{"id":366,"date":"2017-07-21T10:40:27","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T10:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/?page_id=366"},"modified":"2023-02-24T14:46:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:46:31","slug":"accumulators-and-multiples","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/guides\/sports\/accumulators-and-multiples\/","title":{"rendered":"Accumulators and Multiples"},"content":{"rendered":"
Accumulators \u2013 also known as multiples, or just shortened to accas \u2013 are bets that include more than one selection of events that are not directly related (meaning betting on Wayne Rooney to score first and England to win 1-0 is not an accumulator but one single bet, as the two elements are \u201crelated contingencies\u201d). Accumulators and multiples require all of the selections to be successful for the overall bet to win. But if they are there is the potential for very big returns given the winnings (including your stake) from the first leg rolls over to act as the stake for the second leg of the bet which \u2013 if that wins \u2013 is used as the stake for the third leg of the bet and so on.<\/p>\n
There is technically no limit to the number of selections you can include in an accumulator, though because the chances of winning become increasingly small as the number of selections increase many people opt to stick to doubles, treble, four-folds or five-folds. Of course, with multiples that include a large number of selections, while the chance of success is small, the odds can be massive \u2013 which is part of the appeal of this type of betting.<\/p>\n
So for instance if you placed a four-fold accumulator bet (which are known as parlays in the United States) and each of your selections were priced at odds of 2\/1 and you staked \u00a310, it would work thus: assuming all selections won, the first leg of your accumulator would return a net win of \u00a320 and would be combined with your original stake of \u00a310 to have \u00a330 on the second leg; that would return a total of \u00a390 (including the stake) which goes on leg three of the bet which will return a total of \u00a3270 (including the \u00a390 stake) which is put on the final leg giving a massive overall return of \u00a3810 and a net win of \u00a3800 from the original \u00a310 stake.<\/p>\n
So the appeal is obvious.<\/p>\n
Types of Multiple Bets<\/strong><\/h2>\n
While the most simple form of multiple bets are the straight accumulators, for instance doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds and so on, there are various other types of multiples that punters can opt for. For instance, if you want to ensure your bet doesn\u2019t collapse if one of your selections fails, you could opt for a \u201cfull cover with singles bet\u201d which covers all possible winning outcomes from a number of selections. So, for instance, a full cover bet of four selections would include the four-fold accumulator, four trebles, six doubles and four single bets \u2013 a total of 15 bets. This particular full cover bet is known as a\u00a0Lucky 15<\/a>\u00a0and was purportedly invented by Betfred in 1984.<\/p>\n
A third to two places<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
A punter might decide to create an each way acca covering four of the weekend\u2019s big sporting events: the big horse races on Saturday and Sunday, plus the F1 Grand Prix and the big golf tournament. If they place a \u00a310 each way acca (fourfold) on this, it will cost them \u00a320. In order to win both the win part of the acca and the each way portion, all four legs must win.<\/p>\n
As with any acca, if any leg loses (in this case we mean they neither win nor hit the required places specific to that leg), the whole bet is downed. So, for example, if the first three selections all romp to victory but everyone\u2019s favourite made-up F1 driver Peter Pfazstazfuk only finishes third (each way for F1 is typically just for the first two), then you would lose both parts of your bet and thus \u00a320.<\/p>\n
If, on the other hand, good old Pfazstazfuk pulls off a brilliant overtaking manoeuvre on the last corner to pinch second, then the each way part of the acca would be a winner. The \u00a310 win fourfold would be a loser as the fourth and final leg only landed the place. However, the \u00a310 each way bet would deliver a very handy return of \u00a38,800.<\/p>\n
That equates to a \u00a310 winning acca with odds of 3\/1 (a quarter of 12\/1) on two legs, 10\/1 (a quarter of 40\/1) and 4\/1 (a third of 12\/1). If all legs would have won that return would leap to a truly spectacular \u00a3909,570! Of course, even getting four places is a real achievement, so landing four winners at those sorts of prices takes some real doing and almost never happens.<\/p>\n
The key things to remember when it comes to each way accas are:<\/p>\n
\n
Bet requires two stakes<\/strong><\/li>\n
All selections must win to land the win acca and the place acca<\/strong><\/li>\n
If any selection does not at least place, both bets are lost<\/strong><\/li>\n
A combination of legs winning and placing, or all placing, results in winning the each way portion of the acca only<\/strong><\/li>\n
Each way terms (number of places and fraction of odds) are applied on a leg by leg basis<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Each Way Doubles<\/h3>\n
Accumulators are generally a bet that bookies love as the house edge is high, as we shall shortly explain. Therefore most shrewder punters and certainly professional and semi-professional gamblers do not generally place these bets. Really serious punters may place the occasional double if they feel they have found two really good-value selections that can be combined but otherwise they stick to singles normally.<\/p>\n
An each way double is perhaps not a wager that a professional punter will make too often. However, many would argue it is a good pick for a casual bettor at the horse races looking for something that may offer a decent return and lots of interest (in the races) without necessarily requiring too much in the way of racing knowledge. Normally each way bets are only made on selections with longer odds but by using them in doubles the place part of the bet can still yield a decent return.<\/p>\n
