Pros and cons of accumulator betting: Will accas win me money?
Accumulators are one of the most popular ways to bet as they give punters a chance to make a huge return from modest stakes.
However, are these bets really as good as they seem? We run through the pros and cons of placing accas to help you decide whether they are the best approach for you.
What is an accumulator?
Casually referred to as accas in the UK — or parlays in the Amercian market — accumulators involve a punter placing a bet on numerous outcomes to occur across a series of separate, unrelated events.
They are hugely popular with casual bettors in particular, given they allow the chance to net a significant return on a small investment.
Each individual outcome in an accumulator can be referred to as a leg.
Traditionally, every single leg of an accumulator must win for the payout to be achieved, which means added risk is taken on by the punter in return for added reward.
How does an accumulator work?
Betting websites will automatically calculate the odds of your accumulator when you have added all your selections to your betslip, though we will explain it in layman's terms to clearly summarise the process.
Let's take some international football (or soccer) matches for an example. Here, we have picked out three teams to win their matches.
Romania to beat the Netherlands (5/1)
Austria to beat Turkey (EVS)
Spain to beat Germany (6/4)
If we were to place three separate £10 single bets on these events, our potential returns would be as follows:
£10 on Romania to beat Netherlands at 5/1 = £60 return (£50 profit + £10 stake)
£10 on Austria to beat Turkey at EVS = £20 return (£10 profit and £10 stake)
£10 on Spain to beat Germany at 6/4 = £25 return (£15 profit and £10 stake)
However, if we placed a solitary £10 accumulator on all three teams to win, our potential returns could be worked out like this:
£10 on Romania to beat Netherlands at 5/1 = £60 return
That £60 then automatically rolls onto Austria to beat Turkey at EVS.
£60 at EVS = £120 return
That £120 then automatically rolls onto Spain to beat Germany at 6/4.
£120 at 6/4 = £300 return
So, if all three of our teams win, our accumulator would return £300 from a £10 stake. It is easy to see the appeal!
What are the pros of placing accumulator bets?
There are several reasons why accumulators have become the most popular type of bet for the recreational punter.
Potential for huge returns
Depending on the selections made, accumulators have the potential for very high returns should they win.
This is because you're combining multiple predictions into one, meaning more variables are at play and so the odds offered are going to be inevitably wider.
Therefore, if you carry out effective research — or simply strike lucky — you could land yourself a huge wad of cash from a relatively small stake.
Placing accumulators with a long list of legs is similar to buying a lottery ticket, except the punter is in charge of what event outcomes they want on their side.
More events = more excitement
Generally speaking, an accumulator bet can offer far more excitement than a standard single — especially if your bet gets off to a strong start with some of the early legs landing.
Unless you're a professional gambler, you're probably going to be placing bets for the fun of it, so the idea of having multiple events to take an interest in from one punt is a huge plus.
Accumulators really do offer unbeatable entertainment value — particularly at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon when the UK's football schedule goes into overdrive!
Easy to place
Most bookmakers want punters to place accumulator bets. From their persepctive, they have more opportunities to get the bet beat.
As a result, placing an accumulator has been made into a seamless experience by virtually every bookmaker in the market. It is often the first option you see advertised on a site or app.
Most bookies have specific coupons created just for accumulator bettors, where you can peruse the odds of all the day's events at the same time.
Bookmakers' special acca offers
Many of the UK's most popular bookmakers offer special enhancements on accumulator bets.
A modern example of this is Sky Bet's Acca Freeze promotion, which gives punters the opportunity to freeze one selection on their multiple if they take the lead. This selection is then paid out as a winner regardless of the final outcome.
Bet365 also boast one of the most popular incentives with their Two Goals Ahead offer, which sees acca selections marked as a winner as soon as they go two goals in front.
Utilising these kind of offers are essential for any punter who makes accumulators a regular part of their betting.
What are the negatives of placing accumulator bets?
Harder to win
As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it often is.
This does somewhat apply to accumulator betting. Although huge returns can be landed on these bets, you will generally lose far more often than you win.
The odds are wider because the probability of your accumulator winning is much lower due to the different variables at play across the different legs.
Furthermore, a process known as compounding means the more bad odds you combine into a multiple, your accumulator will pay out significantly worse odds than it should do in terms of probability.
These bets can still be very effective — but it is important to bear in mind why bookies are so keen for you to place them.
Cash out offers are poor value
Many punters love having a Cash Out option on their bets to lock-in a profit. However, the terms offers are almost always incredibly bad value.
