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Nothing is more exhilarating than scoring a huge payday from a small bet! Let’s be honest, it’s the reason most people love to plunk down their hard-earned money on a lotto ticket or a long shot horse at the racetrack. Thanks to accumulator bets, football bettors can take some big swings for the chance to substantially increase their bankrolls.
An accumulator bet is where a punter combines two or more picks into a single wager. The more picks you add, the more lucrative the payout is. All picks must come home a winner for the bettor to cash the ticket.
Accumulators are fun to bet on, but are very difficult to win. That makes finding the right strategies even more important. We’ll discuss those proven strategies in this piece.
Credit: Footy Accumulators
- Football accumulators can result in larger payouts, but they have a lower win rate than straight wagers.
- The sportsbook’s math edge increases with each leg you add to an accumulator.
- When deciding to add a wager to your accumulator, consider each club’s current form, their advanced stats, injuries, and the strength of each team’s prior schedule.
Understanding Football Accumulators
If you’re new to betting on football, all of the different accumulator terms can be overwhelming. Thankfully, the nicknames aren’t as bad as you might think. A two-pick accumulator is a double, and a three-pick is called a treble.
It gets simpler from there, as a (-fold) finisher is added to the total number of picks one is submitting. So, for example, a four-pick accumulator is called a four-fold and a five-pick is referred to as a five-fold, etc. When submitting a betting slip at an online sportsbook, gamblers will notice that the payout increases (accumulates) with each new pick they add.
✅ The Math Behind Accumulators and Why Bookmakers Love Them
Some seasoned gamblers believe that accumulators are sucker bets. While this isn’t necessarily true, it’s easy to see why sportsbooks love to promote accumulators to their clientele. For each leg a bettor adds, the sportsbook’s hold percentage increases exponentially.
In other words, the bookmakers aren’t offering you those big longshot odds out of the kindness of their hearts. They know their edge is greater on accumulators, so they have no problem upping the ante with better payouts. Here is a table that demonstrates how much the house edge increases with each leg of an accumulator.
| # of Teams | Chances of Winning | Accumulator Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3/1 | 2.6/1 |
| 3 | 7/1 | 6/1 |
| 4 | 15/1 | 10/1 |
| 5 | 31/1 | 20/1 |
| 6 | 63/1 | 40/1 |
| 7 | 127/1 | 75/1 |
| 8 | 255/1 | 150/1 |
| 9 | 511/1 | 300/1 |
| 10 | 1,023/1 | 700/1 |
The chances of winning column is based on an average bettor who wins 50% of their selections consistently. So, you can see that football accumulators shouldn’t be looked at as a “get-rich-quick” scheme. Betting a treble, four-fold, or five-fold is loads of fun, but bookmakers have mathematical advantages of 12.5%, 31.25%, and 34.48% on those, respectively.
✅ Why Most Pro Bettors Play Mainly Straight Bets
As you look at above house edges on football accumulators above, it becomes pretty clear why professional sports bettors often avoid them. The high hold percentage makes them undesirable for folks who are trying to make a living in the crazy world of gaming.
By contrast, straight bets have a fairly low hold rate of just 4.5% at standard -110 odds. The lower sportsbook hold rate allows professional bettors to experience less variance with their bankrolls. This makes it much easier for these folks to make enough from their betting to sustain their current lifestyles.
Another good analogy of accumulators vs. straight bets comes from the investing world. Straight bets are your well-established Fortune 500 companies that provide steadier returns. Accumulators are the risky startup companies often referred to as penny stocks by those in the finance world.
Pros and Cons of Football Accumulators
Accumulators are a fantastic way to make the football season more interesting, but as with any other type of sports bet, there are pros and cons to consider. The following chart shows some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of betting accumulators.
| ✅ Advantages | ❌ Disadvantages |
|---|---|
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Best Stats to Analyze for Football Accumulator Betting
If you’re fired up to give football accumulators a chance, we’ve compiled a list of the most vital statistics to analyze. You don’t have to put all of these to use, but consider this a good checklist when deciding if a certain wager should be added to your accumulator.
Current Form is King
A lot of handicappers focus too much on season-long stats and fail to put enough emphasis on how a club is performing currently. Even the most talented squads go through losing streaks. Teams that are in a funk aren’t good candidates for an accumulator.
To get a decent look at a club’s current form, look at their record over their last 5 matches and 10 matches. If you see a highly ranked team that’s 4-1 or better over their last 5, or 7-3 or better over their last 10, that’s considered good current form. Those teams may be solid additions to your football accumulator.
Expected Goals and Expected Goals Against
These are two of the top stats to check before adding an over/under to your football accumulator. A lot of punters only look at goals scored and goals conceded, but those metrics often have some noise in them. In other words, a team may just be getting lucky over a small number of matches.
