What is an Accumulator bet?

When we talk about sports betting, we often talk about accumulators. But what exactly is an accumulator? Is it really a good way to make profits from your betting?
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What is an accumulator bet?
An accumulator bet is a bet on several events with the same stake and at the same time. An accumulator bet is therefore riskier than a single bet, but it can pay out much more if it succeeds. By placing an accumulator, your win will be the total odds of the bet multiplied by the stake made. Let's illustrate the concept with an example.
Example of an accumulator

At the bookmaker you selected, you realize that there are several matches with interesting odds that you would like to bet on. Everton are 1.7 to beat Sunderland, Chelsea are 1.8 to defeat Leeds and it’s 1.9 on Liverpool to get a home win against Arsenal. You decide to place an accumulator bet on all three teams winning, aka a treble.
You must place all three teams in the bet slip. This will then show you that the total odds of the bet are 5.81 (1.7 x 1.8 x 1.9). If your stake is £10 your return will be £58.14 if all three teams win, a profit of £48.14. You can see therefore that the odds are higher than if you had simply placed three singles on Everton, Chelsea and Liverpool. In that case, a £10 single bet on each of them would win a total of £24. £7 on Everton, £8 on Chelsea and £9 from the Liverpool win.
As lucrative as accumulators are, the risks are obviously greater than with a single bet. To win an accumulator, all the selections you place must be winner, otherwise you will lose. That means that if only two out of the three teams win. With three singles bets, two of them winning will produce a profit, if only a small one. It is up to you to decide what to do because the higher the odds, the less chance of you winning.
What are the tips for an accumulator?
When placing an accumulator bet, the rule of not betting on too many selections is the one to follow. They can produce big wins but rarely, especially if say there were eight or more. If you place a bet with that many selections, look at the odds of it being successful and then make a decision. Betting on selections with very short odds, for example 1.1 or 1.2 is never a good idea with single bets. The best thing to do is to put them in accumulators but remember shocks do happen and even selections that look as if they can’t lose, do. You can also follow our daily accumulator tips to know what the options are.
Which bookmakers offer accumulators?
Accumulator bets are available at nearly all of the bookmakers today. However, this still depends on which country you live in, because the same bookmaker can have different policies applied in different countries. So it is important to check out SportyTrader's list of betting sites to see the up-to-date information.
We also have individual pages specifically for:
Whichever sports betting site you choose, you can always try accumulators to practice, provided that you don't exceed the reasonable and your limits of play. Don't forget to go back to single bets from time to time. The key to success lies in varying your bets.
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