How to Play Parlay Sports Betting, in sports betting, a parlay bet is made when a bettor places two or more bets and combines them into one bet. Depending on the bookmaker or region, these bets may be called ‘accumulators’ or ‘multis’.
A player must win all the small bets to win the parlay bet, and only one of the smallest bets will lose the parlay. Sportsbooks typically offer bigger payouts if you add more games to each parlay. Parlay bets involve more individual possibilities and are therefore more risky, but they also offer larger payouts if each individual bet wins.
How to Make a Parlay Bet
Parlay betting with bookmakers is easy. Below is a simple guide on how to make a bet at Parlay.
- Go to the sport you want.
- Select two or more games.
- Go to Slip Bet on the right and click on “Parlay”. Some books don’t even take this step and list the parlays just below or above the individual bet.
- Enter the amount inside and send.
Calculating Payouts – How to Play Parlay Sports Betting
How to Play Parlay Sports Betting, every bookmaker calculates Parlay’s chances of winning. We also have a handy parlay calculation tool, but if you’d like to calculate it yourself, here’s how to do it:
- Convert American Odds to decimal Odds.
- Add all possible decimals together.
- Multiply the result of step 2 by the bet amount.
- Subtract your original bet to get odds.
Assume the bettors each use a 3-point spread of -110. First, convert this probability to a decimal number of 1.91. Then multiply them together.
- 1.91 x 1.91 x 1.91 = 6.97
- 6.97 – 1 = 5.97
In American odds, 6.97 is +5.97, meaning this parlay pays nearly 6-1.
Excel Tip: Converting a list of odds in Excel? Use this formula, assuming A1 has American odds in it.
=IF(A1>0,1+A1/100,1-100/A1)
Types of Parlays
Round Robin Parlays and Teasers are the most common parlays.
Round Robin
Round robin betting involves betting on multiple parlays at once. Easy as that. Round robin betting is just a way to simplify some parlays. Team betting’s use of the “round robin” method in sports betting is similar to the way horse racing bettors “box” horses in races to win or triple bet.
Bettors select between 3 and 8 teams or all teams to participate in the round robin. Then select the number of teams or total number to group in the round robin. For example, a bettor can select 8 teams and a full robin to tie the parlay into as many 3-team combinations as possible.
The team mix determines the number of different parlays available to bettors. Continuing the example, if the bettor wants an eight-team round robin, picking two teams will result in 28 different parlays. If a bettor chooses to parlay three teams, he or she will have 56 different parlay tickets.
Tickets will cost the amount selected for each parlay. If the bettor has only $300, he or she can choose a round parlay of two teams at a time, making each team 28 different parlays for $10. The payout for each winning parlay is the same if each parlay bet is placed separately.
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Teaser
Teasers are similar to traditional parleys where bettors can choose a few teams or all teams. However, no money lines are allowed in the teaser. Unlike parleys, bettors can add or subtract a certain number from the entire spread or total points. Extra points in the spread or total can make this bet easier to win and therefore cost less than traditional parleys.
Teaser bets can vary in point spread and total from 6 to 10 points. However, each part of the teaser must use the same number of points. The teaser legs can go in different directions.
For example, the Kansas City Chiefs went from -7 to -1, down 6 points. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans can be teased up six points from +4 to +10 points.
As with traditional parlays, the more teams involved in the teaser, the better. Again, bookmakers have different preferences and rules, so they may have different payout and teaser options for betting.
Risk and Rewards – How to Play Parlay Sports Betting
“Parlays are popular because everyone dreams of turning a small amount of money into a lot of money,” said Stephen Petrella, deputy editor at Action Network. Sportsbooks love promoting big parlay winners on social media platform.
Bookmakers are less likely to win on parlay bets than individual bets, and Sportsbooks make more money on parlay bets than individual bets.
Odds for individual bets are also calculated to generate small profits for sports betting. This gives players a 50% chance of winning with a standard bet. By aggregating multiple bets into the same bet, bettors take on more risk and limit their chances of winning. “The math backs this up: the actual odds of winning four NFL point streaks combined is about +1500, but sportsbooks only offer +12 million,” Petrella told Action Network.
