What is a parlay?
A parlay is a group of individual bets combined to make one bet. Because it is a combination of bets, the fewest outcomes one can try and predict in one parlay wager is two. In the parlay, it is actually one wager predicting a series of outcomes and because it is only one amount being wagered the greater the number of outcomes being predicted, the greater the odds one is given if this is done correctly.
What odds are given for winning a parlay?
Below is a table of odds and payoffs for parlay wagering.
Parlay payoffs are the following (This does not include Money Line Bets):
| # OF TEAMS | BETTING PAYOFF |
| 2 | 13/5 |
| 3 | 6/1 |
| 4 | 10/1 |
| 5 | 20/1 |
| 6 | 40/1 |
| 7 | 75/1 |
| 8 | 150/1 |
| 9 | 250/1 |
| 10 | 400/1 |
| 11 | 500/1 |
| 12 | 600/1 |
| 13 | 750/1 |
| 14 | 900/1 |
| 15 | 1200/1 |
In the table, we can see that if a bettor chooses and correctly picks 4 separate wagers on the same ticket they are rewarded with a payout of ten times their money. However, if they were to lose any of the four games they would lose the entire wager. As you can see, while a parlay is a riskier bet, the rewards can be extremely high if one can pick them correctly.
What are some common questions regarding parlays?
As is the case with any type of wager, there are a few rules we need to remember when placing a parlay bet. Firstly, if one of the games involved in the parlay bet is a push or no action then the parlay is automatically reduced to the next lowest total number of games.
For example, if someone bets a four-team parlay and one of the segments is a push, it automatically becomes a three-team parlay. If it is a two-team parlay and one of the segments is a push, then it becomes a straight bet.
While most casinos, sports books, and online sportsbooks will allow different types of wagers to be parlayed (for example: a point spread bet and an over/under) they usually will not allow a point spread and money line bet on the same game to be parlayed.
They will also usually not allow bets of different durations to be parlayed. For example, they usually will not let someone parlay a bet on a game with a halftime wager on the same game or any game for that matter. Most casinos and sports books allow parlays on halves. While the sportsbooks won’t let bettors combine halves with full game bets they will allow parlays of several halftime wagers.
Most casinos and sports books will allow parlays of games in more than one sport. For example, one can include a wager on a football game with a wager on a basketball game in the same parlay bet. However, certain sports may be restricted from inclusion in parlays. These rules can vary from place to place so be sure to check before trying to place a truly exotic wager.