A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers for a high payout. A 2 team parlay might pay 13/5, a three team parlay might pay 6/1, a four team parlay might pay 10/1, and so forth with the payouts getting higher with more teams or totals selected. For a single bet, 2 to 8 teams or totals can be selected.
Dec 30, 2010 Determine what games you will be betting on. For example, take a four-team parlay with two favorites of -140 and -220, and two underdogs of +250 and +180. Convert the odds of all favorite bets into a decimal number. Do this by taking 100 and dividing it by the line of the favorite. Add 1 to the result. Typically, a three team parlay will pay out at 6/1. If all three of these teams cover the point spread, then the bet would be won. For every $100 wagered on this parlay, a $600 profit is made. If one of the bets was to push though for example, you would be paid as if you made a 2 team parlay bet, which would be 3 to 1, or $300. A three-team parlay with one bet ‘No Action' will reduce to a two-team parlay. A two-team parlay with one leg graded ‘No Action' will become a single wager on the remaining team. The payout is re-calculated based on the reduced number of teams. All payouts based on odds of -110 This means that if you were to say pick a parlay like our example from earlier for three teams, you would get paid out at 6 to 1. The last and final way that you can figure out the payout on a parlay bet is to calculate it yourself.
In order for the parlay bet to win, every one of the wagers must win or push (tie). If any of the selections lose, your wager loses, regardless of the outcome or cancellation of the other games. If one or more selections is a tie, postponed, incomplete, cancelled or rescheduled for another day, then the wager reverts to the next lowest number. For example, if you place a 5 team parlay and have 4 winners and a tie, your wager pays out as a 4 team parlay. If you place a 2 team parlay and one team wins and one ties, the wager becomes a straight bet.
What Do 3 Team Parlays Pay
The resulting wager will have the same risk amount with the win being calculated to reflect the odds of the remaining team (Example: On a two team $100 parlay with team A +110 and team B -110 if A ties and B wins the resulting wager will be a straight play on B risking $100 to win $91).
You may have heard the term 'parlay' in reference to someone combining one asset with another to achieve success. 'I bought a new propane grill, and combined with my shopping skills I parlayed that into a great family cookout.'
At the casino or on a sports book, to parlay means something similar. Easily the most popular of all exotic wagers in sports betting, a parlay (or 'combo') is a collection of 2 or more sides or totals that you place a wager on and all of them must win in order for you to cash in.
MLB, NFL and NBA Parlay Rules
Most bettors love the idea of having a chance at a big payoff from a small wager. But parlays are hard to win, and come with a strict set of rules. Let's look at some of the ins and outs.
Bookies offer this category of wager to lure the gambler into a tough situation. For instance, on a 4-team parlay, going 3-1 is no different than going 0-4. You lose in either case. However, if you'd placed 4 individual bets and won 3 while losing 1, you would make a decent chunk of change. But you would have saved yourself a lot of money by betting the combo instead of placing 4 individual bets if you went 0-4.
'Correlated' outcomes are strictly against the rules, which means you cannot benefit from results that are related to one another. For instance, a finesse passing team might be pitted against a strong defensive unit in the Super Bowl. If you pick the latter squad, you cannot place a combo bet on the 'under,' since that outcome is more likely to occur if the strong defense controls the contest.
Below is a table that lists the chances of hitting a combo if all wagers are 'pick'em,' or evenly-matched 'coin flip' scenarios – what sports books give you for each ratio, and the chance of a winner if you hit 55%. Obviously, if you're a 55% handicapper, then there are good deals in the offing. This table shows the odds for 2-team combos all the way up to 11 teams.
| # of Teams | Your chances at 50% | Payout in Vegas | Your chances at 55% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3/1 | 2.6/1 | 2.3/1 |
| 3 | 7/1 | 6/1 | 5.0/1 |
| 4 | 15/1 | 10/1 | 9.9/1 |
| 5 | 31/1 | 20/1 | 18.9/1 |
| 6 | 63/1 | 40/1 | 35.1/1 |
| 7 | 127/1 | 75/1 | 64.7/1 |
| 8 | 255/1 | 150/1 | 118.4/1 |
| 9 | 511/1 | 300/1 | 216.1/1 |
| 10 | 1,023/1 | 700/1 | 393.8/1 |
| 11 | 2,047/1 | 1,200/1 | 716.8/1 |
As you can see, for the normal bettor who only hits on 50% of their wagers, trying for a 4-0 (or 3-0, or 2-0) record on the same day is a bad idea. It gets worse the more wagers you add. A 2-teamer isn't terrible because you expect to hit 1 out of each 3 you bet, and you get rewarded 2.6 to 1. A 3-teamer isn't that bad either because your expected chances are 7-1, while you get paid 6-1.
