A Parlay Bet

Parlays are the Frankenstein’s monster of sports betting. They are wagers that consist of other bets glued together with one another.

• What's A Parlay Bet
• Parlay Bet Tie
• What's A Parlay Bet
• Betting On A Parlay

They are also a high-risk, high-reward opportunity for the daredevil sports bettor. If you are a Colorado resident who feels like kicking things up a notch, make sure you read this guide to parlay betting first.

How parlay betting works

A parlay, accumulator (or acca), combo bet or multi is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay is that there are much higher payoffs than placing each individual bet separately, since the difficulty of hitting all of them is much higher. The parlay bet is a lot like Casey Anthony (or Michelle Rodriguez if you prefer), simultaneously very attractive and highly dangerous. For anybody unfamiliar with this bet type, a parlay is a combo bet with two or more wagers linked together. If any of the bets in the parlay lose, then the entire parlay loses. Feb 18, 2021 There are three bets for Thurdsay's Raptors vs. Bucks game that I have my eyes on, and I’m going to take advantage of FanDuel’s generosity and package them in a 3-leg parlay to try and win big. 3-Leg Parlay @ +482 - $50 Bet Wins $240 Leg 1: Over 235 @ -110. Like I mentioned above, the Raptors have been absolutely brutal to bet on.

The first thing to understand about parlays is that they consist of multiple choices. Where other types of sports bets involve your choice of a single variable, parlays require players to predict outcomes on several different bets.

Each selection in a parlay is known as a leg. These bets can all be the same type of wager, or they can be varied. The exact composition of each parlay is entirely up to the bettor.

Why parlays are so risky (and well-paid)

The escalated source of risk in parlay betting is the fact that a bettor must be completely correct in his or her selections to get paid. Even one mistake causes the entire wager to be lost.

Naturally, as you increase the number of legs involved in a parlay, the chance of an incorrect prediction goes up. So, sportsbooks offer increasing payouts to compensate for the risk.

In fact, parlays with many legs are capable of producing some incredible wins for you. For instance, a successful 20-leg parlay in 2019 allowed a Mississippi bettor to turn a $25 wager into more than $104,000.

Of course, these stories drive more people to give parlay betting a try. However, it’s important to realize that successful parlays make the news because they are so unusual.

In a sense, these outsized payouts are not unlike lottery winnings. A bettor who successfully predicts a string of unlikely events has beaten very long odds, indeed.

Sportsbooks are, of course, more than happy to allow you to take such a risk. Truthfully, if the money you bet on parlays does not affect your lifestyle or living conditions, then they can be a fun diversion for a sports bettor seeking to get the blood pumping.

Parlay betting examples

Building a parlay is exceptionally easy, particularly on an online sportsbook. For mobile app or laptop users, they will usually need only to select the bets they want in their parlay and click a button on their bet slip to set things up.

In the following examples, the wagers we’re using are actual bets offered on DraftKings Sportsbook.

2-Leg Parlay

Bet #1: Moneyline @ +160
Bet #2: Over 230.5 points @ -113
Overall odds: +321

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The first thing to notice is that neither of these choices have particularly long odds. The moneyline is only an 8/5 underdog, and the chosen over was the favorite.

Still, their combined chances of happening are more than 3 to 1. So, even if things are looking good individually, the odds of both events occurring are much less likely, and you will get paid far less often than if you bet each element individually.

3-Leg Parlay

Bet #1: Moneyline @ -195
Bet #2: Moneyline @ -455
Bet #3: Moneyline @ -165
Overall odds: +199

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Just to ram home the point about the odds involved, we chose three moneyline favorites to populate our parlay here. To reiterate, each of these choices is expected to win their game.

However, the combined chance that all three bets will win is still almost 2 to 1 against. So, bear in mind that in parlays, there’s no such thing as a safe option.

10-Leg Parlay

Bet #1: Moneyline @ +145
Bet #2: Moneyline @ +145
Bet #3: Puck Line @ +118
Bet #4: Over 5.5 Goals @ +105
Bet #5: Moneyline @ +180
Bet #6: Moneyline @ -195
Bet #7: Moneyline @ -143
Bet #8: Moneyline @ -455
Bet #9: Over 231 points @ -112
Bet #10: Spread @ -112
Overall odds: +85379

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Here is an example of how outsized both the odds and payouts for a parlay can get. Here we have a collection of 10 wagers that are all going off at odds shorter than 2 to 1. Yet, the combined odds of all 10 events is a staggering 853.79 to 1!

