How Parlay Bets Work

Parlay bets, also known as accumulators or combo bets, are individual wagers that combine two or more bets and require all of the outcomes to be correct. From the bettors perspective, the parlay is enticing because you stand to win more than if you had made each bet individually (assuming each side’s total betting amounts are equal). By definition, a parlay is a group of multiple individual bets (two or more) that are connected together and treated as one big wager. In order to win the entire bet, you have to win each of the individual bets on your parlay. If you lose one individual bet, then you lose the entire parlay bet. A parlay bet is one of the most popular forms of sports betting. What's great about parlays is that sports bettors can bet on two or more point spreads, OVER/UNDERs or Moneyline Bets, earning a higher payout if all of their picks win as opposed to making a single bet on each one individually. What Is A Parlay Bet? A parlay bet is a sports bet that combine multiple straight bet wagers on one ticket.

The majority of people betting on sports go with the straight bet, but the parlay betting could offer many benefits and should not be shun. Before we get to the meat of it, let's briefly look at what is 'parlay betting' and explain how it works. Most of the bettors are quite familiar with the straight bet, that is a single bet on the outcome of a sporting even. An example of straight bet is the point spread on a football game. You only win if the team you bet on covers the spread and you win according to the odds.

What the parlay bet offers you is to drastically increase your payout odds, while increasing the risk you take, as well. In its essence a parlay bet is a wager on two or more different events and the bettor wins only when all wagers are winners. There are different forms of parlay bets that would allow you to win even if one or more of the bets in the parlay are losers, but we will focus solely on the regular parlay in this article.

The major benefit of going with a parlay bet instead of straight bet is the chance to increase your winnings significantly. This is because the payout of the parlay bet is calculated by multiplying the odds of each individual bet in the parlay and the final result is multiplied by your wager. Let's look at an example and you'd be able to instantly see how much more money one could win by placing a parlay instead of straight bet. For this example we will use decimal odds, instead of American odds, as the decimal odds are much easier to calculate in a parlay. Don't worry, every sportsbook has the option to display the odds in decimal form and if you are going to place a parlay bet we advise you to switch the odds display to decimal to make it easier to calculate your possible payout.

Back to the example of parlay betting. Let's say we have decided to place a parlay bet on three basketball games. All the bets are on the over/under outcome of the three NBA games and we have decided that they all will be 'over' the total. Let's say that the odds on the first game to go over the total are 1.91 (or -110), the second game 1.87 (-115) and the third game 1.95 (-105). As we mentioned earlier, the payout of a parlay bet is calculated by multiplying the odds of each game and then multiplying the total by the amount wagered. So in this case, if we bet $100 on the above parlay wager, the payout would be calculated as follows: 1.91x1.87x1.95x100=$696.4, so the payout on this parlay bet would be roughly around $696 while risking $100, thus the actual winnings are $596 (since we risked $100 out of our pocket). On the other side, if you were to risk $100 on every single game as a single bet instead, your payout would be calculated as follows: 191+187+195=573, but we would have wagered $300, which after we subtract from the total payout of $573 leaves us with just $273 in actual winnings.

It's obvious that if we went with the single bet on the three basketball games we not only wagered 3 times the amount, as compared to the parlay, but we won barely half the winnings we would've gotten with a parlay of only $100.

So where is the parlay betting catch? Simple - you must win all the bets in the parlay in order to collect. In other words, if we use the previous basketball parlay as an example, you must guess all three games correctly to win. If one of the games finished as 'under', you would've lost your bet. Naturally the risk is higher with the parlay but the winnings are much, much bigger.

A parlay is a single sports wager that involves two or more bets combined into one. This can include point spreads, moneylines, totals, futures, or even prop bets, as long as the bets are on different games.

The allure of these bets has always been a larger payout than choosing a single team to win. But there’s more gamble to these types of wagers because every “leg” of the parlay needs to not lose in order to win. If one leg loses, the whole parlay loses.

The flexibility of a parlay bet also makes it attractive to gamblers. You can combine multiple sports into your parlay bet; for example, you can include the Cowboys from the NFL, the Celtics from the NBA and the Coyotes from the NHL into a single bet. If they all win, you win.

Test out the parlay calculator above and compare odds at different sportsbooks to see how it works!

