Sports Betting Parlay

Posted By admin On 20/03/22

A parlay, accumulator (or acca), combo bet or multi is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay is that there are much higher payoffs than placing each individual bet separately, since the difficulty of hitting all of them is much higher. If any of the bets in the parlay lose, the entire parlay loses. If any of the plays in the parlay ties, or 'pushes', the parlay reverts to a lower number of teams with the odds reducing accordingly.

Sports betting markets, especially those for the NFL and NBA, are very efficient. Most of us are betting recreationally, for fun and entertainment. Same game parlays provide precisely that, but there are still a few things to consider in order to optimize your chances at large same game parlay payout. Tips for Betting Same Game Parlays. Offered on all major pro and college sports, a two-team combo is the most basic parlay. While the risk rises, with each added leg, bettors can include upwards of 15 teams on a single wager. Betting parlays is easy with online and sports betting apps and self-service betting kiosks at Michigan retail sportsbooks. For the most part, you tap the screen on the sport you’re interested in betting on, browse through the betting markets, and tap on the bets you want to make a part of your parlay.

Odds and payout[edit]

Parlay bets are paid out at odds higher than the typical single game bet, but still below the 'true' odds. For instance, a common 2-team NFL parlay based entirely on the spread generally has a payout of 2.6:1.^{[citation needed]} In reality however, if one assumes that each single game bet is 50/50, the true payout should instead be 3:1 (10% expected value for the house). A house may average 20-30% profit on spread parlays compared to perhaps 4.5% profit on individual sports mix parlay bets.

Aside from 'spread' parlays, another way to parlay is to bet on two or more teams simply winning straight up. In order to calculate the payout of this parlay, one must multiply out the payout for all games. For example, if 3 teams are -385 favorites, a successful parlay on all 3 teams winning would pay out at a ratio of approximately 1/1. This is because (385/485)^3 is approximately 50%.

Examples[edit]

Typical payouts for up to 10 team parlay bet[edit]

The following is an example of a traditional Las Vegas Parlay Card at William Hill Sports Book, which shows the typical payouts for an up to 10 team parlay bet based on -1.10 prices (amount won is assuming $100 is bet)^{[citation needed]}:

Number	Odds	Amount won	Payout
2 Team Parlay	2.6 to 1	$260	$360
3 Team Parlay	6 to 1	$600	$700
4 Team Parlay	11 to 1	$1,100	$1,200
5 Team Parlay	22 to 1	$2,200	$2,300
6 Team Parlay	45 to 1	$4,500	$4,600
7 Team Parlay	90 to 1	$9,000	$9,100
8 Team Parlay	180 to 1	$18,000	$18,100
9 Team Parlay	360 to 1	$36,000	$36,100
10 Team Parlay	720 to 1	$72,000	$72,100

Profitability of parlays in sports betting[edit]

Many gamblers have mixed feelings as to whether or not parlays are a wise play. The best way to analyze if they are profitable in the long term is by calculating the expected value. The formula for expected value is: E[X] = x1p1 + x2p2 + x3p3…xkpk . Since the probability of all possible events will add up to 1 this can also be looked at as the weighted average of the event. The table below represents odds.^{[citation needed]}

Column 1 = number of individual bets in the parlay

Column 2 = correct odds of winning with 50% chance of winning each individual bet

Column 3 = odds payout of parlay at the sportsbook

Column 4 = correct odds of winning parlay with 55% chance of winning each individual bet

Number of individual bets	Correct odds at 50%	Odds payout at sportsbook	Correct odds of winning parlay at 55%
2	3 to 1	2.6 to 1	2.3 to 1
3	7 to 1	6 to 1	5.0 to 1
4	15 to 1	12 to 1	9.9 to 1
5	31 to 1	24 to 1	18.9 to 1
6	63 to 1	48 to 1	35.1 to 1
7	127 to 1	92 to 1	64.7 to 1
8	255 to 1	176 to 1	118.4 to 1
9	511 to 1	337 to 1	216.1 to 1
10	1,023 to 1	645 to 1	393.8 to 1
11	2,047 to 1	1,233 to 1	716.8 to 1

The table illustrates that if a 55% chance of winning each individual bet were achievable, parlays would be profitable in the long term. Compare the expected value you receive on an individual bet at a typical price of -110 with a 55% chance of winning: ((100/110+1)*.55)-1 = .05 (exactly 5 cents won for every dollar bet on average), multiplied by 11 = .55, to the expected return on the 11 game parlay ((1234/717.8)-1) = .719 (72 cents won for every dollar bet on average). In this case a parlay has a much higher expected value than individual bets with greatly increased variance in outcomes.

What is a Round Robin bet?

A round robin bet is a series of parlay bets that contain every combination of teams in the parlay.

Round robin bets must consist of at least three teams (or bets).

The parlay can be broken up into individual parlays that include every team in your original parlay. Round robin betting is typically used in sports betting and is a way to decrease your risk compared to a traditional parlay.

Visually, here is how a round robin bet breaks down (by parlay size) compared to a traditional parlay using a 5 leg parlay as an example:

Round Robin Strategy: Why You Need It In Your Arsenal

Round robin betting can seem intimidating at first, but once you take some time to understand it, they can be a powerful sports betting tool for you.

Round Robin vs. Parlay: Which one is better?