One other thing to note is that, in order to construct this parlay, we had to choose from different games each time. In order for a parlay to be valid, there cannot be bets that are related to one another – for instance, you cannot bet both the moneyline and total for a single game.

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Parlay variants

Along with standard parlays, sportsbooks commonly offer one or more variants of the combination bets. These variants each have their own appeal, so judge for yourself if you want to try them out.

Teasers

One of the most common parlay variants is the teaser. The teaser is the sportsbook’s attempt to lessen some of the risk that comes with parlay betting.

Quite simply, a teaser allows the bettor to tease, or move, the odds of the bets in a parlay in his or her favor. Teasers are only permitted for point spreads and totals – it wouldn’t really make sense to try and apply a teaser to a moneyline.

You must adjust each leg of a teaser by the same number of points. So, if you move one of your selections by five points, all of your selections must move by five.

However, the movement will always be in your favor. So, a bet on a favorite might reduce the spread, but a bet on an underdog would increase it.

Of course, nothing is free in this world, and teasers come with a price. Specifically, a successful teaser will not pay out as much as a parlay with the same selections. The sportsbook charges a premium for the reduced risk.

Still, for a bettor who wants to try parlays but doesn’t like the risk profile, a teaser might be a way to slide into things. The odds will still be long, but maybe not as unacceptably so.

For more information about teasers, click here.

Pleasers

Please be aware that sportsbooks will sometimes offer a parlay variant called a pleaser. While they are less common, they are simply the mirror image of teasers.

So, the odds in a pleaser will actually be worse than a standard parlay. However, the associated payout will be higher to compensate for the increased risk.

If a parlay just isn’t risky enough for you, a pleaser might be exactly what you’re wanting. Keep an eye out for them.

Round Robins

Round robins are a fascinating variant of parlays because of their margin for error. Almost every parlay requires perfection to pay out, but round robins have no such requirement.

Round robins are bets that are combinations of parlays. If parlays were a mathematical concept, round robins would be the next power of exponent to them – the cube to parlays’ square, so to speak.

Since they are composed of multiple parlays, it is possible to win a portion of a round robin even if one (or more) of the parlays fails. The different permutations mean that parts of the round robin might not be affected by the doomed parlay.

If you’re confused, don’t worry.

Example

You have 5 bets (A, B, C, D, and E) you want to make. You could make a single 5-leg parlay that would look like this:

• ABCDE

-or-

You could make a round robin with 10 separate 2-team parlays in it. Here’s how it would look:

• AB
• AC
• AD
• AE
• BC
• BD
• BE
• CD
• CE
• DE

Now…let’s say that you lose bet B.

In the case of the parlay, the entire bet is lost. However, in the case of the round robin, six of the parlays are still alive and well:

• AC
• AD
• AE
• CD
• CE
• DE

So, even though the loss would’ve been disastrous for the straight parlay, it’s not the end of the world on a round robin. If you want to do some parlay betting but want to have some backup options, a round robin might be the way to go.

The reason sports bettors love to play parlays is apparent. With a straight bet on one game, if a player hits his or her $100 bet – assuming standard vig – he or she will win less than $100 in profits.

With a parlay, by just adding one more game to the original bet, that $100 parlay will net a player $260 in profits. Seems like a no-brainer, right?

If bettors are going to wager on multiple games, they might as well combine the bets to make more money. Plus, with parlays, they can combine different types of bets. If they love a team to beat the spread and think the total points scored will go over the posted line, they can combine both types of bets into a single parlay that will result in a bigger payout than if they were to hit on both bets individually.

Again, it’s a no-brainer.

Well, not so fast. There is a “but,” and it is a big “but” that you should consider before placing any parlay. PA Sportsbooks would not offer these types of bets if they were easy to hit. In fact, if you ask the book, they love parlays. The reason for that is also simple – for you to make a profit, you must be 100 percent correct on all of the bets.

