Whenever a new bettor signs up with a sportsbook, it’s advisable to keep things simple. Taking single bets on outright winners or, possibly, each way punts is the way to go when you’re learning the ropes. Many experienced punters continue to carry out this practise – preferring to just focus on one horse, one individual sports person or one team.
There may, however, come a time when you want to look at something else. Acca – or also known as accumulator betting – is one way to move your sports betting journey forward but what is it all about? If you’ve ever asked the question what is an acca bet, please read on.
What is an Acca Bet or Accumulator Bet?
Accas or sometimes referred to as accumulators, multiples or possibly even roll ups. The last three terms are quite rare and in general, you will only come across the word ‘acca’. By now, you should already have a clue as to what it all means.
An acca is an accumulation of more than one bet, starting from two selections upwards. Some punters only use the term acca bet to describe four or more selections but this can start with just two.
The key point to remember is that all of the selections must come in in order to claim a profit. So, if you pick four teams to win in the English Premier League on one given weekend, all four of those sides have to win in order for the acca bet to land. If one or more of those teams doesn’t come away with three points, the bet will fail and your stake will be lost.
This makes accumulators distinctly different from formulas such as Lucky 15s, Lucky 31s or a Goliath where there is some leeway. Think of them as straight lines where all of the selections have to win in order for profits to be released.
In terms of those returns, stakes are multiplied as we work through the acca. Therefore, if your first selection is at 5/1 and you stake £10.00, a profit of £50.00 will be added to the stake for the next leg of the acca. Therefore, while the exposure is higher and the chances of losing your stake are greater, the profits involved can be seriously good when they do land.
How to Pick the Best Football Acca Bets?
Now that we’ve answered the question what is an acca, it’s time to look at the practise in greater detail. Any system will always attract its own set of strategies. Along with horse racing, football is the most popular sport for accumulator bets so let’s discuss how to pick the best acca bet. Let’s see some simple football accumulator tips.
Many bettors like to keep things simple and just back four or more teams who they think will win their games. Simplicity isn’t to be dismissed and if you’re new to accumulator betting, this is the perfect place to start. If you like, you can just back four short priced favourites: As strategies go, this may not be the worst path to take but remember, it only takes one of those teams to let you down and your stake will be lost.
Alternatively, you can place an acca bet on any of the available markets that the bookmaker is offering. So, for example, you can pick four players from different sides and construct an accumulator based on the First Goalscorer market.
Those who publish betting strategies on accumulators suggest options such as Total Goals. A common bet among punters is to go Over the 2.5 line and you could opt to do this with multiple selections. However, one noted strategy is to reduce that to Over 0.5 and to make lots of selections – maybe 10 or more. The individual odds for each game will be poor – maybe 1/20 – but if you multiply that over several picks, they will improve. As we only need one goal in each game for that acca bet to deliver, it’s a strategy that you may want to consider.
Accumulator Betting Tips and Predictions
The general consensus among those who are experienced with accumulator bets is to start with low stakes and with short odds. We all dream of landing the life changing big win and while accumulators have provided a route to this for some punters, that type of success is very rare.
At the other end of the scale, betting with a stake of just £1.00 on odds-on picks can still have a substantial effect if all of the picks come through. So the first tip is to start low and, if you want to, you can always build up if you get a few nice wins under your belt.
As for predictions, you can do some research into form and other betting trends such as previous head to head results. The research involved is the same as you would put in for a single bet so there is no mystery there. Alternatively, you could identify a betting tipster that you like and you can always check out our preview of the big English Premier League matches.
Advantages of Accumulator Betting
As we have already seen, the big advantage of accumulator bets lies in the potential to increase your returns. If you pick just two selections, the fact that your profits roll over onto the next bet means that there is the chance of claiming some seriously big winners and that is the main reason why acca bets are so popular.
There are other advantages: Many sportsbooks realise the popularity of accas and they will therefore look to attach a number of offers and promotions to them. These will generally come in two different forms of bets which are known as acca boosts and acca insurance deals.
Acca Boosts
An acca boost will increase your profits even further but you will need all of your picks to win if the lift is to kick in. Those increases will vary depending on the bookmaker and the offer in question but they may typically start at 5% for three correct selections and increase to 100% for winning 16-folds and higher.
Accumulator Insurance Offers
An accumulator insurance offer would typically refund losing bets if just one leg of an accumulator doesn’t win. Once again, terms will vary but you can expect to have to nominate at least four selections to qualify for this type of bet.
Here are some of the best examples from around the sportsbooks.
GentingBet’s Offer
The acca insurance offer from GentingBet relates to single stakes in the football markets and requires a 5-fold in the pre-match options in order to qualify. Here are the significant terms of the deal.
Bet a minimum of £10.00 on five or more picks with selections that will be settled on the same day. The combined odds must reach a minimum of 5/1 and at least three of those picks must carry a minimum price of 1/2. When settled, if one of those picks lets you down, Genting will refund losing stakes between £10.00 and £20.00.
That refund will arrive as a free bet token within 48 hours and you have 7 days in which to use it. You can claim this once a day if you like so this is a generous offer that can be repeated throughout the season.
Ladbrokes’ Acca Insurance
Ladbrokes also publish a 5+ Acca Deal in the football markets with slightly different terms and in this instance, you can claim back losing stakes up to £25.00. Bets must be placed in the pre-match markets only and with this offer, you have to play in certain leagues.
That still gives you a very wide and varied choice for your acca: stakes can be placed only in the result – win / draw / win – markets and you must select at least five teams pre-match and all games will need to be settled on the same day.
If all of your picks win, you can collect a profit in the usual way but if one of them lets you down, you can claim a refunded stake in the shape of a free bet token up to the maximum level of £25.00 or currency equivalent.
Acca Insurance from BetFred
This Accumulator Insurance Deal from BetFred also relates to football and applies to straight line multis with a minimum of five selections where the odds for each pick are 1/5 or longer. There are no restrictions in terms of leagues here so select any match from the markets but be sure to stake on the result betting – 1 / X / 2 – only.
The basic terms here are very straightforward so just pick a minimum of five selections from the markets, bet between £5.00 and £25.00 at those 1/5 odds or greater, and if just one of your selections doesn’t win then BetFred will issue a free bet token matching your bet and this will arrive within 24 hours, with a 7 day expiry limit.
Coral Acca Insurance
By now, the promotions are starting to get very similar so it’s even more important to pay attention to the subtle changes in terms and conditions. Coral have their own acca insurance deal and to qualify, you need a least a five-fold with just one of your selections letting you down.
So, head across to Coral and make at least five pre-match selections in the result betting markets only. Stake between a much lower minimum amount of £5.00 and if only one of your picks doesn’t land, Coral will refund your total outlay as a free bet token up to a maximum amount of £25.00 or currency equivalent.
The combined accumulative odds must reach the total threshold of 3/1 and it’s very important to note that with Coral, you only have 4 days in which to use your free bet token before it runs out.
Which Bookmakers Offer the Best Football Acca Bets?
To identify the best bookies for this kind of betting, we need to keep in mind that we want our odds to be as competitive as possible. We want value no matter what types of bet we like to place and this is an essential point.
With that in mind, we can trust the old established bookmakers such as William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral. Added to that list are those that have been on the internet for a long time and they include Unibet, Betway and 10Bet. We shouldn’t overlook the new boys either and would therefore recommend EnergyBet, LVBet, RedBet, Royal Panda and SportNation among others.
Some of those bookies also have offers on accumulators that provide boosts if your selections land or, there may be insurance offers which will refund your stakes if one leg fails to drop in. Cash out opportunities also exist so we would suggest checking those options out.
