Parlay Betting Guide

There’s no doubt that online sports betting is a big business and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Sports bets include all types of games, including esports. Apart from simple single match bets, there are also plenty of other options for wagering and we will look at one today. In this article, we’ll cover parlay betting, a popular format that involves a higher level of risk with higher rewards.

Parlay Betting – What Is It?

Many bettors are familiar with parlay bets as they are a relatively common form of wagering. While it has two completely different names, it has been around for years and has a lot of popularity in both Europe and the United States. Europeans call it “accumulator betting,” while Americans refer to it as “parlay betting.” 

In general, a parlay bet offers you the chance to bet on multiple games simultaneously rather than betting on each match separately. Parlay wagers come with much better odds than you would expect, however, the risks are also higher. To win, each match in the parlay must be successful. A single loss will result in the total loss of the parlay. It’s that simple.

Parlay Betting: How It Works

It’s now common knowledge that parlays combine several outcomes into one bet, and every bet must be correct to win the parlay. But how does it work and what effect does it have on your overall odds of winning?

A quick math example will help you understand. Consider the following, each team has an equal probability of winning. In most sports betting sites, a two-game parlay offers a 2.6:1 payout. It means if you correctly predict both outcomes with a $100 bet, you will be paid $260, your original $100 investment plus your profit of $160. Alternatively, if you placed $50 on both outcomes separately, you will win $2 × $50= $100 plus your original investment of $100, which makes $200 in total.

It is now clear that the parlay with a 2.6:1 payout ratio nets you more than your individual bets.

The payouts are great, but risks are higher as well. It’s for that reason that parlays are popular with sportsbooks. When you miss a bet, you’re out. With more bets in one ticket, the greater the chance of failure but the bigger the potential reward.

Parlay Bet Examples

You decide to pay a $100 three-team parlay involving the Angels (+150), Mariners (+100) and Detroit Tigers (+203). A $100 bet will turn into $1,515 when all three teams win.

Casinos and sportsbooks offer parlays to combine all three types of available bets into one wager. It includes money lines, over/unders, and point spreads.

As an example, you could bet on the Braves at -1.5 (point spread bet) and on the Clippers and Nuggets to go under 198.5 (a total bet), along with the Penguins to win over the Capitals (moneyline bet). There are no limitations to the amount you can wager on this combination bet.

You must know that once you place the bet, all three outcomes must be correct for you to win.

Most sites allow you to combine a maximum of 15 games. It is a very longshot, but it contains the potential for a huge payday.

The Rules of Parlay Betting

As described above, you are permitted to place bets across different sports and types of bets, as long as each event is independent and not connected. It is essential to make one clear distinction: sportsbooks DO NOT accept correlated parlay. 

What Does Correlated Parlay Mean?

The term correlated parlay refers to betting on two directly related games. Suppose, for instance, if you think  the score of the Nuggets-Clippers game will be under at halftime and under the total at full time, then you must place separate bets. The reason for this is that one accurate result correlates with the next.

When the game is substantially below or above the halftime mark, it will likely remain that way throughout the whole game. You may, however, be able to wager on over/under and the winner in a single game because they are semi-correlated.

When placing parlay bets, it’s essential to remember that a tie, or sometimes a null/void outcome, results in the event being excluded from the bet. The following lowest number of games will therefore settle the parlay. Suppose one of the outcomes of a five-game parlay is a tie/push/void. In this case, the ticket will be classified as a four-event parlay.

Calculating the Odds and Payouts of Parlays

When placing parlay bets, here are some crucial calculations to consider. If you need to calculate parlay odds, you’ll have to use decimal odds. If you prefer to use the US’  betting odds format, you might want to convert the numbers on your own or modify the settings on your online sportsbook.

Performing the conversion yourself is easy, use the following formula. 

• The favorites, marked with negative numbers are divided by 100, then added to 1
• The underdogs, marked with a plus sign, are divided by 100 and then added to 1

Consider parlaying a favorite who is -150 against an underdog who is +360. The numbers look as follows. 

• 150/100 + 1 = 1.6666
• 361/100 plus 1 = 4.6

After converting the odds to decimal, we can calculate the payout by multiplying the decimal odds with the bet amount: 1,666 x 4.6 x $100, this equation equals $766.36.

Whenever you are wagering on more than two games, you’ll need to multiply the odds for each one by the final multiplier.

Football Parlay Betting

It is becoming increasingly popular to bet on NFL games, mainly because more eyes are focused on more games each week. It’s no secret that the popularity of fantasy leagues has contributed to the growing number of viewers following each game. Since more people watch more sports games each week, sports betting will become even more popular.

Many people believe that parlay bets, particularly football, are losing bets. You can rest assured that this is not the case. Doing your homework and understanding what each scenario entails is very important.