Backing two selections priced at between evens and 2\/1 as an each way double is a bet that can work well. If both win you are nicely in the black, whilst as long as they both at least place you will make a small loss or a small win, depending on the exact odds. Only if one fails to at least place will you lose entirely and, so the theory goes, given the short odds and the fact that these are typically favourites, that is relatively unlikely to happen. At the very least you should get a run for your money.<\/p>\n
Void Bets in Accas<\/h2>\n
Void bets can happen for any number of reasons, from a game of football being postponed due to a frozen pitch, a horse being withdrawn from a race due to the ground being too firm, or perhaps even a bookie error (such as a market being left up after the event had started or even finished). With a single wager, it is clear what would happen \u2013 the stake is simply returned to your account and it is as if the bet was never made. But what happens if you place an accumulator that includes a void selection?<\/p>\n
Thankfully for those who have studied the entire card at a race meeting or poured over the stats from all 10 Premier League games one weekend, your whole acca is not voided. Instead, the relevant selection is simply discarded from the bet but the remaining selections stand as a valid accumulator.<\/p>\n
Using the fourfold we gave earlier to illustrate this: if, for example, Mr Vader was a late non-runner and withdrew from the race, that selection alone would become a void bet. The fourfold is no more but the bet continues, now as a treble on the valid trio of picks. Had you made a 10-fold bet on all of the weekend\u2019s Premier League matches that would become a nine-fold, whilst if your wager was just a double it would become a single. The same applies if more than one selection is void \u2013 any void picks are discounted with the rest of the acca standing.<\/p>\n
The only time this may be an issue is if you were attempting to claim or qualify for an offer that specified your bet must be a minimum number of selections. If the acca insurance, bonus or boosted odds were only available for fourfolds and upwards, then the withdrawal of Mr Vader would have turned your bet into a treble and thus you would not be eligible for whichever promo you were trying to claim.<\/p>\n
Void Picks With Multiples Bets<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Some sites \u2013 including this one \u2013 use the terms multiples and accumulators interchangeably, at least some of the time. In this instance we are using the phrase multiples bet to talk about a more complex wager such as a Lucky 15, Lucky 63, Goliath or Super Heinz that is made up of various bets, including a number of accas.<\/p>\n
Let us return once again to the fourfold acca we dreamed up:<\/p>\n
\n\n
\n
Leg<\/th>\n
Sport<\/th>\n
Bet<\/th>\n
Odds<\/th>\n
Each way terms<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\n
\n
1<\/td>\n
Horse racing<\/td>\n
Mr Vader to win<\/td>\n
12\/1<\/td>\n
A quarter to two places<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
2<\/td>\n
Golf<\/td>\n
Daniel Grasshopper III to win<\/td>\n
40\/1<\/td>\n
A quarter to five places<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
3<\/td>\n
Horse racing<\/td>\n
Jeremy Kenobi<\/td>\n
12\/1<\/td>\n
A quarter to three places<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
4<\/td>\n
F1<\/td>\n
Peter Pfazstazfuk<\/td>\n
12\/1<\/td>\n
A third to two places<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
If this bet had been made as a Lucky 15, rather than a simple fourfold accumulator, then the withdrawal of Mr Vader would have had a far greater impact. A Lucky 15 would have included the following bets (note that the numbers relate to the legs as detailed above):<\/p>\n
\n\n
\n
Singles (x4)<\/th>\n
Doubles (x6)<\/th>\n
Trebles (x4)<\/th>\n
Fourfold (x1)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\n
\n
1<\/td>\n
1-2<\/td>\n
1-2-3<\/td>\n
1-2-3-4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
2<\/td>\n
1-3<\/td>\n
1-2-4<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
3<\/td>\n
1-4<\/td>\n
2-3-4<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
4<\/td>\n
2-3<\/td>\n
3-4-1<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
<\/td>\n
2-4<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
<\/td>\n
3-4<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Our racing punt on Mr Vader is leg one and so any bets that include that are affected. The single on the void selection is a \u201cgenuine\u201d void and so if the Lucky 15 was for \u00a35 per line (\u00a375 in total) you would receive \u00a35 back into your account for the unplaced single. The three doubles that included the non-runner would become singles, the three trebles would turn into doubles and the fourfold acca would become a treble on picks two, three and four.<\/p>\n
In other words, whilst the impact is greater and more bets are affected, the principle is the same: any component wagers that include the void pick are reduced accordingly.<\/p>\n
Payout Limits & Accas<\/h2>\n
Earlier we suggested that the payout on our imaginary fourfold acca would be not too far shy of \u00a31m if all legs won. Whilst technically correct, this does not take into account any payout limits that might apply. All bookies have payout limits that cap the most they will pay on various events and markets. Even if your winnings are theoretically over that amount you will not receive the full monies owed if the bookie operates with a payout limit.<\/p>\n
All bookies, be they high street betting shops or online bookmakers, have limits and these vary from one company to another and also according to the sports, event and market. As a general rule, the biggest, most popular betting sports, such as football and horse racing, have the highest limits. Within those sports you will find different limits according to the market and\/or the level of competition.<\/p>\n
