Combo Bet Explained in 2020
A combo bet is an excellent wager if you want to maximize excitement and winnings. Combination wagers, also known as accumulators or ACCA bets, are made up of more than one betting selection.
The fact that there can be 10, 20 or more games in a slip achieves two things. First, it makes these bets very profitable with accumulative winnings going into the thousands of dollars. Secondly, it also makes following sports much more exciting.
What is a combo bet?
A combo bet is when you combine more than one selection on a betting slip. This means that unlike single bets in which you wager on only one game, in ACCA bets you wager on two selections and up.
Combination bets enable bettors to wager with much lower stakes compared to betting on only one game. In doing so, they allow players to get some astronomically high winnings with only a modest stake.
This is because the combined odds of all selections in a combination bet can often get very high. Backing games with only a small stake such as $2 can return some mouth-watering winnings. Compare the following single and combi bet propositions:
| Single Bet (with American and decimal odds) | Stake | Total Winnings | Profit |
| Dallas Cowboys to beat Pittsburgh Steelers -125 (1.80) | $2 | $2*1.80 = $3.60 | $1.60 |
| Combo Bet (with American and decimal odds) | Stake | Total Winnings | Profit |
| Dallas Cowboys to beat Pittsburgh Steelers -125 (1.80) Buffalo Bills to beat New York Jets -105 (1.95) Cleveland Browns to beat Cincinnati Bengals -141 (1.71) Philadelphia Eagles to beat New York Giants -200 (1.50) | $2 | $2*1.80*1.95*1.71*1.50 = $18 | $16 |
If you decide to back the first football bet with a $2 wager, you would only win $1.6. However, if you back the ACCA bet with the same stake, you would win a $16 profit.
This is because the combined odds of that four-game football accumulator are much higher than the betting odds of the single game.
Types of ACCA bets
There are different types of accumulator bets depending on the number of selections you put on a betting slip. These include double, treble, four-fold, five-fold, and larger combi bets.
Double Bet
When you include only two selections in a wager, this is a double. Here's a double bet from the NBA:
- LA Lakers - LA Clippers (Over 205.5 Points) (-110 American odds)
- New York Knicks -2.5 to beat Miami Heat (-110 American odds)
As you can see, you can combine different wagering markets in an accumulator bet. In the example above the first selection is an Over/Under total and the second one is a point spread betting line.
Treble Bet
A treble bet is when there are three single bets or legs on a wagering slip. Let's look at an MLS combi bet:
- New York City FC to beat Atlanta United (-120)
- Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC to draw (+220)
- Portland Timbers and Orlando City SC - Both teams to score: Yes (-125)
It is evident that betting on a treble is more difficult than on a double bet. There are three soccer games that you need to get right and that's not as easy as having only two selections on your slip.
Four-fold and Higher
When a betting slip has four games (legs), this is a four-fold accumulator. An ACCA wager with five legs is a five-fold bet, and a combi bet with six legs is a six-fold wager.
The number of selections in a combo bet can be as high as you want it to be unless the sportsbook limits it.
Placing a combination bet: Step-by-Step
Making ACCA bets is pretty straightforward. You don't need to have any special knowledge of how betting works and you only need to have a sports betting account. Here we will explain this simple procedure step-by-step:
- Find a sportsbook that lets you make large accumulator bets. Try to also find a betting operator that has some sort of ACCA insurance promotions. These promotions will usually return your wager if only one leg lets you down.
- If you have an account there, that's great, you can start making ACCA bets immediately. If you don't, register with a sportsbook
- Deposit some money on your account.
- Select the leagues and competitions you want to bet on.
- Choose the legs that you want to include on your slip. Only include selections that you think will come to fruition.
- Check your cumulative odds and place a stake that would produce the winnings you want.
- Submit your wager.
Usual sports for placing a combi bet
The great thing about combi bets is that you can make accumulators from almost every sport out there. This means that you can combine multiple games on your slip from popular sports such as:
- American football,
- Basketball,
- Baseball,
- Soccer,
- Hockey.
Bettors can also combine legs from different sports into a betting slip. This means that you can include games from the NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB, and NHL in only one slip. That slip would look something like this:
- Cleveland Cavaliers (+7.5) to beat Denver Nuggets (-7.5) (-110)
- Philadelphia Eagles to beat Dallas Cowboys (+100)
- New York Yankees to beat Boston Red Sox (-120)
- Seattle Sounders - Los Angeles FC - Under 2.5 Goals (+110)
- St Louis Blues to beat Anaheim Ducks (-200)
This is a combo wager that you are able to place at any sportsbook. Moreover, it's also an accumulator that is likely to qualify for an ACCA insurance offer if there is one at the betting provider.
Example of combo bet
If you wanted to see both winning and losing combination bets explained, you came to the right place.