Round robin betting is a good bet if you have any of the following priorities:

You want to bet a parlay but with less risk and thus smaller payouts
You want to maintain interest in the teams in your parlays even if one of them loses (entertainment value)
You have a bonus at a sportsbook that requires you to bet a certain amount before you can claim it

A straight parlay is advantageous for a few reasons:

It is simple and easier to understand your potential payout
There is higher risk and higher reward
You don’t need to wager as much money to get a big payoff

Round robin betting and parlay bets are similar in that a round robin is simply a group of (smaller) parlays.

Round Robin Pros and Cons

Pros

Less risk than a traditional parlay
Keeps your interest even if one of your teams loses
Good for burning through sportsbook bonus requirements

Cons

Conceptually confusing
Hard to understand your potential payout
Won’t have the same payoff as a traditional parlay

Round Robin Bet Examples You Can Understand

Let’s say you have a four team NFL parlay bet that you want to bet $5 on as a round robin:

New York Giants -110
New England Patriots -110
Dallas Cowboys -110
Green Bay Packers -110

Using our parlay calculator, we can see that this 4 team parlay would pay out 13.28x your wager amount, or +1228 in American odds. A $5 bet would profit $61.42 if all four teams won.

Where Parlays and Round Robins Differ

In sports betting, a round robins differ from a traditional parlay by taking those four bets and breaking them into smaller parlays.

Taking the four team NFL example above, if we bet these teams in a round robin “by 2’s” (meaning a series of two team parlay bets), it would result in making six two team parlay bets:

All possible 2 team parlay combinations
Team 1 / Team 2 / Parlay odds

New York Giants -110 / New England Patriots -110 / +264
New York Giants -110 / Dallas Cowboys -110 / +264
New York Giants -110 / Green Bay Packers -110 / +264
New England Patriots -110 / Dallas Cowboys -110 / +264
New England Patriots -110 / Green Bay Packers -110 / +264
Dallas Cowboys -110 / Green Bay Packers -110 / +264

A round robin creates smaller parlay combinations and thus better odds of winning compared to a traditional four team parlay where each individual bet has to win.

Round robin bets keep the entertainment value alive if one of your parlay teams loses. Sports betting can be frustrating, so round robin betting can be a good balance of entertainment value and risk/return.

Round Robin Results You Can Understand

Continuing with our NFL round robin example, let’s say we see the following results:

New York Giants -110 WIN
New England Patriots -110 WIN
Dallas Cowboys -110 WIN
Green Bay Packers -110 LOSS

If this were bet as a traditional four team parlay, the bet would be graded as a loss since the Green Bay Packers lost.

If we were to bet this as a round robin by 2’s, we would see the following results:

New York Giants -110 / New England Patriots -110 / +264
New York Giants -110 / Dallas Cowboys -110 / +264
~~New York Giants -110 / Green Bay Packers -110 / +264~~
New England Patriots -110 / Dallas Cowboys -110 / +264
~~New England Patriots -110 / Green Bay Packers -110 / +264~~
~~Dallas Cowboys -110 / Green Bay Packers -110 / +264~~

As you can see, of the six two team parlays, the round robin would have seen three parlay bets win, and three parlay bets lose.

If we would have wagered $5 on each of the six parlays, then we would have won $39.66 (three winning parlays profit $13.22 at +264 odds and a $5 wager) and lost $15 on the losing bets ($5 wager X three lost parlays).

This works out to a net profit of $24.66 ($39.66 – $15) on $30 wagered for getting three out of the four teams in your original parlay correct. A traditional four leg parlay would have lost your original bet of $5 for a profit of -$5.

What Happens When You Win All Bets in a Round Robin

Oh, what could have been.

Continuing on with our NFL 4 team round robin example, let’s say the Packers did win and thus each team in your parlay won. If you were to bet it as a round robin by 2’s, your profit would have been $52.88 on $30 wagered in total.

If you would have instead bet it as a 4 team parlay (wagering $30), your profit would have been a whopping $368.50.

Here you can see the trade-offs between risk and reward.

Hedging some of the risk through a round robin makes you more likely to profit, however it prevents you from the massive payouts that parlays can provide. While round robins are more conservative, a parlay can be exciting if you are lucky enough to win one.

Weigh each side and decide which type of bet is right for you.

How to Place a Round Robin Bet: Easier than You Would Think

4 Team Parlay Bet

To place a round robin bet, simply place each individual wager onto your bet slip.

Most sportsbook bet slips (both online and app) have 3 tabs: Standard, Teaser, and Round Robin:

Below, I have placed 5 moneyline bets onto my bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook and selected the Round Robin tab:

Instead of manually creating multiple parlays, you can simply input the bets as a round robin.

Singles x5 wagers: This means you would bet each bet (5 separate wagers) on your bet slip. This is not a parlay at all, and the odds shown are simply the effective odds if you won all your bets.

By 2’s x10 wagers: This represents every combination of the 5 teams on your bet slip as 2 team parlays. This works out to 10 total wagers.

By 3’s x10 wagers: This is the same as above, except combinations of 3 team parlays instead of 2. 10 total wagers will be placed.

By 4’s x5 wagers: This means you would be placing 5 separate 4 team parlay wagers.

5 Team Parlay: Your traditional parlay where all teams n the parlay must win.

The odds shown in the screenshot represent what your effective odds would be if you won all of your bets. That is why the all of the round robin bets (“by 2’s”, “by 3’s”, “by 4’s”) have higher odds than just a single 5 team parlay.

Round Robin Bet Terminology You Need To Know

Parlay Size

Definition: The number of teams you are breaking your smaller parlays into.

Example: A 5 team parlay by 2’s would create 10 smaller parlay bets