Just as the largest limits are likely to be found in the biggest sports, within those disciplines the very largest caps of all will be for the main markets (race winner with the horses, for example, and match odds and outrights for football). In addition, races\/matches at the highest level, for example Class 1 races in the UK, or Premier League and Champions League football matches, will have the very highest limits of them all.<\/p>\n
It is very important to note that when it comes to accas and multiples that cover a range of events (each with their own payout limit), all major UK betting sites will normally apply the lowest relevant limit to the whole acca.<\/p>\n
Once again returning to our fourfold example, a bookie might have the following maximum payouts listed on their site:<\/p>\n
If you were lucky enough to land this incredible acca you might, but were unaware of how payout limits worked, you may be reasonably expecting to win a cool \u00a3900k+. However, if the bookie has listed a cap of \u201cjust\u201d \u00a3100,000 for motorsports, the whole acca will be restricted to this amount. As such you would receive \u00a3100,000. That\u2019s a fine win in anyone\u2019s eyes but hardly the impressive \u00a3909,570 one might have been dreaming of.<\/p>\n
Given such a limit there is no need to risk the full \u00a310 stake that we initially discussed. The situation may be different if you are backing an each way acca but had you backed a fourfold with odds of 12\/1, 12\/1, 12\/1 and 40\/1 as a win single then your stake, and risk, could have been far lower. In fact, even a bet of just \u00a31.12 would have led to a payout in excess of the \u00a3100,000 maximum, yielding \u00a3100,886.24.<\/p>\n
In truth the majority of people place accas that cover just a single sport, chiefly football or horse racing. However, it is crucial if you opt for a more creative bet of this nature that you are aware of what the lowest maximum payout is across all the legs you have included and you can then adjust your stake accordingly.<\/p>\n
How Do Accumulators Affect the Bookies Margin?<\/h2>\n
![\"Multiples](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/multiples-betting-slips-400px.jpg\")
Accumulators \u2013 also known as multiples, or just shortened to accas \u2013 are bets that include more than one selection of events that are not directly related (meaning betting on Wayne Rooney to score first and England to win 1-0 is not an accumulator but one single bet, as the two elements are \u201crelated contingencies\u201d). Accumulators and multiples require all of the selections to be successful for the overall bet to win. But if they are there is the potential for very big returns given the winnings (including your stake) from the first leg rolls over to act as the stake for the second leg of the bet which \u2013 if that wins \u2013 is used as the stake for the third leg of the bet and so on.<\/p>\n![\"Types](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/types-of-multiple-bet-400px.jpg\")
While the most simple form of multiple bets are the straight accumulators, for instance doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds and so on, there are various other types of multiples that punters can opt for. For instance, if you want to ensure your bet doesn\u2019t collapse if one of your selections fails, you could opt for a \u201cfull cover with singles bet\u201d which covers all possible winning outcomes from a number of selections. So, for instance, a full cover bet of four selections would include the four-fold accumulator, four trebles, six doubles and four single bets \u2013 a total of 15 bets. This particular full cover bet is known as a\u00a0![\"Each](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/each-way-accas-800px.jpg\")
There is no such thing as a simplistic system of betting that turns bad bets into good ones or makes winning as simple as following a set structure or rule. However, there are some bets or ways of betting that are, broadly speaking at least, better than others. Each way doubles may be one such bet.<\/p>\n![\"Each](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/each-way-double-bet-slip-300px.jpg\")
Accumulators are generally a bet that bookies love as the house edge is high, as we shall shortly explain. Therefore most shrewder punters and certainly professional and semi-professional gamblers do not generally place these bets. Really serious punters may place the occasional double if they feel they have found two really good-value selections that can be combined but otherwise they stick to singles normally.<\/p>\n![\"Void](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/void-all-bets-cancelled-400px.jpg\")
Void bets can happen for any number of reasons, from a game of football being postponed due to a frozen pitch, a horse being withdrawn from a race due to the ground being too firm, or perhaps even a bookie error (such as a market being left up after the event had started or even finished). With a single wager, it is clear what would happen \u2013 the stake is simply returned to your account and it is as if the bet was never made. But what happens if you place an accumulator that includes a void selection?<\/p>\n![\"Void](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/void-multiple-bet-800px.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Payout](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/payout-limit-400px.jpg\")
Earlier we suggested that the payout on our imaginary fourfold acca would be not too far shy of \u00a31m if all legs won. Whilst technically correct, this does not take into account any payout limits that might apply. All bookies have payout limits that cap the most they will pay on various events and markets. Even if your winnings are theoretically over that amount you will not receive the full monies owed if the bookie operates with a payout limit.<\/p>\n![\"Bookies](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/BOOKIES-MARGIN-800PX.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Fingers](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fingers-crossed-betting-400px.jpg\")
If your only aim in betting is to make a killing, then unless you are hugely confident that the bookies have got their odds wrong, you should be avoiding accas.<\/p>\n![\"Acca](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/acca-boost-800px.jpg\")