Everything you need to know about Accumulator betting

• Accumulators explained and how they work

• The advantage to placing an Acca

• Exclusive to Betfair: Acca Edge

What is an accumulator?

An accumulator bet - often referred to as an acca, the term Betfair now use - is a bet that includes at least four selections (legs) in which all selections must come true in order for the bet to pay out.

Bets that include just two or three selections in which they all must win can also be described as an acca, but given they have their own names (two selections is a double, while three selections is a treble) - then it's widely accepted that a traditional acca is a bet containing at least four selections.

Accumulator betting has become extremely popular with the growth of online betting because of how easy it has become to place acca bets.

Before online betting punters used to have to go to a betting shop to place an acca, and they would do this by writing all their selections on a betting slip, or filling out a football coupon.

But now, with almost every professional or casual punter owning a laptop, tablet or mobile device, placing an acca online (or via a betting app) has become a natural thing to do for anyone who loves to mix watching sport with having a bet.

However, the most important aspect to remember when placing an acca is that all selections have to win for the bet to be deemed a winner. Just one losing leg of an acca means your bet will be settled as a loser.

What are the most popular types of accumulators?

Without doubt, the acca that has become most popular among casual punters is the football acca.

Because of the wide range of football matches that take place during the week and especially at weekends, backing four, five or even more teams to win in an acca is one of the most enjoyable, exciting, and potentially rewarding bets you can have.

Horse racing fans will feel the same, and placing an acca that includes at least four horses to win is another very popular type of acca that punters will have.

But acca bets are not just restricted to football and horse racing, they can be placed on almost every sport and you can even mix selections from different sports to form an acca, e.g, two football teams, two horses, one snooker player, and one cricket team in a six-leg acca.

Why should I place an acca?

The reasons for placing an acca are generally two-fold.

The first is that the combination of four or more different selections means that all the different odds get combined, creating the potential for some remarkable wins and odds that you might not get by backing individual selections.

The second reason is because of the excitement an acca produces. Having an interest in four or more different football matches that are taking place simultaneously around the country can be a real thrill, and so too can an acca on horse racing when your first few selections finish first past the post.

You can add up to 20 selections to your acca, choose any sport, try to win £50 or try to win a life-changing amount. The choice is entirely up to you.

How does an acca work?

It's quite simple really. Think of it like having a £1 bet on a 2/13.00 selection that wins. You would collect £3 from that winning bet. You then go and put that £3 on another selection that wins at 6/42.50. You collect your £7.50 winnings and proceed to put it on another selection... and so on.

An acca bet cuts out all the toing and froing, and it also means that you don't have to wait for one selection to end before placing another bet. But the process is exactly the same: all selections must win, and if they do then all the odds are combined.

Example:

You place a £2 five-leg acca on the following teams to win their football matches;

- Tottenham to beat Arsenal @ 2/13.00
- Man City to beat Liverpool @ 1/12.00
- Newcastle to beat Sunderland @ 1/21.50
- Derby to beat Burton @ 4/91.44
- Celtic to beat Rangers @ 6/42.50

All five of your selections win, meaning your accumulator is a successful one. Your winnings are calculated as follows;

*the £ return after the first leg becomes the new £ stake for the next leg and so on

- £2 on a 2/13.00 returns £6 (£4 winnings plus £2 stake)
- £6 on a 1/12.00 returns £12 (£6 winnings plus £6 stake)
- £12 on a 1/21.50 returns £18 (£6 winnings plus £12 stake)
- £18 on a 4/91.44 returns £26 (£8 winnings plus £18 stake)
- £26 on a 6/42.50 returns £65 (£39 winnings plus £26 stake)

This means that by correctly predicting the outcome of five football matches in your accumulator, you will get returned £65 for your £2 stake.

What if one of my selections is a non-runner?

A non-runner (a selection that doesn't participate - a football match being cancelled or a horse being taken out of a race for example) doesn't void your acca, it simply means that the relevant selection is removed from your bet.

In the five-leg acca example above, let's pretend that your first four selections win but the Celtic v Rangers match is postponed due to poor weather conditons. The Celtic selection simply becomes a non-runner and your bet is settled as a winning four-leg acca, returning £26 for your £2 stake.

Acca Edge

Acca Edge is exclusive to Betfair and is a an option that will be available to you when you have added at least four selections to your betslip.

Acca Edge will slightly reduce the combined odds of all your acca selections but should just one leg of your acca let you down then you will get your stake back in cash.

Below is a screen shot of a £5 four-leg acca where we have used Acca Edge, meaning our odds have been reduced from 48.13 to 41.04. However, we will get our £5 back should three of the legs win and one leg fails to win.

To get the full combined odds of 48.13 simply ignore the Apply Acca Edge tab, or click on Remove Acca Edge if you've already selected it but have changed your mind.

Now read more Betfair Education articles here.