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Parlays
(US Sports)
A parlay is a single bet that links together anywhere from 2 to
10 individual plays. The parlay can be comprised of a series of
bets on a team, over/under bets, or any mixture of the two. For
the parlay to be a winning wager, every one of its individual plays
must win. If any of the individual plays is not a winner, then the
entire parlay wager loses.
If,
however, one of the individual plays is a "push," then the parlay
is still on for the remaining plays. A three play parlay would become
a two play parlay; a two play parlay would become a straight bet,
with corresponding reductions of the payoff.
Why
wager on a parlay and not make several individual bets? The payouts
for parlays are significantly higher than for individual bets. But
remember, since every one of the individual plays must win, it's
an all-or-nothing bet. If you win two out of three plays, the parlay
still loses, whereas you would have won those two plays as individual
straight bets. You are given better odds because predicting the
outcomes of several plays together is significantly more difficult
than predicting any individual play.
You
cannot parlay circled games.
These
are the risk/win odds for parlay (Football & Basketball) bets:
| All
Winners |
All
Losers |
| 2
team |
13/5 |
-- |
| 3
team |
6/1 |
-- |
| 4
team: |
10/1 |
-- |
| 5
team |
20/1 |
-- |
| 6
team |
40/1 |
Even |
| 7
team |
75/1 |
2/1 |
| 8
team |
150/1 |
5/1 |
| 9
team |
250/1 |
10/1 |
| 10
team |
400/1 |
15/1 |
Even
Losers are Winners!
Parlays are a great way to bet and now betmaker.com has made it
even more interesting! Bet a 6-team parlay or more and if every
one of your picks loses - YOU WIN!!!
Let's
put the theory into action:
| Example:
Dave
has $250 available in his account and would like
to make a three play parlay. On the Betting Lines
page, he would select "parlay," enter the amount
he would like to wager, $50 in this instance, then
select the individual plays that will make up his
parlay. $50 is deducted from his account. His balance
now reads $200 available, $50 at risk.
When he's done making his selections, the page might
look like this:
Amount
of wager $50
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Outcome
I
Say
the results of the two games were the following:
| |
| Baltimore |
25 |
| New
Orleans |
20 |
|
The first play wins: Miami, the underdog, won the game. They either
had to win the game outright or lose by less than 7 for this play
to be a winner.
The
second play wins: the sum of the Miami and Atlanta's final scores
was 37. Any total of 35 or higher would have made this play a winner.
The
third play wins: Baltimore beat New Orleans by 5 points, thus covering
the point spread of 3.5. Baltimore had to win the game by 4 points
or more for this play to be a winner.
Since
all three of the plays were winners, the parlay wager wins. The
payoff odds for a three play parlay are 1/6. Thus Dave's $50 bet
returns $300. Unlike straight bets, in which the original bet is
returned to the bettor if he or she wins, parlay payouts include
the original wager. $300 is deposited to Dave's account. His balance
now reads $500 available, $0 at risk.
Outcome II
Say
the results of the same two games were instead:
| |
| Baltimore |
24 |
| New
Orleans |
20 |
|
Dave's
first play wins: Miami, the underdog, won the game. They either
had to win the game outright or lose by less that 7 for this play
to be a winner.
The
second play loses: the sum of Miami and Atlanta's final scores was
27. Any total of 33 or below loses.
The
third play wins: Baltimore won by 4 points, thus covering the point
spread of 3.5. Baltimore had to win by 4 points or more for this
play to be a winner.
Since
the second play was not a winner, the parlay bet loses. No money
is returned. His balance now reads: $200 available, $0 at risk.
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