Accumulators, Yankees and Lucky 15s: How Multiple Bets Work

An accumulator, or acca, is a single bet on four or more selections where every one must win; the returns from each leg roll on to the next, so the odds multiply. Doubles and trebles work the same way with two and three legs, while full-cover bets such as the Yankee and Lucky 15 split one slip into many smaller multiples so that not every leg has to come in.

Multiples are also easy to misjudge. This page sets out how an accumulator is settled, the table of full-cover bets, worked returns, and the arithmetic that explains why the bookmaker likes them as much as you do. The bet calculator will settle any of these for you. Over-18s only.

How an accumulator bet is settled

Convert each price to decimal, multiply them together, and multiply by the stake. A EUR 5 fourfold on four selections at evens, 6/4, 2/1 and 5/4 is 5 x 2.00 x 2.50 x 3.00 x 2.25, which returns EUR 168.75. If one leg loses, the whole bet loses. If a leg is void, for example a non-runner or a postponed match, the usual practice is that the bet stands as a treble on the remaining legs; check the operator's rules, because void-leg handling is set in its terms.

The appeal is plain: small stake, big number. The catch is just as plain. Each leg is priced with a margin built in, and when you multiply the prices you also multiply the margins. A football acca of five short-priced favourites looks safe on the coupon and loses often enough to keep the format a bookmaker staple.

Full-cover bets: Trixie, Patent, Yankee, Lucky 15 and beyond

A full-cover bet takes the same selections and places every double, treble and higher multiple between them, with or without singles. The table shows the make-up and the minimum number of winners needed for any return.

Bet	Selections	Bets	Make-up	Winners for a return
Trixie	3	4	3 doubles, 1 treble	2
Patent	3	7	3 singles, 3 doubles, 1 treble	1
Yankee	4	11	6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold	2
Lucky 15	4	15	4 singles plus a Yankee	1
Canadian (Super Yankee)	5	26	10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds, 1 fivefold	2
Lucky 31	5	31	5 singles plus a Canadian	1
Heinz	6	57	15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds, 1 sixfold	2
Lucky 63	6	63	6 singles plus a Heinz	1
Super Heinz	7	120	Every multiple from doubles to the sevenfold	2
Goliath	8	247	Every multiple from doubles to the eightfold	2

The stake you type is the unit stake, so the cost is the unit times the number of bets. EUR 1 on a Lucky 15 costs EUR 15. EUR 2 on a Trixie costs EUR 8. EUR 1 on a Patent costs EUR 7. Each-way versions double the line count: a EUR 1 each-way Yankee is 22 bets and EUR 22, settled win-to-win and place-to-place.

Lucky 15 odds: a worked example

Four horses, each at 2/1 (3.00 decimal), EUR 1 Lucky 15, EUR 15 staked. Returns by number of winners:

• One winner: one single pays EUR 3. Loss of EUR 12.
• Two winners: two singles (EUR 6) and one double (EUR 9) make EUR 15. Stake back, nothing more.
• Three winners: three singles (EUR 9), three doubles (EUR 27) and one treble (EUR 27) make EUR 63.
• Four winners: EUR 12 in singles, EUR 54 in doubles, EUR 108 in trebles and EUR 81 for the fourfold, EUR 255 in all.

A Yankee on the same four needs two winners and pays EUR 9 back from EUR 11 for two, EUR 54 for three and EUR 243 for four. The singles in the Lucky 15 are what you pay extra for: cover when only one comes in. Some firms add a Lucky 15 bonus, such as boosted odds for a single winner; those are promotions with their own terms and are not part of the bet itself.

Accumulator tips and Lucky 15 tips for today

The desk does not publish acca tips for named horses or teams, and no one can tell you which four will win tomorrow. What a tipster can do is give opinions; what you can do is check the price against your own view of the chance, using the implied-probability method on our fractional odds page. Our football wire lists fixtures and previews from the feed:

Tips wireThursday, 29 October 2026

Event	Start	Market	Selection	Price	Result
Everton v Newcastle United	19:45	Match result	Everton	11/10
Fiorentina v Atalanta	19:45	Match result	Fiorentina	13/10

• Everton v Newcastle United: Newcastle have conceded 14 in eight league games, and Everton are at home, though they have scored just eight league goals this season.
• Fiorentina v Atalanta: Fiorentina are unbeaten in their last six home meetings with Atalanta, who have won only one of their last six league games.

Opinions, not certainties. Prices move; 18+, bet only what you can afford to lose.

For racing multiples the daily cards are on the racing desk. A sensible habit: build the Lucky 15 from horses you would back as singles anyway, rather than padding the slip with short favourites to make up the four.

Bet builders are not accumulators

A bet builder combines several outcomes from the same match, such as result, a scorer and total goals, into one price. Every part must land, like an acca, but the legs are linked: a team winning and its striker scoring are not independent events, so the operator prices the combination itself rather than multiplying separate odds. Rules on void legs and which markets can be combined differ by firm.

Acca, ACCA and other wrong turnings

Searches for ACCA registration, exemptions or study material are about the accountancy body, not the betting slip. Different form of risk; we cover only the one with a racecard.

Multiples suit small stakes and a long view. Set a weekly figure, keep to it, and remember that a near miss on a five-leg acca is still a losing bet. If betting is taking more than you planned, our responsible gambling page lists Irish support services. 18+.