Sports betting is now at the fingertips of every sports enthusiast, as today’s online sportsbooks offer a huge choice of betting options!
Parlays betting is among the most popular betting type. This intriguing, yet risky bet is a type of wager which connects two or more separate bets, while your winning depends on whether you’re going to win all the individual bets. The tricky thing here that differs from placing straight bets is that if you lose even a single game, then you can say goodbye to the entire bet.
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However, if you are a good strategist and carefully follow your preferred sport, as well as the general number odds, then parlay odds can be a great choice for you to connect multiple individual wagers into a single bet.
Most online sportsbooks offer game parlay bets, so stay tuned to learn more about the tips, tricks, and strategies of parlay betting!
What Constitutes a Parlay Bet?
With parlay betting, you can combine multiple games into a single bet with bigger payouts. Parlay bets practically mean linking multiple bets into one and wagering it as a whole.
However, this betting option has one main drawback, and that’s the winning requirement. You have to win every individual bet on your parlay card to claim your winnings, or you will lose everything.
Parlays are also attractive for the sportsbooks offering them. A sportsbook will provide you with a parlay bet because, statistically, the more games you include in your bet, the bigger the risk of losing it. Sportsbooks often promise bigger payouts for including more games on your card, while parlay loses always stay the same – the whole amount!
This type of betting also includes more traditional betting lines such as point spreads, moneyline bets, total over/unders, player props, and many more. You can combine these betting lines in your parlay cards to reduce the risk of losing and to claim bigger rewards.
What are Legs in a Parlay Bet?
Sportsbooks often have insurance policies that include one or more parlay payout conditions. These conditions often focus on wagering, and you would have to meet the entire wager requirement to claim your winnings. No worries, parlay legs are here to help!
Legs are the key feature of parlay betting and are referred to each line included on your parlay card. For example, if you are betting on a three-team parlay, each team is your leg. This way, you’ll get more chances to meet the conditions and fulfil the wagering requirements, after which you can calmly claim your winnings.
You must be aware that your potential payout will increase if you include more legs in your parlay. However, if you lose even one leg, you will lose the whole ticket! The parlay payoff can be easily calculated by using the decimal odds for the legs.
For instance, the potential payout of a parlay bet with three games with different odds (1,43, 1,72, and 2,20) is calculated as a multiplication of the odds of each leg with the amount of the whole bet. That means that if you place CA$100, then the potential payout will be equal to (1,43 x 1,72 x 2,20) x CA$100 = CA$541.
Two Team Parlay
Two-team parlays are one of Canada’s most favourite parlay bets. The two-team parlay is not so risky and thus has a smaller potential payout. It’s a parlay betting option consisting of two separate bets with four possible outcomes (Win-Win, Win-Lose, Lose-Lose, Lose-Win). In all scenarios except the first one (Win-Win), you’ll have to throw your ticket in the bin.
Two-team parlays also offer you the opportunity to combine different betting lines for different games. Feel free to choose moneyline, point spread, total over/under, or any other betting lines which you think are the most compatible. The average payoff for a two-team is approximately 13/5 or 2.60 in decimal odds, which means that if you place CA$100, you can hope for a CA$260 in winnings.
Three Team Parlay
The three-team parlays are also very popular among Canadian players. These combination bets link three different teams or games into a single wager and a greater potential payout. The entire parlay usually provides a payout of approximately 600 in American odds or 6.00 in decimal odds. This means that if you place CA$100, you can get CA$600.
You must be careful when choosing your games because if one of the three teams loses, you’ll be left with nothing but a worthless ticket in your hand.
Four Team Parlay
Are you after even greater payouts? Then feel free to add more teams to your ticket! A four-team parlay is a betting option regularly played by Canadian players. It usually has better odds (in most cases 11 to 1) than the previous two combinations for the same wager amount. This means that if you decide to put CA$100, you can look forward to CA$1,100 in winnings.
Furthermore, the four-team bet allows trying all available betting lines. One example would be a specific point spread in the first two games and а total over/under in the next two. However, these combinations are efficient as long as they reduce the risk of losing your parlay bet.
Understanding Correlated Parlays
A correlated parlay is a story for itself! Most often, these parlays include two or more bets which are tied together in a single wager. This combo bet is used for bigger winning chances because every single wager won increases the chances of winning the next one.
These parlays are something that you will hardly find at the official sites of Canadian online sportsbooks because they are very profitable bets and may drain the sportsbook out of its revenues.
Correlated parlays come in different combinations of two, three, or even four teams. Furthermore, all of these options provide different odds. For example, if you want to tie two teams in a single parlay, the expected value of your payoff will usually be estimated at 2.5 to 1. In this case, you’ll have to win 28.6% of your two teamers to turn a profit. You will get this figure by dividing the return of 3,5 and your risk, which is 1.
Three, four, or even more teams parlays are even more alluring, and the odds increase gradually as you include new teams or games in the card.
Variants and Examples of Parlay Bets
Traditional parlay has evolved throughout the years and obtained many different forms and variants like teasers, pleasers, or round robins. These types of bets are a rare commodity for Canadian players, and here are some of the most common variants and examples:
Teasers
Like every other parlay, the teaser bet combines two or more selections in a single bet. However, the teaser bets are restricted only to picking against spreads and game totals. If you want to place your money on a teaser, you can get the opportunity to adjust the spread for every game you choose. As with other parlays, if you lose only one game, you lose the whole card.
