Parlay Bets Explained: What is a Parlay?

If you’ve ever heard a story about a bettor turning a $50 or $100 wager into the kind of money they could buy a home with, there’s a good chance that bet was a parlay.

A parlay is a type of bet that allows gamblers to combine multiple outcomes together to form one wager with a potentially jaw-dropping payout, but if any outcome loses, the bet loses. Because parlays allow bettors to risk a small amount of money to potentially win a massive amount, they’re often glamorized in the media, but remember that parlays are far less likely to win than straight bets. The more outcomes (AKA “legs”) in a parlay, the more it will pay, but the less likely it is to win. Betting parlays can be intense and highly entertaining, but they also create heartbreaking “what if” stories for bettors who come up one leg short.

How Do You Make a Parlay Bet?

Traditional parlays involve combining the three most common types of bets (point spreads, over/unders, and moneylines) which can sometimes be started from a separate parlay builder screen, while other sportsbooks allow bettors to selecting parlay legs from the standard single bet screen. In both cases, parlays require 2+ legs and the math is calculated automatically for the bettor.

The type of parlay available and the maximum number of legs utilized depends on each sportsbook. For instance, some sportsbooks limit bettors to 10-leg parlays, while others set a 14-leg limit. Some sportsbooks might allow you to mix legs from different sports and from live bets, while others prohibit it. Some shops let you to mix futures bets into your parlays, while others don’t. Player props are available as parlay legs at some sportsbooks and not others. These nuances in different parlay offerings, combined with the fact that sportsbook often offer different juice on the same games, make it wise to have multiple sportsbooks in your arsenal.

While building a parlay, a bettor might notice an error message saying the sportsbook doesn’t allow certain parlay legs to be combined. This is because the legs are correlated to each other. For instance, a bettor typically can’t combine the Boston Celtics -125 moneyline bet with the Celtics -2 point spread. Obviously, if the Celtics -2 bet wins, the Celtics moneyline would also win automatically, so it makes sense sportsbooks won’t allow that combination.

Understanding Parlay Odds

To illustrate the mathematical difference between parlay betting and straight betting, imagine a bettor with a $100 budget on an NFL weekend likes four different NFL teams to cover their point spreads with standard -110 vigorish. If the bettor divided the budget into four equal bets, they could put $25 on each game and if all four games cashed, they’d pocket $90.92 in profit. If the bettor had instead wagered the $100 budget on a winning 4-game parlay, it’d be a +1228 bet with $1228 profit. With this example, it’s easy to see why parlays are so popular and alluring to bettors.

Imagine in the scenario above that all four NFL teams played at different start times and the bettor wagered the entire $100 budget on the first game and took that $190.91 payout (winnings + original bet) and bet it on Game 2 which earned a $364.46 payout that was subsequently wagered on Game 3. The budget after a Game 3 win would be $695.79 and if that was wagered on the final game, it’d return $1328.33 which is a $1228.33 profit and identical to the +1228 odds from the 4-game parlay. If you understand the math in this “rollover” example, you understand the math behind traditional parlay odds. If you still don’t understand the math, experiment with our parlay calculator.

While creating parlays, it’s easy to start dreaming of fancy cars and vacations while watching the payout increase with each leg added, but every time a leg is added, the bet becomes much less likely to hit. For new bettors, I recommend taking it easy with parlays until there’s a comfort level with straight bets. For losing bettors who don’t have an edge, parlays are compounding their problem and they’re just making already bad bets even less likely to hit.

Other Types of Parlays

As sports betting has grown in popularity, so has interest in betting parlays and the options offered by sportsbooks. So far this article has focused on the traditional form of parlays, but below are examples of other parlays commonly offered at sportsbooks.

Same-Game Parlays

A same-game parlay is similar to a traditional parlay but legs can consist of player props and game props from the same contest. For instance, in a Chiefs - 49ers game, a 3-leg same game parlay could link the 49ers on the moneyline, with Brock Purdy going over 260 yards, and Deebo Samuel having at least 54 receiving yards. The odds for same-game parlays are usually less friendly for bettors than traditional parlays but an advantage is that bettors are typically allowed to combine somewhat correlated outcomes. For instance, since Purdy throws the ball to Samuel, a big game for one increases the chances the other player has a big game. To read more about same-game parlays, click here.