Consider the following factors:

• Usually, the majority of Sunday’s games take place simultaneously, making parlays standard.
• As games are played simultaneously, gamblers wishing to place multiple bets must do so since it is impossible to wait for one game to finish before betting on the next.
• You can also take part in massive pooled parlay contests, where you have to pick all the winners of the day, and the winner gets everything.

Baseball Parlay Betting

Baseball offers several benefits that make it a perfect game for a well-trained gambler willing to dedicate time and effort. Baseball fans may have the most opportunities to make parlay wagers from all major sports leagues. How so? The frequent games, intense schedules, and weekly teams vs teams series are perfect for parlay betting.

It’s not just pitching matchups but weather, rest, venues, and more. Whenever there are obvious betting options, everything lines up when the weather is favorable. It is the perfect scenario for parlays.

Hockey and Basketball Parlay Betting

As in the NHL, the weeknight schedule has a relatively fixed schedule for the NBA, with aast coast games beginning at 7pm EST and the west coast games beginning at 10 pm EST. There are possible approaches when it comes to the simplest form of parlay, the two gamers. First, you run an early-pair, a mix-and-match of early games and nights, or wait for the west coast teams to start. No matter how you look at it, it’s nice to have options.

Basketball and Hockey are the best bets during the weekend. While there will be plenty of basketball action on Saturday, it is NHL night. There are plenty of opportunities to hit a few big parlays early and late as nearly all teams match up. On Sundays, however, the focus switches to the NBA.

Keep an eye on your NHL moneyline bets since there’s a different line between games that include overtime and those that don’t.

Horse Racing Parlay Betting

Parlay bets are a great way to make money with horse racing and to understand parlay betting well, it is first necessary to understand the three basic types of parlay: win, place, and show. Your horse must come first if you bet a win parlay. Those odds, plus any winnings, are added to the odds of the following selection you make if it wins. The top two finishes are possible for this horse with a place parlay. In show parlays, it can finish in the top three.

You can also place exotic wagers within a single race, which act like parlay bets. Included in the list are:

• Exactas
• Quinellas 
• Exacta boxes 
• Trifectas 
• Trifecta boxes
• Superfectas 
• Superfecta boxes

They all involve predicting the finishing position of several horses competing simultaneously.

Soccer Parlay Betting

With one of the world’s most popular sports, soccer can satisfy any gambling urge. Almost everywhere on Earth, there is a match taking place or about to begin at any given moment.

When betting on soccer matches, you should be aware that the outcome is determined by the score after 90 minutes plus extra time unless otherwise stated on the site. 

The Best Parlay Betting System

The progressive betting system is a very popular parlay betting system. The process is very straightforward. Every time you win, you increase your bet size. By doing this, you take the profits from the previous bet, along with the initial investment, and carry it over to another bet.

It is a parlay where each bet is placed one at a time, which isn’t quite like the traditional method. You continue to let the bet roll if it wins. At some point, you will have to decide if you will take your profits or to keep going as long as you can. Many refer to this method as a ‘pyramid’ of winnings.

Assume you bet $20.

• In the first round, you bet $20. You lose.
• Next round, you bet $20. You lose.
• In round three, you bet $20. You win $40.
• The following round, you bet $60. $20 plus $40 you already won.
• In the fifth round, you bet $140. $20 plus $120 from the previous round.

After you lose a wager, you will have to start betting $20 all over again. Much like other aspects of gambling, being diligent and studying are the best strategies. One of the ways to do this is to identify sportsbooks or casinos that offer lower or better odds for the same event. That process is referred to as line shopping. Even if you have to put in some extra effort, you can gain the competitive edge you need in the long run. 

Utilizing Sports Betting Bonuses

In the case of sites that offer free play credits instead of cash bonuses, that could be an excellent chance for betting parlays. Here’s why: betting $100 cash at -110 risks $100 to win $90.91. If you win, you receive $190.91. Instead, you would receive $90.91 in return when you deposited $100 in free play.

Free play is a free wager that can only be used once. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose the wager, the free play will expire. Make the most of your free play.

Betting Limit Avoidance

It is possible to get around betting limits by using parlays. On sportsbooks, for example, the maximum bet on NFL games is usually $1,000. If you find three bets that you would like to wager for high rollers, you should place a three-team parlay. Parlay odds would be 5.96-1.

You can only bet $1,100 to win $1,000 if you wager all three teams separately. When you parlay them, you’ll be risking $2,185.33 on average, with a potential payout of $1,986.67 on each.

Conclusion

It is one of the most challenging types of betting you can do but you can make some real money from your betting site if you are successful with a few of them. When you place a parlay bet with sportsbooks, you have some terrific payout possibilities, but they also exist exclusively to take your cash. 

It is probably not a good idea for beginners to get into parlay betting because it is ineffective to earn any money. Betting on parlay sports is not for beginners. Still, It is possible to win eventually, leaving you with a lot of money.