Avoiding 'Sucker' Bets On Sports Book Parlays
Where you really see the biggest sucker bets are the 4-team combos. These wagers only work 1 out of every 15 times, yet you only get paid 10-1. Picking 8 winners and 0 losers only scores a hit once in every 255 times, but you only get paid 150-1 if successful. The 11-team parlay hits 1 out of every 2,047 times, and the payout is based on only just over 50% of that ratio.
What Does A 3 Team Parlay Payout Odds
Most of the general betting public doesn't realize that 55% is an excellent winning percentage when it comes to sports betting. But the table also illustrates that if you pick 55% victorious teams/athletes, then every single combo listed is a profitable wager over the long term. The chances of hitting an 11-teamer drop from 2,047-1 to 716.8-1 when you pick 55%. Considering you get paid out 1,200-1, it actually isn't a bad deal for the 55% handicappers.
The Lines Don't Always Favor Betting Parlays
In conclusion, I almost never recommend betting parlays for newer cash players. There are times when I'll put out a 2-team combo on a football game if 2 favorites are being under-valued, but only a of couple times a year. Your best move is to stick to straight bets in football and basketball with the point spreads and totals.
Sometimes, conference vs conference match-ups are a good opportunity for a successful combo wager if 1 of the 2 conferences is under-valued. For instance, ACC football went 4-0 vs the SEC on a Saturday in 2014 – nobody expected that except a few savvy gamblers. Georgia Tech over Georgia was just one of the upsets that took place on that November day as bookies lost out to the ever-popular SEC hype train driving the lines. Another opportunity for this kind of combo bet occurs during early-season conference vs conference 'challenge' tourneys in college basketball.
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers for a high payout. A 2 team parlay might pay 13/5, a three team parlay might pay 6/1, a four team parlay might pay 10/1, and so forth with the payouts getting higher with more teams or totals selected. For a single bet, 2 to 8 teams or totals can be selected.
Dec 30, 2010 Determine what games you will be betting on. For example, take a four-team parlay with two favorites of -140 and -220, and two underdogs of +250 and +180. Convert the odds of all favorite bets into a decimal number. Do this by taking 100 and dividing it by the line of the favorite. Add 1 to the result. Typically, a three team parlay will pay out at 6/1. If all three of these teams cover the point spread, then the bet would be won. For every $100 wagered on this parlay, a $600 profit is made. If one of the bets was to push though for example, you would be paid as if you made a 2 team parlay bet, which would be 3 to 1, or $300. A three-team parlay with one bet ‘No Action' will reduce to a two-team parlay. A two-team parlay with one leg graded ‘No Action' will become a single wager on the remaining team. The payout is re-calculated based on the reduced number of teams. All payouts based on odds of -110 This means that if you were to say pick a parlay like our example from earlier for three teams, you would get paid out at 6 to 1. The last and final way that you can figure out the payout on a parlay bet is to calculate it yourself.
In order for the parlay bet to win, every one of the wagers must win or push (tie). If any of the selections lose, your wager loses, regardless of the outcome or cancellation of the other games. If one or more selections is a tie, postponed, incomplete, cancelled or rescheduled for another day, then the wager reverts to the next lowest number. For example, if you place a 5 team parlay and have 4 winners and a tie, your wager pays out as a 4 team parlay. If you place a 2 team parlay and one team wins and one ties, the wager becomes a straight bet.
What Do 3 Team Parlays Pay
The resulting wager will have the same risk amount with the win being calculated to reflect the odds of the remaining team (Example: On a two team $100 parlay with team A +110 and team B -110 if A ties and B wins the resulting wager will be a straight play on B risking $100 to win $91).
You may have heard the term 'parlay' in reference to someone combining one asset with another to achieve success. 'I bought a new propane grill, and combined with my shopping skills I parlayed that into a great family cookout.'
