What is Parlay Betting?

In a Nutshell,

Placing a bet on more than one event to increase your payout. All of the events or legs you choose to bet on must win for your overall parlay bet to win

For example, if you bet a parlay with Phillies Money Line and Total Over 8.5 runs, both results would need to be true in order for the bet to cash. If the total odds were +400, you would profit $400 on a $100 bet

What Is A Parlay Bet? How Do Parlay Picks and Bets Work?

Parlay Bet Explained

A parlay bet takes a bunch of different single wagers and combines them into one large bet. The bets can be combined from different sports and games, but all legs of the parlay must hit for it to be a winner.

The reward is greater than a single bet, but it’s harder to win.

How Does A Parlay Bet Work?

So to make a parlay, you must select at least two separate wagers and choose to make them one on your ticket. Creating a parlay changes the odds and increases your potential payout at the price of a single wager.

For example, if you are confident that four teams will cover the spread, instead of wagering on each independently, you bet on them together. If all four cover, your bet is a winner. If three cover the spread, but one fails to cover, your ticket loses even though most of your bets were correct.

You can add a lot of wagers to a parlay, with each added bet making the parlay riskier yet more rewarding.

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Parlay Bet Example: How Do You Make A Parlay Bet?

Select the bets you want to make as singles, and when they are on your betting slip, there should be an option to parlay them.

If the selections can’t be parlayed for whatever reason, you’ll be notified and unable to create it.

Parlay Bets In Basketball

Take these two bets:

• Golden State Warriors @ NYK Over 219.5 (-110)

• Miami Heat -7.5 (-105)

To win this parlay, the Warriors and Knicks game would need to have a total exceeding 219.5 points, while the Heat would have to win by at least 7.5 points.

But, the odds would be +272 for the parlay as opposed to the single wager odds shown above.

Parlay Bets In Baseball

We’ll use three this time:

• New York Yankees: -2.5 (+105)

• Miami Marlins (-165)

• SDP @ PHI Under 8.5 (-115)

Again, selecting these together as a parlay will yield higher odds (+515) than as standalone wagers.

Parlay Bets In NFL

Let’s go with six:

• NYG @ BAL Over 26.5 (-105)

• DET @ CHI Under 12.5 (-115)

• New England Patriots +6.5 (-115)

• New Orleans Saints -5.5 (+100)

• Seattle Seahawks (+105)

• Los Angeles Chargers (-120)

Put them all together, and they all must win for the parlay to hit. If five are correct, but the Chargers lose, the parlay won’t payout anything. But the total odds are roughly +5029 if you do win.

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What type of bets can you parlay?

Typically, you can include almost anything, such as Moneyline, spread, and over/under.

However, sportsbooks usually don’t allow a parlay to have bets with a relationship. An example would be the Moneyline and spread of the same game. They’ll allow one but not both.

That applies to futures and prop bets as well if the sportsbook allows those to be included.

Every sportsbook is different, but generally, most single wagers can be put together in a parlay if they’re independent of each other.

Parlay Betting Odds

The odds of a parlay change depending on the odds of the single wagers and the sportsbook, so there isn’t a set formula. Still, it’s typically expected to yield a better reward for a smaller risk in a parlay.

For example, a $10 bet at -110 odds will payout $19.09. Two $10 bets at -110 odds would total $20.00 for a return of $38.18.

A two-team parlay at -110 odds would give bettors $36.45 if they wagered $10.00 and won. Each leg added onto a parlay increases the payout by a good chunk.

Assuming all legs of the parlay are -110 odds, it may look like this.

How Good Is The Parlay Bets Payout?

For what you would wager if you took each bet as a single, the payout on a parlay is much more profitable.

Take three bets, with odds of +155, +180, and +240.

A three-team parlay with +2327 odds would payout $121.38 if you wagered $5. That’s a profit of $116.38. If those same three bets were won as singles, putting $5 down on each, the profit would only amount to $28.75.

They pay well if you’re right.

What is A Round Robin Parlay?

A round-robin parlay is a way to break up the individual legs of a parlay into different groups, rather than playing them all together as one.

So, instead of playing one three-leg parlay, you have the option of playing three two-leg parlays. If you had a four-leg parlay, it could instead become up to six two-leg parlays and four three-leg parlays instead of one four-leg parlay.

Each parlay in a round-robin has its own wager and payout attached to it.