Sequentially Laying Accumulator Bets

by Liam Yesbets - February 8th, 2017

Sequentially laying accumulator bets (or ‘accas’) is done by laying each leg in turn, spreading the losses or gains across all possible outcomes.

Laying accumulator bets is more complicated than laying standard bets in theory, but with a little knowledge and a few tools it isn’t much more difficult in practice. 

Matched bettors have various spreadsheets that can take care of the calculations necessary to correctly lay accumulator bets, though many of these can be confusing and difficult to use for beginners. We’ve put together a simplified version which contains only the key elements for basic laying of accumulators. You can download it here.

If you like taking advantage of Acca bonuses on a regular basis, then Take a look at the Acca Matcher from OddsMonkey. This is a powerful tool from one of the leading matched betting software providers. It will automatically find you the best bets for each leg of your accumulator and tell you how much to back and lay for each leg, saving you precious time and vastly increasing the value from the Acca offer that you complete. 

How to use the Basic Sequential Lay Calculator

1Set options

The first thing to do is to set the options of your acca in the top left corner: the value of the bet, the type, and the number of events you’re adding. For this example, we’ll be using the simple example of a £25 treble qualifying/mug bet. This means we’ll be staking £25 at the bookie on an accumulator with three legs.

We enter “25” in the Back Stake field, and then select “Qualifying” and “Treble” from the Bet Type and Multiple Type fields, respectively.

2Select Bets

This is the most important stage and there is one key rule here: all of the events you select must be at different times, with preferably at least two hours between the end of one and the start of the next.  

You can use the oddsmatcher software to find good matches to add to your acca, though lay odds will change between placing the acca and laying the event. We recommend the 1x2 markets of high-profile football matches, as the odds will be less variable. Choose favourites to keep your lay liability low.

Once you’ve picked the matches for your acca, enter them in the main section of the spreadsheet in the order they take place.

Fill in the back odds of your selections to calculate the total acca odds. Next, add the current lay odds of the matches you found, but don’t place any lay bets yet.

3Place acca at bookie

Enter your selections on the bookie website and check that the total acca odds calculated by the bookie matches the figure in the spreadsheet. If there is any difference (for example, if the bookie is offering enhanced odds), you can use the Override Odds field to enter the actual odds the acca was placed at.

Once you’ve checked your selections and odds, place your acca.

4Lay first leg

Check the lay odds for your first leg and enter the current odds and the commission charged by the exchange you’re laying on. The spreadsheet will calculate the amount you need to lay and display it in the Target Lay column. 

Place the lay bet and record it in the Actual Lay column. You need to enter the amount you laid here, because if odds change for later matches the Target Lay column may change, too.

5Wait for result of first leg

Once you’ve placed your first lay bet, wait for the result of the first leg to come in. Don’t lay any of the other legs until you know this result.

If the first leg loses at the bookies, you’ve completed the process. You don’t need to lay any more of the legs. The top line of the Profit / Loss table on the right shows how much you’ve made or lost from backing and laying this acca.

6If the first leg wins at the bookies, lay the next leg

The lay odds for the next leg will likely have changed since you found the match, so check and update the odds. The spreadsheet will recalculate the amount you need to lay and display this in the Target Lay column. Place your lay bet and enter the amount in the Actual Lay column, as before.

7Continue until a leg loses at the bookies

Carry on laying your selections one at a time until one of the legs loses at the bookies, or all of them have won. If one of the legs loses at the bookies, don’t lay any more. 

The Profit / Loss table on the right shows what you’ve made or lost based on how many legs won at the bookies. For example, if the first leg won and the second lost at the bookies, read the row labelled “WL” to see your profit/loss, if the first two won and the third lost, read “WWL”, etc.