How lay as you go works
A bookmaker accumulator pays only if every leg wins. You cannot lay the whole acca in one bet at the exchange, so you lay its legs in turn:
- Place the acca at the bookmaker.
- Before leg 1 starts, lay leg 1 with the stake from the calculator.
- If leg 1 loses, the acca is dead and your lay wins. Stop.
- If leg 1 wins, enter the live lay odds for the next leg and lay it before it starts.
- Repeat until a leg loses or the last leg is laid.
The calculator lays the last leg against the full acca return, then works back to the first leg. That makes every result come out about the same. In the example, a £10 qualifying acca at 17.1 loses about £1.92 whichever leg fails, and about the same if every leg wins.
Plan the cash before you start
Every lay you lose is paid before the next leg starts. The bookmaker pays only after the last leg. So if every leg wins, you pay every liability first. In the example that is about £163 at the exchange for a £10 acca. The lay on the last leg is the biggest, and it comes when your exchange balance is lowest.
Keep the total liability from the calculator at the exchange before you place the acca. If you run out of cash before the last leg, that leg is unlaid, and the result is a gamble. The bankroll guide explains how much float to keep.
Checks before you place the acca
- Legs start at different times. Each leg must finish before the next one starts.
- Each leg has a liquid lay market. Check that the exchange has enough money available at your lay odds for the largest lay, which is the last one.
- The offer rules match your acca. Read the minimum odds per leg, the number of legs and the markets that count, on the bookmaker's own terms.
- You know what happens to a void leg. Bookmakers usually settle the acca without it at lower odds. Your later lay stakes then change. Enter the new acca in the calculator.
When to use it
- Free bet accas. A stake-not-returned free bet keeps more of its value at higher odds. Use the “Free bet acca” mode.
- Qualifying accas. Some offers need an acca bet to unlock a free bet.
- Acca insurance and acca boosts. These change the maths. Read the acca insurance guide before you use this calculator for one.
For a single back and lay, use the standard calculator. For racing each-way bets, use the each-way calculator.
Accumulator calculator FAQ
What does lay as you go mean?
You lay one leg of the accumulator at a time, just before it starts. If that leg loses, the acca is dead and your lay wins, so you stop. If it wins, you lay the next leg. The lay stakes are set so that every result, from the first leg losing to every leg winning, gives about the same profit or loss.
Why does an accumulator need so much exchange cash?
Each lay you lose has to be paid before the next leg starts, and the bookmaker pays nothing until the last leg wins. If every leg wins, you pay every liability first. The calculator adds those liabilities up so you know the cash to keep at the exchange before you start.
Can I use this calculator if the legs start at the same time?
No. Lay as you go needs each leg to finish before the next one starts. If two legs overlap, you cannot wait for the first result. Pick legs that start at different times, or lay every leg at the start with a different method.
Is a free bet acca worth more than a single?
Often, yes. A stake-not-returned free bet keeps more of its value at higher odds, and an accumulator gives high odds from legs that each have a close lay price. The cost is cash: in the example, a £10 free bet acca at 17.1 keeps about £7.61, but needs over £150 at the exchange if every leg wins.