Credit: BBC – Example of Expected Goals and Expected Goals Allowed
Expected goals (xG) and expected goals against (xGA) take out the luck factor in both scoring and defending. These two stats will give bettors a closer look at how well a club is performing. Expected goals measure shot quality, while expected goals against is a great indicator of a team’s defensive prowess. Here’s another handy xG and xGA table for the Men’s Gold Cup:
Credit: FootyStats
Strength of Schedule
Current form and advanced stats should always be calculated when considering a bet to add to an accumulator, but don’t forget about strength of schedule. A team that’s 8-2 over their last 10 matches with a ton of goals scored looks like a smart wager, but dive deeply into which clubs they’ve beaten.
If that club has made its hay whipping up on a bunch of lower-tier teams, you’re better off not adding them to your football accumulator. Let’s use the English Premier League as an example. Let’s say Liverpool is on a 5-0 hot streak, but if three of those five wins were against Southampton, Ipswich Town, and Leicester City, they may not be a good candidate for an accumulator.
Monitor Injury Reports Closely
When betting accumulators, you never want your chance at a big payday ruined because you mistakenly included a team that’s loaded with injuries. Wagering on a hot team is pointless if their top goal scorer is out with a sprained ankle. This is also true if a team is having to start their second-string goalkeeper.
To make sure you’re getting all the relevant injury information, wait until the day of the match to place your accumulator if possible. Most injuries are released to the public the morning of the match or at least within a couple of hours before gametime. Make sure the team you’re including in your accumulator is at or near full strength.
| Accumulator Stats to Analyze |
|---|
| Current Form: Last 5 and Last 10 |
| Expected Goals |
| Expected Goals Against |
| Strength of Schedule |
| Injury Reports |
Real Life 4-Fold Accumulator for Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup is underway, and football fans from all around the globe are fired up for all the action that’s to come over the next few days. I have four selections for this prestigious event, so I wanted to put them in a 4-fold accumulator so you can see how it works. I also included how I bet a double and a treble as well.
Credit: MyBookie
So, as you can see above, we combined three moderate favorites (Panama, Canada, and Costa Rica) with an Under between Curacao and El Salvador. I played this four-fold accumulator for a quarter of a unit (.25).
Let’s take a closer look at how the odds increase with each leg that’s added to the accumulator:
Credit: MyBookie
This slip shows how a straight bet on Panama goes from a price of -234 to +116 when paired in a double with the Under 2.5 between Curacao and El Salvador. I played this double accumulator for a full unit (1.0) because these are the two selections I feel the most confident in.
Credit: MyBookie
In this one, we see the odds shift from the previous price of +116 to +204 just by adding Canada into the mix. Though it’s difficult to win all three legs of this treble, the +204 possible payout is attractive. I played this treble for half of a unit (0.5).
Accumulator Do’s and Don’ts
In addition to our above tips, here are some final pieces of advice for betting on football accumulators. If you’re new to this type of betting style or even a seasoned veteran, this quick list will help you increase your long-term ROI.
| ✅ Do’s | ❌ Don’ts |
|---|---|
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A Word About Responsible Betting
Most casual bettors can enjoy betting on accumulators without the fear of developing a gambling problem. However, some folks are more likely to develop a gambling addiction than others and are prone to chasing losses. We’re all human, and we all struggle with different things at times, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
If you’re worried that your gambling has gotten out of control, reach out to GambleAware for help. These folks are experts at providing counseling and emotional support for problem gamblers. They can help get you back on a better path.
FAQs
How Many Picks Should I Make When Setting Up My Football Accumulator?
That’s completely up to you, but remember that more isn’t necessarily better when wagering on accumulators. Sure, putting in an 8-fold accumulator offers a seductive payout, but it’s the doubles and trebles that have a much higher chance of cashing.
Should I Ever Cash Out My Accumulator?
Again, this one’s a matter of personal preference. Most sportsbooks will allow you to cash out your accumulator early if your first leg or two wins. If the cash-out amount looks like a substantial amount of money to you, by all means, cash out the ticket. Keep in mind, though, that the sportsbooks only offer a cash-out option when it’s in their best interest, not yours.
What’s the Best Way to Track My Accumulator Betting Performance?
There are lots of ways to track football accumulators these days. Lots of old-school gamblers prefer keeping a notebook or updating a spreadsheet to see how well they’re performing. Younger punters tend to opt for one of the many bet tracking apps that are available now.
What’s the Top Strategy for Picking Winning Accumulators?
We’re sorry to disappoint you, but there’s not one. Some fundamentally sound strategies include: riding clubs that are on winning streaks, fading clubs that are enduring cold snaps, betting against teams that are riddled with injuries, and limiting your accumulator bets to just doubles or trebles. Using any or all of these will increase your winning percentage.
