Accumulators return big gains if you are not greedy!How to build a winning football accumulator.

Sports betting has become such a mainstream activity that bookies are springing up everywhere to cater for demand and relieve punters of their hard earned cash.

Betting in general is on the rise. It's now a perfectly acceptable job description to call yourself a "poker player". Being a gambler is no longer the preserve of degenerates and lowlifes.

Now, it's a fact that most people don't have an endless supply of ready cash to keep losing big bets but they do have small change to play with. Whether it's a couple of quid found down the back of the sofa or change left over at the end of the week from sandwich money everyone has a pound or two that they can afford to bet with.

The trouble is betting a pound or two on Man united beating Liverpool is not going to pay for a night out on the town. What you need is an accumulator so that the winnings from a previous winning bet are accumulated and put on the next match. In this way you can generate substantial winnings from a small bet.

The drawback is that you have to correctly predict the scores in four or more matches to get that return and as it is difficult enough to predict the outcome of one match let alone four or more then you can see why it is not a shortcut to becoming a millionaire.

Do not be a greedy Accumulator!

However, it is definitely more fun than doing the lottery and you can get hours of enjoyment from trying to put together different permutations to eke out the best risk/reward ratio.

Now, as an avid football accumulator fan the most important piece of advice I can give you is to not get greedy. It goes without saying that the more matches you add to your accumulator the less chance you have of winning so even though the potential returns can become life changing the real possibility of you quitting your job and jetting off gets slimmer with each match you add.

One of the biggest mistakes newcomers to accumulators make is adding too many games to the accumulator. For example one of my sons does an accumulator each weekend and he always picks seven or eight matches to accumulate. After a year or so of doing this he is still wondering why he hasn't won.

Or several times he bemoans the fact that he was only one match away from picking a winner. This is what I mean by being greedy. That extra match - whilst the odds may look very attractive will often kill your bet. It's much better to keep your list shorter than it is to keep extending it.

To start your adventure in football accumulators pick four matches and place no more than £1 on each accumulator. This way you won't go through your bankroll before you see any wins. Remember that accumulators generate big returns because the odds are so astronomical. That's why you won't win very often.

These types of accumulator bets are called a "treble" or a "fourfold" so when you are filling in your betslip make sure you place your stake in the betslip and then check the appropiate accumulator option.

Accumulators are a very speculative method of betting but they do brighten up the dreary winter weekends!

Three of the best online bookies to place your accumulator bet:

1. Bet365.

Bet 365 have a very easy to understand betslip which means you can pick and choose your matches and add or remove selections very easily until you are happy with your odds selection. They also have over £200 in free bets to give away which is the industry leading bonus. See my best bet offer, read my bet365 review or go ahead and open an account. You only need to deposit £10 to open an account here.

2. SkyBet.

SkyBet have a very simple and easy to use betting interface which is my favourite to use at the time of writing. They also have a completely free £10 bet offer with no deposit required so if you ever wanted to try an accumulator bet here is your opportunity. Read my sky bet sports review or Visit Skybet.com

3. William Hill.

William Hill are one of the most recognisable sports betting brands in the country and they have worked hard on their online offering so it's no surprise that it is one of the best on offer. You get a £25 free bet here so depending on your bankroll you have a good selection here. This is a deposit matched bet which means if you deposit £10 you get a £10 free bet etc. Read my review or Get it here