What Is a Parlay?
A parlay bet is a combination of single bets, known as legs, into one big bet. For a parlay to win, each leg of the parlay must win as well. It’s a riskier way to bet, as one losing leg makes the entire parlay lose, but it’s much more rewarding.
How Do You Bet on a Parlay?
To bet on a parlay, you take at least two bets that you want and add them to your slip. There should be an option to play them as a parlay if the sportsbook offers those bets together as a parlay. If the bets you want to parlay are valid options, select parlay, and there should be different odds and only one box for your stake.
Add as many legs as you desire to the parlay, and when you have what you want, submit your bet.
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What Are the Types of NFL Parlays?
NFL parlays are particularly popular because most of the games each week are played on Sunday afternoons. It's easy to track the games as they’re playing simultaneously, and you won’t have to stay up late to know the results. Outside of multi-team NFL parlays where you take a team from multiple games and play them, there are two other popular NFL parlays.
Same-Game Parlay
As its name implies, a same-game parlay is one derived from bets as part of one game. You may typically see the bets correlated, such as one with Aaron Rodgers throwing for more than 300 yards, the Green Bay Packers scoring more than 30 points, and the Packers winning.
After FanDuel made them popular, a lot of sportsbooks followed suit with same-game parlays. Now it’s common to see premade same-game parlays for both teams individually, a mixed option, a same-game parlay plus feature, and a dedicated tab for same-game parlays.
Cross-Sport Parlay
Just like same-game parlays, cross-sport parlays don’t stray from their namesake. Bet on a parlay with legs from at least two different sports and hope it wins. Cross-sport parlays are premade by sportsbooks with better odds than manually making one. With the NFL season overlapping with other major sports, the cross-sport parlay is another popular option to make an NFL parlay and keep up with other sports.
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What Is the Best Parlay Strategy?
Parlays are difficult to win, even when every leg seems like a lock. NFL parlays are especially difficult because teams get upset every week, hence the phrase “any given Sunday.”
Here are some tips to bet parlays without bleeding money in the process.
Money Management
Not every parlay will win. That’s what makes them so rewarding. Taking care of your money in terms of how it’s spent, how much is spent, and what you can afford to bet is crucial.
Avoid Hail Marys
Winning a three-team parlay is hard enough, constantly going for parlays with five or more legs is not realistic. Sure, you may win once or twice, but more often than not you won’t. The odds may make it enticing, but it’s not sustainable to consistently go for.
Shop Around
Sportsbooks offer different odds for nearly everything, and the way they build parlays is no exception. Whether it’s the odds for a single leg or the entire parlay, one sportsbook may have the same option for a higher potential payout than another.
