Accumulator vs Lucky 15 – Which Is Best?
When you start making accumulator bets, one of the most frustrating aspects is when you land several selections and just one or two let you down.
Well if that’s how you feel then a Lucky 15 might be more to your liking.
In this article, we’ll explain what the key differences are between an accumulator and a Lucky 15 as well as looking at the positives and negatives of each bet.
First however, we need to understand what each type of bet clearly is before we can examine their relative merits in detail (already know? then skip to acca vs lucky 15 section).
What is an Accumulator bet?
An accumulator bet is a single bet of multiple selections (though bets of two or three selections are usually called ‘doubles’ or ‘trebles’) where all the selections included as part of the bet must win, in order for the overall bet to win.
The odds on the bet are cumulative, which means that if you placed an accumulator bet on four selections, each of which was priced at 4/1, then for a £10 stake, your total return would be £6,250 (odds of 624/1).
What is a Lucky 15 Bet?
A Lucky 15 bet is a 4-selection multiple bet where the user places 15 different bets on a wide variety of singles, doubles, trebles and one four-fold accumulator bet.
This kind of bet is more flexible than an accumulator bet as it means even if just one selection wins, the player will earn a return, though that return may not be enough for the bet to be profitable.
In a Lucky 15 bet, the punter places the following bets on the four selections:
- Four Single Bets: Selection 1, Selection 2, Selection 3 and Selection 4
- Six Double Bets: Selections 1 & 2, Selections 1 & 3, Selections 1 & 4, Selections 2 & 3, Selections 2 & 4 and Selections 3 & 4
- Four Treble Bets: Selections 1, 2 & 3, Selections 1, 2 & 4, Selections 1,3 & 4, Selections 2, 3 & 4
- One Fourfold Bet: Selections 1, 2, 3 & 4
Accumulator vs Lucky 15 – Which To Place
How does each type of bet compare to the other? Let’s take a closer look to try to determine whether you should place an accumulator or lucky 15.
Accumulator Positives & Negatives
+ Cheap to place: An acca bet is only one bet, hence it is considerably cheaper to place than a Lucky 15 Bet to the same unit value. A £10 acca bet for example costs £10, A £10 Unit stake Lucky 15 bet, costs £150.
+ Big returns: A successful acca bet offers generally big returns.
+ Easy to understand: Even novice punters can understand how simple an acca bet is.
+ Lots of great acca promotions available: If you want to get added value on your acca a number of bookmakers, notably Betfred, Paddy Power and BetVictor offer superb promotions for acca bets (see full list here).
+ Flexible: You can make as many or as few selections to your acca bet as you like. You are not limited to simply four selections.
– All selections must win to win: There’s no flexibility with an acca bet, all your selections must win in order for you to get a return. If one fails to do so, you lose the bet.
Lucky 15 Bet Positives & Negatives
+ Not all selections need to win to generate a return: Pick just one winner on a Lucky 15 bet and you’ll generate a return, the more winners out of your four selections you land, the bigger the return will be.
+ You cover all betting options: A Lucky 15 bet covers all key betting options for your chosen selections, so no matter how your selections win, if they win, you’ll win that combination bet.
+ Acca bet is included: A lucky 15 bet does include a wager on all four selections winning, the exact same bet as an accumulator bet.
– Not the easiest bet for beginners to understand: Working out your potential winnings if one, two or three of your selections win can be very difficult, especially for beginners.
– Set number of selections: To place a Lucky 15 bet, you can only make four selections.
– Small returns if all your selections don’t win, or if one loses: If not all your selections win, then the returns you get may only be small and in some cases may not even cover the cost of placing the Lucky 15 bet.
– Bet cost: A £10 unit stake accumulator bet costs £10. To place the same £10 unit stake Lucky 15 bet, would cost £150 as it is 15 x £10 bets.
When is an accumulator better?
If you want to place a low risk, high reward bet then an accumulator is definitely the best choice.
These type of bets are more affordable and offer a much larger return on your bet if successful. They are the ideal choice for the punter who wants to win big, but risk a little. Check out this list of the best bookmakers for accumulators to make sure you get the best deal possible when you place your bet.
When is the Lucky 15 better?
A Lucky 15 bet is more suited to a more experienced punter with a view on long term profitability and who has a larger bankroll available to them.
They are great bets for punters who want to cover all the options with their selections and who may be confident about some of their picks, but who want a bet flexible enough to offer a return if not all their selections win.
They are a better choice for a punter who is prepared to risk more on the bet, in order to receive more regular, but considerably smaller returns. Many bookmakers actually offer Lucky 15 bonuses and promotions which can add really boost your winnings. You can get triple odds if only one of your selections come in and between a 10-15% bonus if all win.
