in exchange for higher risk. This is because it just takes one unsuccessful bet in order to ruin the Accumulator. If something happens and one of your selections is voided, then the bet is still valid but it simply excludes this selection from the bet. A selection may be voided if it is a race and the selection does not participate come race time or if an event is cancelled or postponed for some reason. You will be able to use an Accumulator bet for most sports. However, you cannot combine selections from the same event usually within the same Accumulator.

Here is an example of an Accumulator bet in action;

This example pertains to if you are looking to place a fourfold Accumulator on soccer games. Your selections for this fourfold Accumulator are; Chelsea to win (Odds: 1.2), Arsenal to win (Odds: 1.7), Manchester City to win (Odds: 1.9) and Leeds to draw (Odds: 3). All of these selections are successful. Therefore, to calculate your return, you multiply each of the odds together and multiply this by your stake.

  • Stake: $10
  • Total Return: 1.2 x 1.7 x 1.9 x 3 x $10 = $116.28
  • Profit: $116.28 - $10 = $106.28

If one of your selections or more were not successful, then you would have a loss of $10.

For certain markets, you can also use each way selections as part of your Accumulator. You will effectively have two separate Accumulators in this case, one for the place odds and one for the win odds. Therefore, if one of your selections does not win outright but it does place and the resort of the place also, you will receive some level of profit.

Different Types of Accumulators

There are many different variants of the Accumulator on the market today. These come in many different shapes and sizes. These include the; trixie bet, patent bet, yankee bet, lucky 15 bet, super yankee bet, lucky 31 bet, heinz bet, lucky 63 bet, super heinz bet and the goliath bet.

Key Considerations when using an Accumulator

There are millions bet on Accumulators each and every week across the world. They are one of the most popular forms of betting out there today. The most casual of sports bettors will use these bets, all of the way up to those who make a full time living from sports betting. While they promise great returns, they are still a massive source of revenue for sports betting platforms. This is due to the high odds associated with these bets. You will hear stories about people who win hundreds of thousands of dollars off a bet worth only a few dollars. However, these are pretty rare and the sports betting platforms often use these stories as a form of marketing and advertising for their offering. In the long run, the odds are in favor of the house in this case. However, there are certain ways in which you can stack the odds more in your favor.

Value betting is key

The key to any type of sports betting is going to be finding value in the odds of certain selections. This is a scenario whereby the probability you attribute to a certain event happening is greater than what the current odds are suggesting will happen. Therefore, there is a mismatch between what you believe will happen and what the odds setter believes will happen.  This is regularly called implied probability. Therefore, a value bet is when you are more confident of something happening than the odds suggest. Therefore, it is important that you are including only those events that are value bets when you are making up an Accumulator.

A good way of following this approach is to work out what your probabilities of certain things happening may be and then compare them to what the odds are suggesting. For example, you may believe that there is a 75% chance that Arsenal will defeat Brighton in their upcoming football game.

  • To calculate the probability that the odds are giving for an event to happen, simply divide one by the decimal odds. This will give you the % probability
  • You can then compare your probability of the event happening with what the odds say
  • To calculate the total probability of your Accumulator being successful, you simply multiply your assessed probability by one another.
  • To then calculate the value of the Accumulator, you multiply your assessed probability figure with the decimal odds of the Accumulator and subtract one from this sum.

This final figure shows you how much extra value you have generated by combining these value bets together.

Being picky

The platforms which are frequented by professional sports bettors know all about value betting and as a result they will often reduce their odds and restrict markets for Accumulators. However, most sports betting sites don’t do this because they believe most people cannot consistently win on their Accumulators because they are not smart enough. They don’t believe that people will properly know about value betting. Instead, they think that people will just haphazardly put an Accumulator together without giving too much to the odds or the value at hand.

The bookmaker also takes their slice of margin by reducing the odds slightly. Generally, they will have a margin of 3-5% on an Accumulator.  Therefore, for Accumulators their margins multiply with each additional selection added to the bet. This is why it is vital that you identify the value opportunities and take advantage of them.

Best approach

Usually, you are better off served pairing together three or four value bets together for your Accumulators rather than trying to make large Accumulator with a lot of selections that have short odds. You should also be dealing with sports betting sites that will offer you the best odds. By shopping around, you will be enhancing your chances of being successful with your Accumulators. A lot of sports betting sites will have a cash out option for your Accumulators that are still running. If you have made a six selection Accumulator for example and four of the selections have been successful and two more events need to take place, the bookmaker will offer you a price to cash out on your Accumulators early. You can also use this option to cut your losses if a few selections have not gone your way.

Accumulator Bets Are the Way to Win

With so many sport setting site out there today, it can be hard to narrow down which is the best option for your needs. Thankfully, we have done that hard work for you with our sports betting sites comparisons guide. You should be looking for those operators that offer you the best value odds on your accumulator bets. Over time, this will increase your bottom line significantly.

Remember to pick up a betting bonus to boost your acca bets, such as the Betfair promo code or 888sports promo code offers that both match your initial deposit when you sign up.

Conclusion: Use small stakes to potentially win big

In this accumulator explained article, you have seen exactly how an Accumulator works, its different variations and advice on how to make the most out of your bets. It all comes down to choosing value bets as part of your betting strategy for Accumulators. By following this approach you will be putting yourself in the best possible position to be profitable in the long run with your sports

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