What is a Parlay Bet?
A parlay bet is a single bet that is made up of a number of smaller bets.
If any of the smaller bets lose, then the whole parlay bet is lost, making it very difficult to win. However, if you win all of them you can win a big parlay payout. This is because all of the odds of the individual bets are multiplied together to create the odds for the parlay. Therefore, the more bets you add to the parlay, the greater the odds and the bigger the payout, but of course this means they get harder and harder to land.
The best part about a parlay bet is the entertainment that comes with it, it is exciting to pick the bets and either watch them succeed one by one!
How to make a parlay bet
You can make a parlay via at most sportsbooks, whether it's online or in-person. At some bookies, you can use a parlay card, you just choose your teams and totals and hand it in along with the money you are planning to bet.
For mobile betting platforms, they usually have a feature where you select your individual bets and then select that you want it to be a parlay or multiple bet on your ticket.
How do parlay odds work?
Parlay bets will multiply the odds of each individual bet in the parlay to produce the final overall odds.
Let's look at an example
If you want to wager $100 on a three-team premier league parlay with Leicester City +180, Manchester United +100, and West Ham +203. If all three teams win, then the $100 bet pays out a huge $1,697.
Here is an example of someone winning a huge amount on a parlay bet:
Calculating Parlay Payouts
Due to how odds are expressed in American sports betting, it can be challenging to calculate the odds of parlay bets. You can often change the odds format that is displayed, from American to Decimal or Fractional.
Regardless of the odds format you select, all sportsbooks will display your possible profits from a parlay bet, but if you want to calculate it yourself, this is how you can work out your total odds and potential payout.
Here is how to work out what your parlay pays:
Firstly, you will need to convert the american odds to decimal odds - you can use an odds calculator to do this.
Multiply all decimal odds together to get your parlay odds.
Multiply this number by your wager amount to work out your total payout.
Subtract original stake to work out your profits.
Should you bet parlays?
The chances of you winning a parlay bet obviously depend on the odds of your bet. You can join together just two singular bets to create a parlay, or you could add many many more. Depending on which sportsbook you are using, there may a limit to the total number of bets you can place in a parlay.
We would suggest you only make parlay bets if you will not be affected by losing and don’t go over the top with betting, always play safely. Remember, when the fun stops, stop.
What are the odds of you winning a parlay?
This will always depend on the odds of the bets you place in the parlay.
You could include two very likely outcomes which will have relatively low odds when combined together in a parlay. OR you could include 10 very unlikely events to create a parlay that is very unlikely to win.
