How Do Each Way Accumulators Work?

If you’ve been in and around sports betting for a while, you may already be familiar with what an accumulator is. And you may even be aware of what each way means.

This sort of betting tool allows the punter to hedge their bets slightly by paying out on a selection that places but doesn’t win at a fraction of the odds, as well as paying out the full amount if it wins.

This means the bet has more chance of returning something, even if your selection proves to be incorrect. Of course, it costs the same again to place an each way bet so there is the stake size to take into consideration.

An accumulator is simply a bet that pays out on a number of different selections all coming in as predicted, but if one of your selections lets you down, the whole bet is lost.

So what happens when you put them both together as an each way accumulator?

What is an Each Way Accumulator?

An each way accumulator combines both aspects of the term: we are placing a number of flutters, typically four or more, on the same betslip, enjoying the greater returns of the accumulative odds if each of our selections lands.

But the difference between an EW acca and a standard one is that we have some of our risk mitigated by securing a return even if our picks don’t win – we’ll trouser a return as long as they each finish in the places as a minimum.

And that’s in stark contrast to the traditional accumulator, which is an ‘all or nothing’ bet type in which either all of our selections win and we profit, or they don’t and we say goodbye to our stake.

Each way accumulators are popular amongst golf punters, who will pick out a winner from each of the weekly tours and package them together in an EW flutter. These coupons can also be used to bring together a number of outright selections across football, basketball, American football, tennis, snooker and pretty much any other sport you can think of.

But, for the most part, the most popular application is in horse racing, and that’s where we’ll focus our attention in this guide.

Each Way Accumulator Explained

When you make an each way bet, you are getting your hands on two propositions: the win part of the wager and the place part.

The win bit is self-explanatory, and the object of an each way accumulator is to have all of your selections triumph – that will ensure you enjoy the full profit.

If one or more of your horses finishes in the places, the return on your each way accumulator will be recalculated and you will be able to win the adjusted rate. The math is based upon the each way terms, so if your horse finished in the places in an eight-horse handicap then you would secure 1/5 odds on your pick.

This is a general guide of how most bookmakers pay out on each way bets:

• 2-4 runners – win only
• 5-7 runners – 1/4 odds on second place
• 8+ runner non-handicap – 1/5 odds on second and third
• 8-11 runner handicap – 1/5 odds on second and third
• 12-15 runner handicap – 1/4 odds on second and third
• 16+ runner handicap – 1/4 the odds on second, third and fourth

For showpiece races like the Grand National, many bookmakers will loosen their each way terms and pay out on as many as the first eight horses home.

Each Way Accumulator Calculator

So let’s take a look at a few examples that highlight how an each way accumulator works.

Here’s the odds that we have taken on a five-fold EW acca:

• Fleurman – 3/1
• The Paddy Pie – 4/1
• Bring the Action – 9/2
• Annie’s Prayer – 8/1
• Strike of Lightning – 28/1

We’re going to put on a £5 each way bet, and so our total outlay is £10 (£5 on the win part, £5 on the places). The bookies are paying 1/5 odds on second and third in each race.

If all five of our horses win, our accumulator pays out to the very happy tune of £144,099.50 – very nice!

Now let’s look at another scenario. What happens if we have four winners and Strike of Lightning places:

As you can see, our payout drops markedly if just one of our horses fails to win, and so for four winners on a five-leg accumulator we are getting odds of around 460/1….so is there a better option than an each way accumulator?

Each Way Accumulator vs Super Yankee

As we know, if one leg of our each way accumulator fails – i.e. doesn’t win or place – then we lose our stake outright.

But what about the cover bet types? These allow us to secure a payout even if one of our horses fails to finish in the places.

Below is a calculation for a Super Yankee (sometimes known as a Canadian), a wager which features 26 individual bets on our five selections (10 x doubles, 10 x trebles, 5x four-folds and 1x five-fold). This is a win only proposition, and as we are required to place 26 bets our unit stake is £0.40 (which totals 10.40).

Our first four selections win, but Strike of Lightning sadly does not:

As you can see, our return is far greater for the Super Yankee than our each way accumulator in the same set of circumstances, although it should be noted too that if Strike of Lightning had won our total return would have been £23,368.20 – more than £120,000 less than the EW acca.

And if all of our horses place, the each way accumulator still pays out – a Super Yankee would yield absolutely nothing.