Winning example of combo bet
Let's say you included the selections above in a betting slip and placed a $10 stake.
| Decimal Odds | Final Result | Leg Success | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (+7.5) to beat Denver Nuggets (-7.5) (-110) | 1.91 | 94:97 | Successful |
| Philadelphia Eagles to beat Dallas Cowboys (+100) | 2.00 | 20:13 | Successful |
| New York Yankees to beat Boston Red Sox (-120) | 1.83 | 8:4 | Successful |
| Seattle Sounders - Los Angeles FC - Under 2.5 Goals (+110) | 2.1 | 0:0 | Successful |
| St Louis Blues to beat Anaheim Ducks (-200) | 1.50 | 3:2 | Successful |
| Total odds and potential winnings from a $10 bet | Total Odds | Potential Winnings | Combo Success |
| 22.01 | $220.15 | Yes |
It’s obvious that the combo was successful. All of the legs that you chose came to fruition and this means that you made a profit of more than $210 on your ACCA bet.
Losing example of combo bet
Let's also say that your friend made an almost identical $10 bet to yours. Instead of the St Louis Blues though, he backed the Ducks to win the NHL game.
| Decimal Odds | Final Result | Leg Success | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (+7.5) to beat Denver Nuggets (-7.5) (-110) | 1.91 | 94:97 | Successful |
| Philadelphia Eagles to beat Dallas Cowboys (+100) | 2.00 | 20:13 | Successful |
| New York Yankees to beat Boston Red Sox (-120) | 1.83 | 8:4 | Successful |
| Seattle Sounders - Los Angeles FC - Under 2.5 Goals (+110) | 2.1 | 0:0 | Successful |
| Anaheim Ducks to beat St Louis Blues (+250) | 3.50 | 3:2 | Unsuccessful |
| Total odds and potential winnings from a $10 bet | Total Odds | Potential Winnings | Combo Success |
| 51.37 | $513.7 | No |
Unfortunately, his pursuit of higher odds resulted in an unsuccessful combo bet.
Combination bets for beginners: How to bet
Accumulator wagers are fairly easy to understand. You include as many legs as you want and then wait for them to turn out successful. However, for ACCA bets to be successful, you have to know which games to include. Here are 5 tips to help you with that:
- Tip 1: Do your betting homework. Analyze how each of the teams is playing and check factors such as form, injuries, and suspensions.
- Tip 2: If you don't have time to do your betting homework, you should read professional betting advice to compensate for this. Billy's predictions are the best in this regard. The tips on Billy's list are free once you sign up and can improve the success of combi bets significantly.
- Tip 3: It's always smart to back the favorites when making ACCA bets with lots of legs. Wagering on teams that are likely to win improves the likelihood of combination bets coming to fruition. One downside of this is that favorites come with low odds.
- Tip 4: A great way to balance those low favorites' odds is to look for bookmakers with ACCA boost promos. These will offer up to 100% increased bonus winnings if you include more legs on your slip.
- Tip 5: Find sportsbooks that have ACCA insurance. When you have ACCA insurance and one selection lets you down (provided you meet the other bonus requirements), you get your wager back.
Combination bets for professionals: How to bet
Professional tipsters frequently go for combo bets and couple them with several betting strategies. These include the low stakes approach and the fixed betting strategy.
With the low stakes approach, you only bet a small percentage of your bankroll on bets. This is usually 1% or 2% and it depends on how certain you are of the probability of a bet.
For example, if you have a betting bankroll of $100, you would only bet $1 and $2 wagers on combos. The ACCAs that you are more certain about will warrant the higher $2 wager. On the other hand, you will back riskier bets with $1 stakes.
This is a great strategy for combo bets because even with a small wager, you can get super-large winnings. What is more, such low stakes are unlikely to put you in trouble if you experience a long losing streak. Even if you do get into a losing run, all it would take to get out of it would be just one winning combo bet.
The fixed or flat betting strategy is similar to the low stakes approach. The only variation is that you bet the same amount of money on each wager. You calculate this as a certain percentage of your betting budget and never place higher or lower stakes.
There are variations to this strategy and you can utilize a more academic approach too. In this situation, you would back riskier combos with lower stakes and would place larger wagers on less dicey ACCAs.
Betting on combo wagers: Try it now at one of the top 5 betting sites
Combo bets return high-roller winnings with only a modest stake. The combined odds in an accumulator increase winnings significantly and you should try this for yourself. The best way to do this is to bet at one of the top 5 betting sites listed here.
A combo bet is when you include more than one selection or game in your betting slip.
All you need to do is select your games, back them with a certain stake, and submit the wager.
They certainly are. When you create an accumulator, you can watch more than one game and that means more fun with the same stake. On top of that, if you win, the profit that you can make from combo bets is quite enticing too.
The best accumulator bet comes with an ACCA insurance bonus and a combo boost. The insurance bonus safeguards your bet and the boost promo increases your winnings significantly.
To win most of your combo bets, you need to analyze the selections you place carefully. It also helps if you incorporate professional betting advice in your combo bets.