Teasers

Teasers are technically parlays, but are often thought of as a different category of betting altogether partly because their payouts aren’t nearly as lucrative.

Like traditional parlays, teasers involve multiple legs and the bet only cashes if none of the legs lose. The biggest difference with a teaser is it’s only using points spreads/totals (not moneylines, futures bets, etc.) and bettors can adjust those numbers by 6 points (on a 6-point teaser) and 4-points (on a 4-point teaser). For instance if the Dolphins +4 vs. the Bills and the Packers are +1 vs. the Eagles, you could bet the Dolphins +10 & Packers +7 on a 2-team, 6-point teaser. To learn more about teasers, click here.

Round Robins

Unlike a teaser or traditional parlay which can be bet with two legs, a round robin bet requires at least three legs. A round robin with 3 legs is very similar to a 3-leg parlay, except it allows the better some grace in case one of the legs loses. For instance, a 3-game parlay needing the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays all to win wouldn’t cash if the Blue Jays lost, however the bettor can walk away with someone money if two of the three round robin legs cash. A 3-leg round robin bet basically turns your wager into mini two-leg parlays combinations.

The benefit to round robins is you’re more likely to win, but the downside is a decreased profit margin.  To read more about round robin bets, click here.

Pros and Cons of Parlay Betting

The most obvious benefit to parlays is they often have high payouts and give bettors a path to win a large amount by risking a small amount. Parlays are an intense and exciting form of gambling for that very reason. Parlays also offer a lot of flexibility for strategic bettors. For instance, if they’ve hit the first 4 legs of a parlay and just need the Jets +6 vs. the 49ers to win $5,000, they could hedge with the 49ers moneyline and create a “middle” where the 49ers and Jets +6 both win and it’s impossible to lose both bets.

Parlays have inherent downsides too. Standard parlays are less likely to win compared to individual wagers and that makes them a high risk bet. Because the high payouts for parlays are alluring and often heavily publicized, they can give bettors the impression they’re easier to win than they actually are which can be very problematic for new bettors. Parlays can be a psychological trap for bettors who are mesmerized by the large payout. For instance, a bettor who set a limit of $100 per bet size and sees their $100 4-leg wager (-110, +140, +200, +550) pays $8,834.55, might be tempted to bet beyond their means while chasing a dream because $185 on the same bet would pay $16,343.91.

Should I Make Parlays?

I’ve often referred to standard parlays as, “The junk food of sports betting” because, like a bad diet, there are serious consequences when a gambler’s betting diet consists of too many parlays. That said, there’s an appropriate time to enjoy parlays in moderation with an understanding of the risk associated with them, just like with ice cream and birthday cake. When sportsbooks publicly report their profits to regulatory agencies, it’s common to see parlays as their cash cow. Knowing that sportsbooks want bettors placing parlays should make you at least mildly skeptical of the wager.

In the “Understanding Parlay Odds” section above, parlay math is outlined, and it’s important to note the bettor in that example is essentially paying 10% juice four times for that 4-game parlay. So, while +1228 (12.28-to-1) seems generous for four 50/50 bets all hitting, remember that a coin will land on heads four times in a row 1 of 16 times, so +1600 odds would be a fair price in a world without vigorish. Also, realize that pairing multiple bets together at one sportsbook doesn’t allow bettors to shop around and get the best price in the market for each individual game to build the parlay with.

That said, for a financially stable bettor familiar with bankroll management, betting parlays can be entertaining and lucrative when filled with bets where they have an edge or a sportsbook has priced a game incorrectly.

One of the more common mistakes new bettors make is adding “easy win” games into the parlay to increase the payouts. For instance, a couple -600 college football moneylines the bettor hasn’t researched (“What could go wrong?”). This strategy backfires a lot and long-shot underdogs have been known to break the hearts of parlay bettors. When creating parlays for the first time, start small and consider cutting your unit size in half and using the other half to bet the games individually.