Placing a parlay bet

There are two ways to place a parlay bet and both are quite simple. Bettors can either tell the ticket writer directly which teams and totals they’d like to bet on and how much they’d like to risk on the bet. Filling out a parlay card is the other option for placing this kind of bet. Once the card is filled in, the bettor simply needs to visit the sportsbook desk to place the bet.

Some mobile sports wagering apps offer both types of parlay bets.

Get the best parlay deal at online sportsbooks with Parlay Insurance here:

Winning a parlay

There are two instances when a parlay can be a winning bet. A parlay only wins if none of the sides, totals or moneylines selected is a loser. The parlay can still be a winner if a game is canceled or ends in a tie. The pay schedule will simply more down to the lesser payment. For example, the bettor will win if a baseball parlay for four teams has three winners and one game is canceled because of rain. The bet will only pay based on the schedule for three winners instead of four as originally planned. The bet is a loser if one pick for a parlay is wrong.

Parlay odds

Not all parlay payouts are the same. Sportsbooks may have different odds for the number of teams bet in a parlay. This can be very confusing when looking at online sports that have different odds and payouts for the same parlay. Further, these odds may change at any time so bettors should check with the ticket writer in sportsbook before placing a parlay.

Parlay payouts

Payouts for a parlay are fixed by the time the bet is placed. Even if the lines and odds for an individual game move, the parlay lines and odds won’t change from when the parlay bet was placed. The parlay bet won’t be changed whether the lines change for or against the bettor.

If the lines change for a game, or games, in the favor of the bettor another parlay may be bet with the new line. The original bet cannot be changed and the bet will stand. The good news is that the bettor has two live parlay bets.

Types of parlays

A parlay is a type of sports bet and there are different variations of this kind of wager. The most common types of parlays are Round Robin parlays and Teasers.

Round Robin

A Round Robin bet is placing multiple parlay wagers at once. It’s just that simple. Round Robin bets are just a way to simplify making multiple parlays. When a bettor “Round Robin’s” teams in sports betting it’s similar to a horse bettor “boxing” horses for an exacta or trifecta bet in a race.

The bettor will select anywhere from 3 to 8 teams or totals to be in the Round Robin. They will then choose how many teams or totals they’d like to tie together for the Round Robin. For example, a bettor may select eight teams and totals for a Round Robin and tie the parlays to as many three-team combinations as possible.

The combination of teams will dictate how many different parlays the bettor has. Continuing the example, if a bettor wants to Round Robin eight teams they will have 28 different parlays if they choose two teams. If the bettor chooses to make three-team parlays they will have 56 different parlay tickets.

How Do Parlay Bets Work

The ticket will cost the amount chosen for each parlay. If the bettor only has $300 they might choose to Round Robin the teams by two, so they have 28 different parlays for $10 each. The payout for each winning parlay is the same as it would be if the parlay bets were each made individually.

Teaser

A teaser is similar to a traditional parlay where the bettor can select multiple teams or totals. However, there are no moneylines allowed with a teaser. Unlike a parlay, the bettor may move each point spread or total plus or minus a certain number of points. The additional points on the spread or total make these bets easier to win and thus they pay less than a traditional parlay.

Teaser bets can change the point spreads or totals anywhere from six to 10 points. However, each leg of the teaser must use the same number of points. Those legs of the teaser may go in different directions.

• For example, the New England Patriots -7 can be teased down six points to -1. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns can be teased up six points from +4 to +10 points.

Much like a traditional parlay, the more teams involved with a teaser the better the payoff. Again, different sportsbooks have different odds and rules so they might have different payouts and teaser options available to bet.

Parlay Cards

Best Parlay Bets

The more popular way to bet parlays in casinos today seems to be with a Parlay Card. These are the long narrow cards where bettors fill in the numbered circle of the side or point spread they want to include in their bet. Once the teams and totals are chosen the bettor simply presents the filled in portion on the card to the ticket writer in the sportsbook along with how much they’d like to wager.

How Parlay Bets Work

Parlay Cards are especially popular during football season. There are many different types of Parlay Cards including a variety of teasers, ties win and reverse teaser cards known as pleasers. These are more popular every year so the mobile sports wagering apps have started to add Parlay Cards for mobile bettors.