Fold Betting Term Meaning

The sports betting term ‘fold’ is used to state the number of selections contained within an accumulator bet.

Fold is one of the few terms that has two totally separate meanings depending on the gambling activity you are a part of. When playing poker, fold means to give up your cards for that hand so you remove yourself from the game temporarily. 

The term changes when used in a racing or sports betting context to highlight the number of selections there are in an accumulator bet. Some bookmakers use the word ‘leg’ instead of ‘fold’ but the meaning is exactly the same.

Most online bookmakers including bet365 will accept accumulator bets containing up to 15 folds. Some of the larger operators will go as high as 20 folds. To provide an example, we will build a four-fold accumulator bet from the beginning.

The first thing you must do is choose the individual selections. We have picked our bets from this week’s NBA match-ups:

  • Charlotte Hornets to win vs the Philadelphia 76ers
  • Houston Rockets to win vs the Atlanta Hawks
  • Golden State Warriors to win vs the Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Los Angeles Clippers to win vs the Indiana Pacers

Add each of these selections to your bet slip. It does not matter on the order because an accumulator is a single bet.

Folds
Selection
Odds
Charlotte Hornets to win vs the Philadelphia 76ers 2.00
2Houston Rockets to win vs the Atlanta Hawks 1.30
3Golden State Warriors to win vs the Minnesota Timberwolves 1.36
4Los Angeles Clippers to win vs the Indiana Pacers 1.53

Total Odds5.41

All that remains is to insert your stake and place your bet. The four selections are ‘folded’ into one wager, which means that they must all be correct to see a return. If any of the selections are incorrect, the entire bet will be lost. 

If you were to place £10 on the four-fold accumulator shown above, you would get a return of £55.41. The more folds, or the higher the odds, you choose will yield more profit on winning accumulator bets. For instance, a fifteen-fold accumulator with every selection priced at evens (2.00) would return £32,468 for a mere £1 stake.

Fold Betting FAQ

What is fold in betting?

Fold is a sports betting term used to describe the number of selections contained within an accumulator bet. Fold is also a term used in playing poker, meaning to give up your cards for that hand and remove yourself from the hand.