How do accumulator bets work?

An accumulator bet combines multiple bets into a single wager, allowing punters to take advantage of longer odds and potentially higher payouts. However, these bets, often known as accas or parlays, carry higher risk than straight wagers. Regardless, they remain some of the most popular types of bet available here at Tonybet and elsewhere in the world of sports betting.

In this guide, we’ll explore what an accumulator bet does, its potential benefits and downsides, how odds and returns are calculated, and how you can place acca bets of your own here at Tonybet. Keep reading and find out acca risks and possibilities before you place your own!

Explore a world of sports odds and markets to add to accumulator bets at Tonybet.

What is an accumulator bet?

An accumulator bet is a single prematch bet made up of lots of different selections or wagers. Acca bets only convert into wins when all your selections or wagers win, meaning that every single pick has to go your way for you to be able to cash out. You can often pick bets for your accumulator from different sports and events.

The more selections you add to an accumulator bet, the longer the odds become, meaning that your potential return increases. Many people who choose this type of bet therefore look for safer outcomes or pick markets where favourites are likely to triumph. Those who want to take higher risks, of course, either add more selections to the acca, and/or pick odds that are much longer.

This can hypothetically mean that acca bets convert into big prizes. However, at the same time, you’re looking at spending a considerable amount of your own money, with very little in the way of a safety net or backup. That said, many people choose accas because small stakes could lead to big payouts (though there are no guarantees!).

Therefore, it’s a bet type we don’t recommend to beginners, or to punters who have financial limits in place (or with a poor tolerance for risk). At Tonybet, we care about helping our customers play safely and responsibly – and for many people, betting via accumulators can pose too high a risk.

How accumulator odds and returns are calculated

With each selection you add to an accumulator bet, the odds and potential payout increase. Thankfully, you won’t have to work out the odds and payouts yourself here at Tonybet, but it’s still worth knowing how accas work in practice.

Accumulator odds and returns are calculated by multiplying each selection’s odds by the next. Let’s take a quick look at a brief example, with decimal odds used to keep things simple.

Let’s say you build an accumulator bet with the following selections in different football matches:

If you were betting solely on the City match, you’d expect simple odds of 1.2, and a return of €6 on a €5 bet. However, as this is an accumulator, we now need to consider adding all the others to the same bet conversion.

So, the calculation from multiplying Real Madrid, Rovers and Wrexham along with City looks like 1.2 x 1.1 x 1.3 x 1.8. This means that you’re looking at odds of roughly 3.08 for all your selections to convert, and to win the accumulator bet in total.

To illustrate your potential win with the €5 wager mentioned, you’d get €15.44 back, approximately. Of course, this is just a simple accumulator example, with some bettors adding many more bets to extend the potential odds and therefore the returns.

However, this is a good example of a starter acca if you’re new to this type of wagering. There are still risks involved, with a potential loss of €5, but with treble the hypothetical return.

These are quite short individual odds, meaning that each of the teams listed may do well in the matches added.

At Tonybet, you’re free to mix up your bet builder and accumulator as much or as little as you like, and we will crunch the numbers for you. However, again, it’s vital that you bet responsibly and measure risk before you get started.

Types of accumulator odds

Accumulator odds vary depending on how many events or selections you choose to build your bet with. A basic, entry-level acca bet with two selections is a double, and three is known as a treble.

From there, the numbers and naming are pretty predictable and straightforward. You can set four-fold, five-fold, six-fold, seven-fold, eight-fold, nine-fold bets and more, from different events or the same selection.

If you follow lots of different sports, you may wish to add different events and markets to an accumulator so that you can make the most of the odds on offer. Here’s how that might look and work in practice:

Keep in mind that this table is just an illustration of what you might expect. The odds listed here aren’t live or accurate! However, we can again use our acca calculation from earlier to work out how much you might receive on the back of a €5 bet on all six of these events.

So, let’s multiply 1.4 x 1.3 x 1.7 x 2.1 x 1.8 x 1.9. This brings us to a total accumulator at 22.22 odds. That’s a pretty long shot for all the selections to convert, even if some of them are pretty nailed on (and you’ve picked a few favourites). That’s because while each event may be individually likely to happen, they are much less likely to occur all together at once.

With our €5 bet, we’d get a return of €111.10, approximately, if all of these selections convert. Some punters may feel that this is a measured risk, but remember that if one selection doesn’t win, you don’t get any money back.

If you’d like to try accumulator bets, we suggest starting low with doubles or trebles. Only ever bet what you can afford – and, if you’re new to sports betting, opt for basic straight bets and study form in your favourite sports before you try anything more complex.

How to place an accumulator bet

Placing an accumulator bet at Tonybet starts with a quick deposit into your account, before browsing the different sports and events available in the sportsbook section of the app or desktop site. You can browse different sports and markets and add them to your bet slip, whether as part of straight bets or as selections towards a bigger acca (or ‘multi bet’ on your bet slip). Bets created with our bet builder cannot be added to an acca bet. Don’t worry – you can still place those bets in the ‘singles’ section on your bet slip.

Tonybet calculates your odds and potential returns on any wagers you place, regardless of how complex. Therefore, while we’ve equipped you with the calculations knowledge earlier in this guide, you won’t have to worry about breaking out the abacus to get started.

We often run promotions for sports accumulators, so make sure to log in regularly and follow us on socials for the latest deals.

Keep up to date with Tonybet

Accumulator bets are some of the most popular wagers with our customers for a reason. They offer lots of potential, though they are regarded as some of the riskiest bets around, particularly as you add more selections and events along the way.

We think that acca bets give you a good opportunity to explore different markets and events if you don’t have one particular favourite you follow. That said, we would never encourage you to try accumulators unless you are well aware of the risks involved, and how much you could lose if the bet doesn’t convert.

Tonybet is always here to help you dive into the latest betting markets at the most competitive odds in Ireland online. If you need any help exploring accumulator bets or want to know more about other types of betting available through our platform, reach out to the Tonybet team for guidance.

Check out the latest events and odds available for accumulator bets at Tonybet Ireland!