The Basics of the Accumulator Bet in Sports Betting
Also known as a parlay, an accumulator or acca, is when two or more selections are combined into the same bet. This increases the potential payout, but it also increases the risk as all selections must win. Football and horse racing are where accas are most regularly placed, while many bookmakers offer acca boosts to promote particular markets or events.
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The Theory: How an Accumulator Works
An accumulator is a single wager that combines two or more selections. These are sometimes called legs. By combining these bets, you increase the odds, but you also increase the risk as all bets must win for the acca to pay out. However, to encourage acca placement, some bookmakers offer acca insurance, which sees your stake returned should your acca fail by just one leg.
It is most common to place an accumulator on sports with a busy slate of fixtures. Examples include a Premier League matchday. Let’s use an evening of Champions League football as an example. You may fancy Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, and Olympiakos to all win their respective games. You can group all of these into a single accumulator to boost your odds. As a result, accas are often used to create more competitive odds out of heavy favourites.
It is possible to have accumulators on the same game too, but these are more commonly known as Bet Builders. An example would be Liverpool to win, Mohamed Salah to score the first goal, and Over 8.5 cards in the match.
As you are multiplying odds, the maths in an accumulator can get complicated. This is when smart bettors turn to our acca odds calculator to assess their risk, returns, and profits.
Examples
Here we have provided some examples of accumulators so you can see how they function.
Football Parlay (3 Legs)
You back the following football matches with a €20 wager:
- Arsenal to win @ 2.00
- Bayern vs Bremen O2.5 Goals @ 1.90
- BTTS in Juventus vs Napoli @ 1.80
The parlay calculator gives you:
- Combined Odds:
2.00 × 1.90 × 1.80 = 6.84 - Total Return: €20 × 6.84 = €136.80
- Profit: €116.80
The bet calculator parlay turns a modest €20 into a nearly 7x return if all 3 legs win.
NBA Parlay (4 Player Props)
You stack 4 NBA prop bets with a €10 wager:
- Jayson Tatum O25.5 pts @ 1.95
- Gilgeous-Alexander 30+ pts @ 2.40
- Nikola Jokić triple-double @ 3.00
- Celtics -6.5 spread @ 2.10
The parlay calculator gives you:
- Combined Odds:
1.95 × 2.40 × 3.00 × 2.10 = 29.484 - Total Return: €10 × 29.484 = €294.84
- Profit: €284.84
Even with a small wager, the parlay calculator odds tool shows how powerful combos can be.
Horse Racing Parlay (3 Races)
You back three horses in different races with a wager of €15:
- Horse 1 @ 3.50
- Horse 2 @ 4.00
- Horse 3 @ 6.00
The parlay calculator gives you:
- Combined Odds:
3.50 × 4.00 × 6.00 = 84.00 - Total Return: €15 × 84 = €1,260.00
- Profit: €1,245.00
With all three horses winning, the parlay bet calculator shows a massive return on a stake of just €15.
Conclusions
An accumulator is a popular type of bet, particularly on busy matchdays. By combining selections into one single bet, your winnings can be boosted significantly. However, the risk increases too as all selections must win (although sometimes you can take out acca insurance). When you combine odds, the maths can get more complicated, so many people rely on an acca calculator to help them construct the best accumulator.
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FAQS
Do I need to win all legs in an accumulator?
Unless a sportsbook offers acca insurance – where you can get your stake back should one leg let you down – then all legs do need to win in order to profit from an accumulator.
How many legs can form an accumulator?
You can have as few as two legs and as many as 20 in an accumulator. Remember, though, that the more selections you add, the more risk you undertake.
What are the advantages of an accumulator?
The main advantage of an acca is increased profit, but this comes with increased risk. Many bettors combine heavy favourites into an accumulator to get better overall value.
Which sports work best for accas?
Most people place accas during busy sporting periods, such as a full weekend fixture list or Champions League evening. Football, basketball, tennis, and horse racing lend themselves best to accumulator betting.
What happens if a game is cancelled?
When a game is cancelled, that selection is usually removed from your accumulator and the rest of the acca proceeds as normal. This means a 5-fold accumulator would become a 4-fold accumulator, for example.
Can I cash out an acca?
Some bookmakers allow you to cash out an acca, but the price may be high. We recommend checking a sportsbook’s T&Cs before placing the bet.