What Is Accumulator Betting?

Accumulator betting is a betting strategy in which two or more events are considered together as elements of a single bet. The success of such a bet depends on the outcome of the individual events that form it, known as ‘legs’ in betting circles.

Some of these bets require all the component events to fall into line, while others can win even if one or more of the subsidiary bets are losers. Accumulator betting is a staple of modern betting markets and all the top betting sites feature a section dedicated to it.

But what is accumulator betting actually and how does the process work? Accas are among the most complicated bets supported by brick-and-mortar and online betting sites, which is why we have composed a list of facts and explanations in order to help you fully understand this strategy.

A Baker’s Dozen Facts on Accumulator Betting:

1. ‘Acca’ stands for ‘betting accumulator’ and refers to ‘accumulator betting’, in which a bet slip is composed of multiple individual bets.
2. Events that make up an acca are called ‘legs’.
3. Punters choose accas because of the large potential wins and fun while designing their own bets.
4. Accas have become increasingly popular in the last couple of decades, especially among football and horse racing fans.
5. Once you get acquainted with all kinds of accas, only then will you find a definite answer to the question ‘what is accumulator betting’.
6. Small accas have simple names – a ‘double acca’ is an acca consisting of two events, while a ‘treble’ consists of three.
7. Accas with four or more selections are simply called ‘fourfold’, ‘fivefold’, ‘sixfold’, and so on.
8. There’s no limit on how many events you can place in your acca.
9. By combining simple accas, punters can form more complex ones, such as ‘trixies’, ‘yankees’, ‘patents’, ‘canadians’, ‘heinzes’, and ‘goliaths’.
10. Complex accas can make a profit even though some individual legs are lost.
11. Some betting sites grant acca insurance, in which a bettor can get the original stake back if one of the legs loses.
12. Additionally, some betting sites also give punters a chance to win an acca even if one or more simple legs are lost.
13. Horse racing fans can also bet on their selections to ‘place’ – that is, to bet that their horse will finish in the top two or three places, depending on the number of contestants.

What Does Acca Stand For?

Acca is a slang abbreviation of the word ‘accumulator’, and it refers to accumulator betting. It has become quite popular in the last couple of decades, especially among football and horse racing fans. The reason is twofold: accas can land a punter an enormous win with a minuscule stake, and the bettor can even win even if some of the legs are losers. Accas require a great deal of knowledge about the sport you’re betting on and experienced gamblers sometimes share especially elegant, complex accas with each others for bragging purposes.

Accumulator Betting Types

Experienced punters use slang terminology to distinguish among accas. An acca’s name usually depends on the number of legs that compose it or the types of predictions in it. The winning amount equals the initial stake multiplied by the values of all the individual legs’ odds.

Doubles, Trebles, and Multifolds

A double bet placed by employing betting accumulator, or a double acca, is the one that consists of two events. Similarly, a treble acca is an acca that consists of three events, while accas with four or more bets are called fourfold, fivefold, and so on.

Trixie

Complex accas provide the best answer to the question ‘what is accumulator betting’, but they can also require a great deal of skill. Trixie is the simplest of the complex accas, and it involves four different selections. However, unlike fourfold accas, they comprise three doubles and a treble. For example, if a punter is betting on the teams A, B, and C to win, the trixie acca should look like this: AB, BC, CA, and ABC. Trixies are attractive because they are some of the simplest accas and because you are guaranteed a win even if just one leg is a winner. Trixies and other complex accas are much easier to handle once there’s an acca bet builder involved, and, fortunately, most new betting sites feature them.

Patent

Patents are slightly more complex than trixies, because they consist of 7 bets involving 3 selections in different combinations. A patent includes a trixie plus three single bets, so the betting slip looks like this: A, B, C, AB, BA, CA, and ABC.

Yankee

A yankee comprises 11 bets with four selections, and it involves 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and a fourfold accumulator. The scheme for this acca looks like this: AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD, ABC, ABD, BCD, ACD, and ABCD.

Lucky Accas

Lucky is the most common horse-racing acca, though it can be used for any sport. The first type is the Lucky 15 bet, which consists of five singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five fourfolds, and a fivefold accumulator. Then, there’s the Lucky 31, which involves six singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, six fivefolds, and a sixfold accumulator. Finally, we have the Lucky 63 which includes six singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, six fivefolds, and a sixfold accumulator.

Canadian

Also known as Super Yankee, a Canadian includes 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five fourfolds, plus an accumulator. It is a common complex football acca where at least two selections must be successful for you to win the bet.

Heinz

This is a bet that consists of 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, six fivefolds, and a sixfold accumulator. The bettor must guess at least two to get a stake return.

Goliath

This is the largest and most complex of the standard acca bets as it includes 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, eight sevenfolds, and an eightfold accumulator. Again, two selections have to win in order to get a return.

Accumulator Calculator

In order to get the most out of their accas, punters turn to tools that can help them create a bet. Most websites offer acca calculators that can be really useful when there are lots of selections to be made. Accumulator calculators help you set up the odds, the stakes, and the acca type.

How Do I Place an Acca Bet?

Before placing an acca bet, it is best to visit the chosen betting site’s promo page. Occasionally, a website may publish daily accas or the best acca selections for the day.

Placing an acca is pretty much the same as placing an ordinary bet, and most betting sites let you turn a regular bet slip into an acca bet slip. Usually, the acca option is presented right on the betting slip, and once you click on it, it expands into an acca slip where you can tweak stakes and selections.

The Bottom Line

What is accumulator betting? Now you know. Once you get started, there’s practically no end to different winning possibilities.

Accumulator bets are highly complex, as they require lots of creativity, skill, and knowledge of the sport you’re betting on. The complex lingo and volume of numbers can be intimidating, but accas are among the most profitable bets – you can easily score a tenfold win on a meagre £2 stake.

Start with doubles and trebles, then move up to more complex forms as you get more comfortable and confident, and you’ll see how easy and useful acca betting actually is.