Parlay bets are wagers used by sports bettors of all experience levels to tie two or more bets together on the same ticket to create a larger bet. This requires multiple outcomes to go your way but increases the payout if successful.
Each game or event of a parlay is called a “leg,” and the parlay wins only if all the legs hit.
Generally, parlay bets are not easy to win, but the payouts are often attractive and can result in life-changing wins for some bettors. Some parlay bets are like buying a lottery ticket.
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How Does a Parlay Work?
Parlays work by connecting separate bets into one single bet, increasing the payout potential. This works because all the legs involved in the parlay must win for the wager to pay out. The more legs you add to a parlay, the greater the odds.
But, adding games to a parlay also adds to the difficulty of hitting each leg on a single ticket.
As an example, we can create a three-team football parlay with Arsenal (-1.5), Chelsea (+0.5) and Manchester City (-2.0). For this parlay to hit, Arsenal must win by at least two goals, Chelsea must win outright or avoid losing, and Manchester City must win by three goals or more. If one of these teams fails to cover, the whole parlay loses.
Types of Parlay Bets
Teasers
Teasers are a type of parlay bet that allows adjusting spreads or totals for a higher chance of a winning wager. Because this variety of bet allows moving the spread or total, teasers are easier to win than traditional parlays. Before you get too excited, there is a downside. The odds for teasers hold less value due to the enhanced chances to win.
Round Robins
Round robin parlays allow players to place multiple parlay bets across several games. Players can create many bets, including parlays of differing amounts involving a set group of games. Each parlay, in this case, requires a separate wager.
An excellent example would be a weekend football schedule featuring four matches the player wants to parlay together. A four-team round-robin parlay of these games consists of any number of two-team, three-team and four-team wagers.
Any combination of winning wagers that match the parlays made will pay out. Each wager, in this case, must be placed individually. A four-team round-robin has 11 different possible combinations to bet.
Same-Game Parlay
A same-game or single-game parlay is a bet that utilizes correlated wagers for the same event to earn higher payouts. The idea of correlated wagers is that the outcome of one bet can increase or decrease the likelihood of another leg cashing.
One example is the correlation between handicaps and totals in a football match. Say Nigeria is a strong favourite in an AFCON qualifier with a -1.5 goal handicap and a game total of 2.5. If Nigeria covers that handicap, there is a good chance that the game total could also go over 2.5 goals.
This strategy can also be used when betting player props. If you are making a bet on the over in a Manchester City vs. Liverpool match, there is a good chance that key attacking players may also go over their shots, assists or goal involvement totals.
Examples of a Parlay Bet
Football
A simple example of a football parlay would be a two-team moneyline wager. Say that you think Arsenal (1.75) and Chelsea (1.83) will both win on Sunday. You could bet ₦1,000 on each and win a modest return or parlay them together for a bigger payout. If you bet ₦2,000 on this parlay, the payout would be around ₦6,405 compared to betting ₦1,000 on each separately.
Basketball
Parlaying totals is a popular way to bet on busy days in basketball. Say one game has an over/under of 217.5, and another game has a total of 218.5. You are confident in both games going under the total and want to parlay them together. Betting these games separately would payout a smaller return on a ₦1,000 bet. Betting ₦2,000 on a parlay of the two would yield a much higher payout if both selections land.
Tennis
Match-winner parlays are a common way to maximize the payout potential of tennis wagers on a day-to-day basis. A simple example would be to consider a day where two strong favourites are on your radar. A single ₦1,000 bet on both matches would net a standard return, while a ₦2,000 parlay would pay out significantly more. If you plan to bet on both anyway, there is a lot to gain from putting them into a parlay instead.
How to Bet a Parlay
Betting a parlay is not much different from putting together a bet slip for a single game. After you select a game and wager amount for the game, instead of submitting the card, simply add another event. This will automatically parlay the games together and tell you the updated payout and odds. It’s worth noting that parlay legs do not need to be from the same day or even the same sport.
Calculating Parlay Odds and Payouts
Serious bettors should familiarize themselves with how to calculate odds and payouts manually. There are a few steps that require a bit of basic math to get through.
First, make sure all odds are in decimal format, which is the format commonly used by many betting sites in Nigeria. If your odds are already decimal, no conversion is needed.
Once you have all the odds in decimal form, multiply them together. Take that number and multiply it by your bet amount. Finally, subtract your initial stake to get the profit from your parlay.
What Happens to My Parlay Bet if the Game is Canceled?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions regarding parlaying bets in sports. Luckily the answer is simple and does not punish the player for a game that is called off.
Let’s say that you made a five-game football parlay and the first four games were all winners. It’s now down to the fifth and final game, but it gets called due to bad weather before the kickoff. What happens to your parlay?
Rest assured that the bet is not graded as a loss and qualifies as a push. This means you will not lose your parlay on a canceled game. This also goes for games that end in a tie. In these cases, the leg is removed from the parlay altogether. Payouts are adjusted accordingly.
Pros and Cons of Parlays
Pros
Higher payouts: Because parlay bets are more difficult to win, the odds of doing so are usually very valuable. Every time you add a team to a parlay, the odds shoot up significantly. While hard to do, hitting each leg and winning a parlay is worth it if only for the huge payday that often follows.
Parlay bets are exciting: This is a more intangible reason to like parlay bets, but it’s true all the same. There is no denying that parlay bets are more fun than straight bets. There is nothing quite like the feeling of a parlay coming down to the final leg at the end of a long day.
Cons
Difficult to win: The biggest drawback of parlay betting comes down to how difficult it is. Wins in parlay betting are few and far between, with most victories coming on two or three-leg parlays. Those looking to hit the 10-team dream wins might be disappointed in how unlikely this will happen.
Statistically bad bets: A ton of statistics are available that do a great job of breaking down why parlays are bad bets overall. In many betting markets, for example, a straight single bet is far more likely to win than a multi-team parlay.
Should I Avoid Parlays?
While parlay bets can be a fun way to make sports betting more exciting, we don’t recommend them as a viable long-term strategy.
That doesn’t mean that adding a parlay or two to your weekly bets is a terrible idea. But, it is not advised to make parlays a large part of your daily wagers.
The main reason to avoid relying on parlay betting is they require all legs to hit to have a positive expected value (+EV). This is not an easy task and is why parlay bets offer such tempting odds. What this means is that, generally speaking, parlays have an especially low win rate. This is why sportsbooks love regular parlay bettors.
Don’t be fooled by posts on social media of players cashing parlays of 10 legs or more. While these are real wins, the chances of hitting these wagers are akin to winning the lottery. There is a reason why these posts are made mainly by sportsbooks themselves and not often by individual players.
To break this down further, let’s look at some parlay vs. straight bet statistics. According to betting market research, the chances of hitting a parlay are far worse than a straight bet.
We recommend keeping parlay betting to a minimum and tempering expectations.