How To Lay Accumulator Bets

The betting exchange, Smarkets, has added the ability to build our own accumulators and lay them as one single lay bet.

To make our accumulator at Smarkets we first need to select the back (or ‘buy’) odds for each leg (or selection) in our accumulator.

(The back odds are the odds in the green boxes at Smarkets).

Then we need to double check that each leg of our accumulator has appeared in our betslip OK and that each leg has the ‘Multiples toggle’ switched on.

Once we know all our selections have been entered correctly into our betslip, we then need to switch the tab in the ‘Multiples’ section at the bottom of the betslip from ‘Buy’ to ‘Sell’.

When you do this you will see the amount in the ‘Price’ box increase. The amount stated in the Price box represents the lay odds for our single accumulator bet.

These are the lay odds we would use in the Matched Betting Calculator to work out the lay stake we need to use at Smarkets.

Unlike the lay odds for each leg, the lay odds for the single accumulator lay bet cannot be edited.

Before placing any bets, we need to also check what the maximum lay stake is we are allowed to use on the acca at Smarkets. We can do this by typing in the lay stake we want to use in the stake box in the Multiples section of the betslip and seeing if a red warning box pops or not.

If the red box doesn't pop up we are good to go - if it does then we can only use the maximum lay stake allowed and would need to adjust our back bet amount at the bookie accordingly.

In the screenshot here the maximum lay stake allowed would be £67.22.

When we're happy we can go ahead, once we've successfully placed our accumulator at the bookmaker, all we then do is just click Sell and Confirm at Smarkets to lay the acca off.

The betting exchange, Matchbook, regularly post up accumulator lay markets for popular acca bets.

For example, with the Skybet and William Hill treble price boosts that we often see on weekend football, Matchbook will normally create a lay market.

Similar to the Smarkets Acca Feature, this allows us to lay all of our accumulator bet as one single lay bet.

To find what acca lay markets are available on Matchbook, go to their Enhanced Specials section.

This can be found via the left hand menu on desktop.

Or on mobile, you'll find Enhanced Specials along the top icons:

The main downside to Matchbook Enhanced Specials is that they only create the lay market for a small number of acca bets each week.

Whilst this can still be useful, it means there isn't the same flexibility that we have with the Smarkets Acca Feature, which allows us to lay any accumulator bet.

The Lay Sequential method is an option for laying an accumulator when each selection is taking place at a different time.

With this method, we lay off one leg of the acca at a time. Each individual lay bet is placed in sequence and order of start time one after the other.

We continue to lay the legs off but as soon as one leg loses we stop laying.

As previously mentioned, the matches have to start one after the other. They must not start at the same time and must not overlap. There should be a very minimum of 2 hours between kick off times to allow for the full 90 minute game, 15 minute half time break and any potential injury time in games.

To complete this method, you can use the Team Profit Lay Sequential Spreadsheet.

Enter the events and odds into the left-hand side of the spreadsheet. It will then calculate the lay stakes you need to place.

Make sure you only lay one leg at a time as per the lay stake column. If that leg wins, move onto the next lay bet.

As soon as one of your legs loses, you must stop. This is because the back bet now can no longer win, and you should have received your profit into the exchange.

Unsurprisingly, the No Lay method simply means placing your acca bet, and not laying any of the selections.

This is a high risk strategy that should only be attempted if you have a large matched betting bankroll, as the variance is very high.

This method is employed by some experienced matched bettors when completing acca insurance offers.

It is consider an advantage play as we have the safety net of a free bet refund on acca insurance offers if one leg loses.

This free bet refund means that in the long term, the expected value for no lay accas is positive and you should make a profit.

But, this is a high risk strategy and you could go on long losing streaks where you don't hit the win or the free bet refund, and therefore lose your entire stake.

The main benefits of this method is that it is extremely quick to complete, as you don't have to make any calculations or place lay bets. And, you don't have to worry about whether or not the selections take place at the same time.