Another characteristic of the teaser bets is the ‘pushing’. You can do this when a particular leg hits the exact point total or point spread that you bet. To make it simpler, let’s look at it this way. If you bet at one of your legs, say the Washington Football Team, which is a 10-points favourite against the Kansas City Chiefs in the football season, and Washington wins by exactly 10 points, this bet can be pushed out of the parlay, and your money is refunded.
Nonetheless, it’s a bit complicated when it comes to teaser bets because different sportsbooks impose different conditions. With every leg pushed, the teaser bet drops to fewer legs and subsequently a lower potential payoff.
That’s why you should check out the rules of the sportsbook before pushing at teasers.
Pleasers
Pleasers are another type of parlay that includes a combination of spreads and total wagers. The payoff requirements of the pleaser are the same as any other parlay bet: all selections must be correct to turn a profit! Nevertheless, pleasers are much harder to win because the legs are often moved in the sportsbook’s favour.
A pleaser works in the following way: if you have two spreads of +7/-7 and +8/-8, you’ll have to bet that both teams will achieve the difference of at least 7 points in the first game and in the second game, the difference will be at least 8 points. However, if you want to go for a 7-points pleaser, then your teams will have to win or lose by 14 and 15 points in both games, respectively.
The pleaser naturally reduced your chances of winnings while increasing the potential payoff. In this particular case, you can expect approximately a 7 to 1 payoff.
Round Robins
The Round Robin bet is a parlay that allows you to combine a number of smaller parlays from a list of bets. The simplest round-robin is when players choose three teams for creating three two-teams parlays.
Nevertheless, the round-robin bet is often portrayed as not that favourable because of the increasing amount of money needed for a larger number of parlays. Moreover, if you lower the bets, your potential round-robin payoff will also decrease.
Understanding How Parlay Bets Work
It’s very easy to understand and place good parlay bets. Just imagine them as a wager type connecting two or more bets in a single payout.
By adding more and more bets, the risk increases, but so do the potential winnings. Remember, be rational when choosing your legs because if one of the bets doesn’t succeed, your whole parlay ticket is lost.
How Much is a Parlay Bet Payout?
The parlay bet payout usually depends on the number of legs, the type of parlay, and the betting lines. Betting on two-team parlays naturally has a smaller potential payout than a three-team parlay. On the other hand, the payoff may vary from teasers and pleasers to round robins.
For example, pleasers and round robins will always bring bigger potential payoff than teasers, although teasers aren’t so risky.
Another thing determining the parlay bet payout is the particular betting line which you will choose. All your payouts will depend on whether you’ve placed a spread, money line, total over/under, or player props bet.
Standard Payout Parlay Odds
The typical parlay payout odds can range from 2.6 to 1 for two-team parlays to 72 to 1 for ten-team parlays. Some of the standard parlay odds are the following:
- 2.6 to 1 -two teams
- 7 to 1 – three teams
- 11 to 1 – four teams
- 22 to 1 – five teams
- 45 to 1 – six teams
- 90 to 1 – seven teams, etc.
What are True Odds in Parlay Sports Betting?
True odds in parlay sports betting are methods to calculate the exact odds and consequently the exact amount of payout. The reason behind this is that sportsbooks often tend to move the actual payout above or below the promised amount.
That’s why calculating the true odds is very important. When calculating, you will have to multiply all the individual odds, and the result which you’ll get will be the true odds of your parlay.
The Pros and Cons of Parlay Betting
It’s not all fun and games when wagering your money. Read through the things to consider before placing a bet, including the pros and the cons.
Pros:
- Combining different leagues or sports in a single bet
- Exciting betting experience
- Using moneyline favourites that have no value in a single bet
- A chance to win a lot of money for small stakes
Cons:
- Very high-risk
- Each added selection makes it harder to win
- Certain sportsbooks don’t have parlay betting options
- Some countries’ markets are excluded
Parlay Betting Strategies
Strategies? – Yes, you won’t do without them! When parlay betting, you’ll have to choose the right strategy if you want to compete for big rewards!
The most popular strategies are circumventing betting limits, correlated bets, parlaying big money line favourites, parlaying off-market spreads and totals, and many more. They are all related to the number and type of legs included on the parlay cards.
Progressive Betting System Explained
Progressive betting specifies a particular amount for each bet on your card. This amount depends on your bankroll and will increase as your profit grows. What progressive betting systems do is adjust the amount of your next bet according to the outcomes of your previous sports bet.
Some Questions on Betting Parlays
Do parlay bets include point spreads?
Yes, parlay bets can include point spreads among other betting lines.
Can I parlay prop bets?
Yes, you can parlay prop bets just like you can bet on money lines or spreads.
What does key parlay mean?
A key parlay is a way to connect wagers by choosing your favourite team or highest moneyline as a ‘key’ and using it as a parlay in different bets with different teams.
What happens to my parlay bet if the game gets canceled?
Different sportsbooks have different rules. However, if one of your games gets canceled, the most common scenario is reducing the number of games on your card.
What happens to my parlay bet in case of a tie?
In the case of a tie, the number of bet parlays is reduced by the number of ties. For example, if one bet happens to be”tied” in a 3-teams parlay, then the whole card will be reduced to a 2-teams parlay.
What happens when one of my parlay bets “pushes”?
If any of the bets “push”, the number of teams or games in the card is reduced, and the odds decrease accordingly.
Which games and sports events can I place my parlay bets on?
You can place your parlays on NBA, NFL, college football, NHL, MNL, UFC, golf, and much more.
Can I parlay the same game?
No, you can’t, because when the outcomes are correlated, the parlay is logically impossible.