At the casino or on a sports book, to parlay means something similar. Easily the most popular of all exotic wagers in sports betting, a parlay (or 'combo') is a collection of 2 or more sides or totals that you place a wager on and all of them must win in order for you to cash in.
MLB, NFL and NBA Parlay Rules
Most bettors love the idea of having a chance at a big payoff from a small wager. But parlays are hard to win, and come with a strict set of rules. Let's look at some of the ins and outs.
Bookies offer this category of wager to lure the gambler into a tough situation. For instance, on a 4-team parlay, going 3-1 is no different than going 0-4. You lose in either case. However, if you'd placed 4 individual bets and won 3 while losing 1, you would make a decent chunk of change. But you would have saved yourself a lot of money by betting the combo instead of placing 4 individual bets if you went 0-4.
'Correlated' outcomes are strictly against the rules, which means you cannot benefit from results that are related to one another. For instance, a finesse passing team might be pitted against a strong defensive unit in the Super Bowl. If you pick the latter squad, you cannot place a combo bet on the 'under,' since that outcome is more likely to occur if the strong defense controls the contest.
Below is a table that lists the chances of hitting a combo if all wagers are 'pick'em,' or evenly-matched 'coin flip' scenarios – what sports books give you for each ratio, and the chance of a winner if you hit 55%. Obviously, if you're a 55% handicapper, then there are good deals in the offing. This table shows the odds for 2-team combos all the way up to 11 teams.
| # of Teams | Your chances at 50% | Payout in Vegas | Your chances at 55% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3/1 | 2.6/1 | 2.3/1 |
| 3 | 7/1 | 6/1 | 5.0/1 |
| 4 | 15/1 | 10/1 | 9.9/1 |
| 5 | 31/1 | 20/1 | 18.9/1 |
| 6 | 63/1 | 40/1 | 35.1/1 |
| 7 | 127/1 | 75/1 | 64.7/1 |
| 8 | 255/1 | 150/1 | 118.4/1 |
| 9 | 511/1 | 300/1 | 216.1/1 |
| 10 | 1,023/1 | 700/1 | 393.8/1 |
| 11 | 2,047/1 | 1,200/1 | 716.8/1 |
As you can see, for the normal bettor who only hits on 50% of their wagers, trying for a 4-0 (or 3-0, or 2-0) record on the same day is a bad idea. It gets worse the more wagers you add. A 2-teamer isn't terrible because you expect to hit 1 out of each 3 you bet, and you get rewarded 2.6 to 1. A 3-teamer isn't that bad either because your expected chances are 7-1, while you get paid 6-1.
Avoiding 'Sucker' Bets On Sports Book Parlays
Where you really see the biggest sucker bets are the 4-team combos. These wagers only work 1 out of every 15 times, yet you only get paid 10-1. Picking 8 winners and 0 losers only scores a hit once in every 255 times, but you only get paid 150-1 if successful. The 11-team parlay hits 1 out of every 2,047 times, and the payout is based on only just over 50% of that ratio.
What Does A 3 Team Parlay Payout Odds
Most of the general betting public doesn't realize that 55% is an excellent winning percentage when it comes to sports betting. But the table also illustrates that if you pick 55% victorious teams/athletes, then every single combo listed is a profitable wager over the long term. The chances of hitting an 11-teamer drop from 2,047-1 to 716.8-1 when you pick 55%. Considering you get paid out 1,200-1, it actually isn't a bad deal for the 55% handicappers.
The Lines Don't Always Favor Betting Parlays
In conclusion, I almost never recommend betting parlays for newer cash players. There are times when I'll put out a 2-team combo on a football game if 2 favorites are being under-valued, but only a of couple times a year. Your best move is to stick to straight bets in football and basketball with the point spreads and totals.
Sometimes, conference vs conference match-ups are a good opportunity for a successful combo wager if 1 of the 2 conferences is under-valued. For instance, ACC football went 4-0 vs the SEC on a Saturday in 2014 – nobody expected that except a few savvy gamblers. Georgia Tech over Georgia was just one of the upsets that took place on that November day as bookies lost out to the ever-popular SEC hype train driving the lines. Another opportunity for this kind of combo bet occurs during early-season conference vs conference 'challenge' tourneys in college basketball.
What Does A 3 Team Parlay Payout Rate
I know it's tempting to try and strike it rich on a big 'trifecta,' but the chances are less in your favor as the number of picks goes up. So have fun, but proceed with caution!
