Although football betting is a rather simple process, the terminology can be a little confusing at times. Do you know your accumulator from your double chance and are you over or under when it comes to total goals?
The terms can seem endless – Asian handicaps, draw no bet and so on – that’s before we’ve even considered the number of legs in a bet. Doubles, trebles, 5-folds and so on, it’s a lot to take in.
Well fear not, our blog has explainers for all of this and more, and today we’re going to be lifting the lid on 5-fold bets in particular.
Place your big bets
On any given weekend, or even busy midweek for that matter, there are hundreds of football matches waiting to be played. Today’s no exception, with plenty of games in our schedule. With this much choice on offer, placing an accumulator bet is an enticing opportunity.
While for those who are still unsure what an accumulator is, it is a bet that combines multiple outcomes and in doing so, offers larger odds than betting on a one-off event. Win a bet of this kind and increased profits are never too far away. Our football predictions are designed to help users do exactly that.
A bet with 1 leg is called a single, a bet with 2 legs is called a double and, you guessed it, a bet with 3 legs is called a treble.
From there on they become 4-folds, 5-fold, 6-folds and so on. You can keep adding and adding if you like, although most bookmakers will have an upper limit on how many legs you can add to a bet.
Take a look at our live bets page to see bettors sharing their accumulators of all different sizes, and how much the odds increase as the number of legs grows.
Correctly predicting the outcome of one football is tricky enough, so the probability of a win decreases with every extra leg added. Many successful tipsters consider a 5-fold to be the sweet spot in which potential winnings are maximised and risk is minimised, and that’s why we’re focusing on it here.
Will All Five Teams Win?
So, here’s an example of a 5-fold accumulator. Five different selections in the betting slip, and the odds are multiplied:
Chelsea to beat Aston Villa – 1.80
Arsenal to beat Leeds – 1.55
Manchester United to beat Newcastle – 1.95
West Ham to beat Southampton – 2.40
Manchester City to beat Liverpool – 1.85
24.15/1
£10 stake = £241.50
As you can see the combination of five different Premier League match results has to make the return far more enticing than any of the individual bets. In order for this bet to win, all 5 predictions have to be correct.
If the five matches play out as hoped, a £10 stake would be multiplied nearly 25 times in this example. However, if only four fixtures get over the finishing line, Bet365 & co. will be the ones celebrating.
Soften the blow
However, there is a way that the blow can be softened and that is if you take out Acca Insurance. A concept which is offered by bookmakers and gives punters the chance to either earn a free bet or the return of their stake.
What Happens If One Team Fails To Win?
While this insurance is paid out if one of your five legs fails to get the job done. If we use the example of matches above, we can breakdown this down further:
✅ Chelsea to beat Aston Villa – 1.80 (Chelsea Win)
❌ Arsenal to beat Leeds – 1.55 (Draw)
✅ Manchester United to beat Newcastle – 1.95 (Manchester United Win)
✅ West Ham to beat Southampton – 2.40 (West Ham Win)
✅ Manchester City to beat Liverpool – 1.85 (Manchester City Win)
24.15/1
£10 stake = £0 winnings
As you can see, only 4 of the 5 matches ended as predicted – it’s a losing bet. Without Acca Insurance we’d be going home empty handed. With it, there’s a consolation prize in the return of the original stake (more often than not in the form of a free bet to be redeemed in the future).
Mix things up
There’s value to be found throughout the betting market, so examples such as the one above which stick exclusively to the win/draw/win market are not always the smartest. Building a 5-fold which combines multiple markets can be a very canny approach.
Our blog contains explainers for every market, ranging from double chance to anytime goal scorers, so this next bit doesn’t need to feel daunting. You’re in safe hands.
Analyse The Stats
Take the English top flight. We all know the level is so high that anyone can beat anyone, so a win/draw/win 5-fold plays right into the bookies hands. A mixed approach can safeguard against such upsets, as long as you do your research and pick smartly.
Let’s take a look at the five sample matches again, but this time we are going to offer a better way to beat the bookies.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea – Under 2.5 goals – 1.72
Arsenal to beat Leeds – 1.55
Manchester United to beat Newcastle – 1.95
West Ham or Draw vs Southampton – 1.36
Liverpool and Manchester City – both teams to score – 1.44
10.28/1
£10 stake – £102.83
As you can see, the total odds are less than half of our previous example. However, the chances of actually winning have arguably been increased and perhaps more importantly, the element of risk has been reduced in your favour.
Instead of hoping for five teams to win their respective matches, a more statistical approach has been taken. If you research the facts and figures beforehand, this usually goes a lot further than blind faith alone.
For example, we can add these additional notes to our newest five fold:
Aston Villa vs Chelsea – Under 2.5 goals – 1.72 Why? Aston Villa are struggling to score, this should lead to fewer total goals
Arsenal to beat Leeds – 1.55 Why? Arsenal are flying near the top, they are favourites to win at Elland Road
Manchester United to beat Newcastle – 1.95 Why? A good price for Manchester United to win at home, the right balance between risk and reward
West Ham or Draw vs Southampton – 1.36 Why? West Ham should be good for at least a point at St Mary’s
Liverpool and Manchester City – both teams to score – 1.44 Why? These two teams love to score goals and therefore, a goal each at least seems logical
With this logic for each selection, our five fold is now raring to go and now armed with this knowledge, you should hopefully be as well.
