Welcome to our guide to parlay betting. Parlay bets might be tricky, but once you read our guide, you’ll know how to bet parlay successfully. So take a look below and enjoy parlaying bets.
Parlay betting is massively popular as it allows you to make huge wins from very small stakes. But successful parlay sports betting requires you to manage risk effectively. Plus it’s fair to say that lots of people have been stung by parlay bets. Keep reading to see the best ways to try parlaying bets.
A sports betting parlay will combine two or more bets together into one. Each of the parlay bet selections will have to win for you to win your bet. If just one selection lets you down, then you will lose your parlay bet.
There is no limit as to the number of selections that you can include in your parlay bet. It could be a simple 2 team parlay in the NFL, or you could be chasing after a 10 team parlay payout in the NHL.
The odds of different selections combine together in a parlay bet. The more selections that you include in a parlay bet means that the combined odds will get higher and you’ll therefore stand to make much larger wins.
However, it’s worth noting that the combined odds can add up to give you a sports parlay that can be almost impossible to win. Keep reading to see how you can try and keep the parlay betting odds in your favor.
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Parlay betting examples for different sports
Parlay bets can work for all sports from football, basketball and baseball to soccer, horse racing and even esports. Here are some examples to help you out:
Football: What is a parlay bet in football? If you want an easy example of a parlay bet football is a good option. Let’s imagine that you had NFL parlay odds for a 3 game parlay where you predicted that the Chiefs, the Packers and the 49ers would all win. The football parlay odds for each team were -150, -250 and +130. The odds would be converted into decimal odds and would combine to produce total parlay odds of 5.71. If you put down a bet of $10 and won, your NFL parlay payouts would be $57.15.
Basketball: So what does a 2 team parlay pay for basketball? Here you wanted to bet on the Nets and Dodgers to win their games. The Nets had odds of -110 and the Dodgers had odds of -175. These odds would be converted to decimal to produce total parlay odds of 3.00. A $10 winning bet would therefore give you total returns of $30.
Horse racing: Parlay betting also works for racing sports. Let’s imagine that you wanted to bet on multiple races on a single day at the Churchill Downs racetrack. Here your parlay card odds would once again combine with the odds of all of the different runners you picked. Each of your chosen runners would have to win their races for you to get your parlay odds payouts.
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How to bet parlay at an online sportsbook
Let’s imagine that you wanted to bet on the weekend’s NFL action and you decided to try a parlay bet. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Pick a betting site: All decent sportsbooks will let you try parlay bets. Be sure to use one of our recommended sports betting sites to make sure that you get a legal, safe and fair parlay betting service. Just sign up to register as a new customer or log into your account and then make a deposit.
Choose your parlay tickets: Here you just have to click on the odds of all of the NFL teams that you want to include in your parlay bet. For example, a 4 game parlay could include you picking the Bears, Saints, Giants and Dolphins all to win.
Select your bet type: Next you’ll be given the option to tie all of the above selections together into a parlay bet. This might also be described as a combination bet, a multiple bet or an accumulator.
Enter your stake: Now it’s just a matter of deciding how much of a betting stake to put down. Remember that some football parlay payouts can be very impressive with even a low betting stake.
Place your parlay bets: Finally, you’ll just have to check what the potential 4 game parlay payout will be and then submit your bets.
Advantages of parlaying bets
Parlay betting is hugely popular. Here are just some of the key reasons why so many people will love to put down a parlay bet:
Massive returns possible: The way in which parlay odds combine means that you can make some spectacular wins. This means that you can sometimes make a healthy return with a very low betting stake.
Great way to enjoy sports: We think that parlay betting can be a great way to liven up a sporting weekend. Try a parlay bet on a weekend’s NFL action and you’ll find that you take plenty more interest in the gridiron action.
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Dangers of parlay gambling
We should note the fact that parlay betting isn’t suitable for everyone. Here are some reasons why you might want to give parlay betting a miss:
Very risky bets: Parlay betting is by its nature difficult. It can be hard enough to win a single bet, so that when you combine multiple bets together the whole thing can quickly become almost impossible.
Easy to get carried away: Many of us will have dreamed about winning that big parlay bet. But while it’s tempting to think about that 8 team parlay, remember that 8 team parlay odds will often require a supernatural level of luck for you to win.
Simple tips for how to bet parlay
Successful parlay betting might require a fair amount of luck. But there are always some simple things that you can do to get better results from this tricky kind of bet.
Bet on the favorites
The best way to win your parlay bets is to keep your selections to those with low odds. This usually means betting on the favorites.
Try alternative betting markets
Sometimes the money line odds might be too high to include in your parlay bet. This is where you might want to try alternative betting markets such as spread bets or player props.
Include live bets:
Remember that there’s nothing stopping you from including live bets in your parlay bet. While it can require a fair amount of skill, it can frequently work out to give you better odds with a marginal amount of additional risk.
Use your expertise
Finally, we should remind you of how important it is to only bet on the sports, teams and players that you know best as this helps you identify which bets could work best for your parlay.
Conclusion – Try your luck on the parlay odds
We’ve shown you that parlay betting is great fun and it can be an awesome way to make some spectacular returns from low stakes bets. What’s best is that you can make some amazing parlay payouts from lots of different sports like the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA. Plus even a simple 3 team parlay can pay out generously if you play it right.
However, it’s worth reminding you that this kind of bet is very risky. It can be hard enough to get a 4 team parlay to work never mind having any luck with a 10 game parlay. Thankfully our guide has shown that by betting on favorites, it can take some of the risk out of a sportsbook parlay. So as long as you’re aware of the risk, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy some successful parlay betting.
Parlay Betting FAQ
🏆 Which are the best parlay betting sites?
There are many sportsbooks who give you the chance to put down a parlay bet. However, there can be quite a lot of variation in the quality of these sports betting sites, and some sportsbooks make building a parlay bet much harder than it needs to be. So be sure to read our guide to parlay betting to see what this bet is and which sportsbooks give you the best service for trying this bet.
❓ How does a parlay betting system work?
Lots of sports fans will want to use a parlay betting system to get more for their bets on anything from the NHL to the MLB. Such a system will always require you to have a solid understanding of how parlay bets work before you take things to the next level. So be sure to check out our
US sports betting guide
that covers the basics of parlay betting before going on to reveal the best system for this kind of bet.
👀 Do I need to use a parlay calculator?
It ultimately depends on what kind of parlay bet you are putting down and what kind of arithmetic you can do in your head. Take a look at our guide to how to bet parlay. This will reveal what kinds of math you may be up against when you try this hugely popular kind of sports bet. All of which should give you a good idea of whether you need to use a
parlay calculator
or not.
🏈 What are the best parlay bets this week?
Every sporting week will tend to throw up some awesome parlay betting opportunities. These can sometimes be found in domestic sports like the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL, or you might have to search further afield in sports like soccer, tennis and so on. Check out our guide to parlaying bets that can give you a great overview as to which sports could give you the best way to try this kind of bet this week.
🏀 What is a good parlay bet example?
You will find great examples of parlay bets all over the sporting world. From top US sports like football and horse racing to global sports like cricket and rugby, there are plenty of great places where you can try this awesome sports bet. So take a look at our guide to parlaying bets that will give you useful examples of this bet for all major sports in the US and beyond.
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