When your Cash Out seems high, you can guarantee it is because your bet has a great chance of winning and the bookies are desperate to settle up at a lower amount than pay out a full winner.
If you really want to lock in some profit, the most effective method is to explore a process called hedging, whereby you manually back the outcomes which would see your bet lose.
However, this can sometimes be very tricky on an accumulator due to having multiple legs in-play at the same time. It is hard to cover all bases.
Therefore, most punters often end up taking the easy option and pressing Cash Out — to the detriment of their pocket in the long run.
Research becomes more time-consuming
Putting research into each of your selections will hugely increase your likelihood of landing a winning accumulator when all things are said and done.
However, with more variables at play with this type of bet, this means more time is needed to ensure each leg you select has been adequately assesed.
You may really fancy one or two selections to land but when it comes to accumulators, there is always a temptation to add another leg and boost the returns.
If you haven't done your research, it is vital you don't make that mistake.
Temptation to add extra legs
It's the oldest trick in the book. You've already got four or five legs sitting on your betslip but aren't quite satisfied with the potential returns. Solution? Add more legs!
This is exactly what the bookies want punters to do. The more legs added, the less likely the acca is to win.
Greed can soon derail a winning bet when you begin to push your luck adding more and more variables which, in reality, aren't likely to all land in your favour.
Try to remain realistic when building an accumulator and focus on the selections you are most confident in.
When is it a good idea to place accumulators?
Accumulators are, generally speaking, a fun way of betting that are aimed at recreational punters.
Most of the time, the odds are far less in the favour of the bettor, with all events priced up in the bookmakers' favour (due to something called an overround).
Most pro punters would bet in singles 90%+ of the time. You may win less on an individual bet but it gives you a great chance of exploiting a knowledge edge in the long ter.
However, accas remain a really fun way for casual bettors to place small-stakes bets which offer big returns. Similar to a lottery ticket, in many ways.
Can accumulators ever be good value?
Generally, accumulators offer terrible value, unless you believe all — or most — of the events you are combining are being offered at better odds than they should be.
Because of the aforementioned process of compounding, bad value selections become significantly worse value when combined together in a multiple bet.
For example, if you back two EVS shots in a double which should really both be priced at 11/10, that miniscule price difference will compound when the selections are partnered.
So, you would be getting paid out a 3/1 for the double (4.00), when really it is a 17/5 chance (4.40).
This would get even worse if you added another EVS selection which was really an 11/10 shot in probability terms. That treble would be paid out at 7/1 (8.00), despite it's true value being 9.25/1.
If you're taking your betting seriously in terms of profitability, this is crucial to consider.
What are the best tips for placing a winner accumulator?
When you place an accumulator bet, the odds are already stacked against you. Therefore, you should stick to some best practices that give you the best chance of being successful.
Take advantage of special offers
As we've already mentioned, bookies love accumulator punters — but that means there are some special offers that shrewd operators can take advantage of.
Be sure to educate yourself with all the different perks on offer across the betting world and when you find a suitable accumulator to place, ensure you use bonuses effectively.
For example, some companies may let you boost the returns of one accumulator a week. So, make sure you put your most researched and confident bet on using that enhancement.
Grabbing extra value from special offers can be the difference between long-term profit and loss, though bookies may take away your perks if you become too effective with them.
Use odds comparison websites to secure the biggest returns
The best practise for accumulators is to go for what you feel are the selections most likely to come in, while also considering where offers the best value.
Odds comparison sites, like Odds Now (shameless plug), display the best odds on offer across all of the major sportsbooks, allowing you to find the best value odds for your preferred selections.
If you're going to take the risk on an accumulator, at least go with the sportsbooks offering the best odds, which mean a higher potential payout at the end should all of your legs come in.
You'd be amazed how much difference taking the best price on offer will make to your success or failure over the long run.
Ensure every leg is well researched
If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of winning, dedicate time into researching each of your selections.
Make sure to check all of the different variables at play which could potentially impact whether your leg wins or not. What's the latest team news? Does one particular team need to win this game more than the other? What kind of form are each team in?
All of these angles could be defining factors in whether one of your legs — and therefore your overall accumulator — comes in or not.
Keep your expectations low
Given all of the different variables at play, the likelihood of you landing a winning accumulator is pretty low, particularly if the payout price is high.
Therefore, try to primarily use them as a leisurely betting experience, perhaps to be shared and compared with friends, with no real expectation of returning anything substantial.
There's a reason most pro-gamblers avoid accumulators — they just rely too much on good fortune.