Parlay Point Spread
A parlay bet is a common way for sports bettors to increase their odds and payoffs. Instead of making multiple, single bets, a parlay bet combines 2 or more bets into one bet. Each bet within the parlay must win in order for the parlay to win. If any bet within the parlay loses, the bet loses. The more teams put into a parlay bet, the higher the odds.
Parlay bets should be used by one type of bettor, casual bettors doing it for occasional fun. Serious and professional sports bettors should only place parlay bets on very limited occasions, if ever. Since it only takes one loss within a parlay to lose the entire bet, the risk is very high. On a 6 team parlay, you could go 5-1 and lose your entire bet. Had these been straight bets, you’d be a happy camper.
Recommended Sportsbook for Parlay Bets:
Higher than normal parlay payout odds
In this article, I’ll address parlay betting strategies, but first let’s look at parlay odds and how they are calculated. The parlay odds at most Las Vegas sportsbooks are: 2 teams 2.6 to 1 3 teams 6-1 4 teams 10-1 5 teams 20-1 6 teams 40-1 7 teams 80-1 8 teams 150-1. Online the odds are similar, though some sites such as BetNow. 2 days ago Super Bowl LV parlay picks and teasers for the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Our top Super Bowl 55 parlay bets provided by Covers staff! Kansas City alternate point spread.
Parlay Betting Odds
Two types of parlay bets can be made – those that use a point spread, and those that use a money line. Point spread parlay bets have somewhat standard odds, being very close at most sportsbooks. While there can be some slight variation from one sportsbook to another, in order to be competitive they’re generally pretty similar.
Typical Point Spread Parlay Betting Odds
- 2 Teams: 2.6:1
- 3 Teams: 6:1
- 4 Teams: 10:1
- 5 Teams: 20:1
- 6 Teams: 40:1
- 7 Teams: 80:1
- 8 Teams: 100:1
- 9 Teams: 150:1
- 10 Teams: 300:1
- 11 Teams: 450:1
- 12 Teams: 600:1
- 13 Teams: 750:1
- 14 Teams: 900:1
- 15 Teams: 1500:1
Money Line Parlay Betting Odds
Odds for parlay bets when using a money line are relative to the odds of each pick within the parlay. If you’ve chosen a number of underdogs, your odds will go up. If you’ve chosen big favorites, the odds will be lower. Money line parlays are great for an annual trip to Vegas where the idea is to go big or go home. However, for people who take their sports betting seriously, they’re too high risk to be a reasonable betting strategy.
Benefits of Parlay Betting
How To Win Parlay Bets
Parlay bets allow sports bettors to make small bets with the possibility of large wins. They also allow bettors who have a limited bankroll to bet on multiple games, instead of waiting for games to end and time to collect their winnings. If multiple games are going on at the same time and you don’t have enough money to make straight bets on each game, a parlay bet is a way to get action on each game.
To put a parlay win into perspective, lets use a 5 game parlay as an example. If you made 5 straight bets for $22 each ($110 total wagered) and won all of them, you would win $20 per game for a $100 total profit. However that same $110 wagered on a successful 5 team parlay would pay $2200. But wait, before you go place your bet, keep reading.
Negatives of Parlay Betting
Any point spread tie reduces to the next lowest number of teams in the parlay. The odds for the number of teams placed in a parlay are based on the pay table below when the selections (point spreads and totals for football and basketball, games and segments) have a default line of -110. Listed below is the BetMGM/Borgata Online pay table. In the parlay number cruncher, you would add -200 for Bet 1, -110 for Bet 2, -145 for Bet 3, and -115 for Bet 4. The calculator does not need the 4.5 from the prop or the 6 from the totals bet. These numbers are important to your overall wager, but it’s the digits in brackets that are necessary to see how much you’d win.
The major problem with parlay betting is that they don’t offer true odds. For example, the true odds of hitting an 8 team parlay is 255:1, while the payoff is only 100:1. This is a big disadvantage to the bettor. Similar to Roulette, when you split your chips across 2 numbers, you get slightly worse odds. When you split them across four numbers, the odds get worse again. The same can be said for parlay bets in sports betting.
Think of it this way. If you want to bet $100 on each of 5 games, but can’t afford to risk the full $500, you probably shouldn’t be betting at all. If you can afford the full $500, you will get a better payout with less risk of losing all your money by making straight bets.
Parlay Betting Tips
There are all sorts of little tips for improving your ROI on parlay bets, but there are a couple of tips that everyone needs to know. To improve your chances and win more on your parlay bets, follow these tips.
Bet on Fewer Teams, Raise Your Bets
Parlays are often used the wrong way. Instead of placing a $20, 5 team parlay, it’s better to make a 3 team parlay for more money. While the odds are lower, the win-rate is much higher, relying on only 3 wins instead of 5. By increasing the bet size, you can make up for the lower odds. This gives you a better chance at a win and a nice payday.
If you have more teams you want to bet on, split your parlays into multiple, smaller parlay bets.
Protect Your Bets
If you have a 5 team parlay that is 4-0 going into the fifth game, you stand to win $1000 on a $50 wager. A loss in the fifth game pays you nothing. To guarantee a win, place a straight bet for $525 on the team opposing your parlay pick. This will guarantee you a minimum win of $425 no matter what the result of the fifth game is. While expert bettors don’t bet a lot of parlays, when they do, this is a strategy they often employ.
If your parlay wins, you collect $1000. This is a $950 profit from your $50 bet, minus the $525 side bet, for a guaranteed win of $425.
If your parlay loses, you lose $50 there but make $477 profit (11/10 odds) on the $525 side bet, for $427 guaranteed profit.
Either way, you can grab a beer and enjoy that last game, knowing you’re a winner no matter what.
Parlay Betting Rules in Event of a Tie
Before placing a parlay bet at a live or online sportsbook, find out the rules in the event of a tie. At some sportsbooks a tie will remove one team from the parlay, moving it down one level. For example, if you have a 5 team parlay with one tie, the parlay will automatically become a 4 team parlay, essentially removing one team from the bet.
At other sportsbooks, a tie results in a loss. This is bad for the bettor, so make sure you know the rules before placing your bet. This is especially important for betting on soccer or hockey where ties are common. Expert sports bettors never place a parlay bet without knowing these rules.
NFL & NCAA Football Parlay Betting
Parlay bets are extremely popular with NFL and NCAA football bettors. Parlay bets for football combine multiple straight bets, meaning the point spread is used. A bettors job is to pick teams that will cover the spread. If any team within the parlay does not cover the spread, the entire parlay bet loses.
While we don’t like parlay bets for serious bettors, they’re a great way to add tons of excitement to a weekend of football. Just remember how hard it is to go 3 for 3 in your fantasy league before you place a 10 team parlay.
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.
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
Parlay Payout Table
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.
3 Team Parlay Payout
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
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.
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.