Example: A player places $100 on the Redskins (+3) and another $100 on the Rams (-7). The Redskins lose on a last-second field goal, but only by two points, so they cover the spread. The Rams, on the other hand, win but fail to cover their seven-point spread. The player wins one and loses one, so all he’s out is the vig on his winning bet. That amounts to less than $10 in profits to the sportsbook.

Now, consider what the book would make if the player had decided to combine those two games into a single $100 parlay. Because the Rams failed to cover, what happened with the Redskins is meaningless. The entire bet is lost. The $100 wagered goes to the sportsbook, as opposed to the less than $10 they made in the first scenario.

According to a study at UNLV, sportsbooks in Nevada make a 37 percent average profit on parlays, in contrast with just 7 percent on other bets. While players may love parlays, the sportsbooks love them even more.

Because of the potential bigger payoffs to gamblers, parlays remain popular. Let’s make sure you have all of the necessary information before placing one.

Parlay odds and profits at PA sportsbooks

The following odds and profit amounts on a $100 bet are the industry standard. (However, some sportsbooks may post different odds. Always double check the odds before placing any bets.)

• Two-team 2.6 to 1 $260
• Three-team 6.5 to 1 $650
• Four-team 13 to 1 $1,300
• Five-team 25 to 1 $2,500
• Six-team 50 to 1 $5,000

Note that as point spreads change, the payout on your parlay does not. Payouts are fixed in place at the time you place the bet.

How to make a parlay bet

Most sportsbooks come equipped with parlay cards. These are long and narrow cards that look similar to lottery tickets. All a player needs to do is fill in the circle that corresponds with the bets they want to include in the parlay, then visit the counter to place the wager.

Many types of parlay cards are available — especially during football season — and may also include proposition bets.

Players can skip the card altogether and go directly to the counter, tell the attendant which games or totals they want to wager on, then pay the amount they wish to bet.

What's A Parlay Bet

Placing a parlay bet online or through an app works the same way. Because of the popularity of parlay cards, many online books are set up to mimic the ease and readability of such cards. If they don’t offer a card to fill out, they feature an easy-to-find “parlay” button that allows the player to add the series of wagered outcomes to the parlay.

Different types of parlays

The most common parlay type is the standard parlay we’ve covered. You take a series of two or more regular bets, then tie them together into a single wager. There are, however, two other ways to do parlays that increase the odds of success for the player.

The first is a round robin, which is a simpler way to set up multiple parlays. A player could bet each parlay separately, but with a round robin bet, they save the time and hassle. They can also cover themselves if they aren’t sure which games to tie together.

Parlay Bet Tie

Example: A player loves the Lakers (-4.5), Warriors (-8.5) and Nuggets (+2.5) as potential plays. Instead of having to create each of the three possible parlays or choose the parlay they like the most, the player can bet these as a round robin.

The sportsbook then takes these three teams and automatically creates the following parlays:

• Lakers and Warriors
• Lakers and Nuggets
• Warriors and Nuggets

The player must pay three times as much to place the bet because each of these combinations comes with a cost. However, the bet’s potential payout is also higher.

Some sportsbooks put a cap on the total number of teams or size of the combinations that a player can put into a round robin, while others allow gamblers to be limited only by their imagination and the amount they’re willing to wager.

The other parlay type is a teaser.

This is a parlay that allows the bettor to move the point spread on multiple games. Most popular for NFL bets, teasers offer shifts in the spread by 6, 6.5 or 7 points. The same point total must tease all games in the parlay, but they may go in different directions. A bettor can take the Falcons at -8 and move them to -2 while moving the Bengals from +2 up to +8.

Like all parlays, the more games added to a teaser, the higher the potential payout. However, the more points you shift the line, the lower the overall odds.

What's A Parlay Bet

Again, keep in mind that the rules of placing teasers can vary between sportsbooks, as can the number of points a spread can shift.

What happens when parlay legs push

One final note on parlays — if a player wagers on a four-team parlay but one of those games pushes (ends in a tie against the spread), the bet automatically reverts to a three-team parlay. The same holds true for baseball parlays for games that get rained out as well as any sport where a game involved in a parlay is canceled.

Betting On A Parlay

If a parlay ends up reverting to a lower number of bets, the odds on which it pays will also revert to the lower number.