To get the parlay odds for our three-leg wager we now need to multiply these odds together. 3.00 x 3.50 x 1.63 = 17.12. To discover what the American odds for this parlay would be we need to convert it back by multiplying by 100 and then subtracting 100. So our parlay odds work out to: 17.12 x 100 – 100 = +1612. The odds calculator can be found under the box labelled “Odds”. Opting for a favourite team, the money line must be entered with a (-) symbol. Almost all parlay calculators have a maximum of-110 money line odds. If the player is not opting for a favourite team, then logic dictates the (+) be used, but that is not necessary. You won't win the full amount, however. If you place a four-team parlay, and three out of four wins with one tie, your bet will pay out as a three-team parlay instead. Odds for sporting events can get quite complex, especially for those new to sports betting. Combining different odds for different events can get even more confusing. A parlay calculator is a betting tool that aids gaming investors find out the odds and results of a parlay bet. A parlay, also known as an accumulator, is 1 bet whose results are usually determined by 2 or even more underlying bets. When successful, it offers greater returns to the investor since it links up many events for a higher payout. Covering five of six games in a six-team parlay counts the same as losing six of six games. Put simply, a parlay requires perfection. With more risk comes more reward. Two-team parlays (or two-teamers) typically pay 2.6-to-1 and three-team parlays pay 6-to-1. You can add more picks for larger payouts.
A parlay bet is a popular form of sports wagering most gamblers are familiar with. In case you’re not, this bet is rather easy to understand. A parlay is simply a combo bet where, rather than betting several teams individually, you group them into a single wager. Using this option, the payout is greater and the risk is less, but you need all teams selected to win.
To give an example, say you’re interested this week in betting Jets -4, Patriots +3, Dolphins +2.5 and Colts -7. If your bankroll is limited to just $100, using straight wagers you’d make four separate bets of $25 to win $22.73. If you we’re feeling both lucky and in the mood to gamble, you might instead bet them all together as a four team parlay. Under the parlay option, the stakes would be $100 to win at least $1,000. To win, you’ll need to go 4-0; if one or more games push while all others win, the payout is reduced, and with any other outcome, the bet is a loss.
What happens if there’s a push in a parlay? That bet will be taken out of the parlay and the payout will be reduced as if there were one fewer team in the parlay. So if you had a 4 team parlay and you got three picks cocrrect and the other was a push, you would be paid out the odds of a 3 team parlay.
Parlay bets can be very tempting as they can offer some big payouts. See a recent parlay Kevin made at 5Dimes.eu and cashed in on!
Are Parlays Sucker Bets?
There is a general misconception in sports betting that all parlays are sucker bets. This is simply because most sports bettors are not familiar with how they work, or how to bet them properly. In this article, I’ll address parlay betting strategies, but first let’s look at parlay odds and how they are calculated.
The parlay odds at most Las Vegas sportsbooks are:
2 teams 2.6 to 1
3 teams 6-1
4 teams 10-1
5 teams 20-1
6 teams 40-1
7 teams 80-1
8 teams 150-1
Online the odds are similar, though some sites such as BetNow and MyBookie offer better odds starting with three teams and up. What’s important to note is that these are fixed odds based on a 50/50 wagering proposition. If a spread is listed at Home Team -7 / Road Team +7 this is 50/50 proposition. If, instead, the spread was Home Team -7 -105 / Road Team +7 -115, this is no longer a 50/50 proposition, and the payout will be calculated using a method bookmakers refer to as “true odds”. I’ll cover that later in this article, but first let’s take a moment to understand where fixed parlay odds are derived from.
Let’s say you decide for the next eight weeks you’re going to bet the Monday night football game, starting with a $1.00 bankroll and betting your entire bankroll each week until you go 8-0 or bust. The potential win is as follows:
Week 1: $1.00 to win $0.91: If win total profit = $0.91 (Bankroll =$1.91)
Week 2: $1.91 to win $1.74: If win total profit = $2.65 (Bankroll =$3.65)
Week 3: $3.65 to win $3.32: If win total profit = $5.97 (Bankroll =$6.97)
Week 4: $6.97 to win $6.34: If win total profit = $12.31 (Bankroll =$13.31)
Week 5: $13.31 to win $12.10: If win total profit = $24.41 (Bankroll =$25.41)
Week 6: $25.41 to win $23.10: If win total profit = $46.51 (Bankroll =$47.51)
Week 7: $47.51 to win $43.19: If win total profit = $89.70 (Bankroll =$90.70)
Week 8: $90.70 to win $82.45: If win total profit = $172.15 (Bankroll =$173.15)
The reason parlays are often sucker bets shows up in this middle column. Had you bet these in an 8 team parlay, you’d only get paid 150 to one. Essentially, a parlay is no different than betting all in each time, only parlays generally pay much worse. However, you’ll notice the odds are not poor until you get to four teams, where the sportsbook has a whopping 31.25% advantage. Two teams pay a smidgen worse than the manual parlay (all in each time) option, where three team parlays pay a smidgen better. Rarely ever is a 2 or 3 team parlay a true suckers bet.
What Does a Parlay Pay?
As I mentioned earlier, fixed parlay odds vary greatly between online sportsbooks. Here is some info on which sites offer the best fixed parlay odds:
In general two team parlays pay +260, or $260 for every $100 bet. BetNow offers +264.5, and 5Dimes.eu offers +264, which is better than the +260 most betting sites offer.
3 team parlays pay 6/1 or $600 for every $100 bet. BetOnline.ag is the leader in the industry in 3 team parlay payouts.
This is the area where betting sites generally hurt the sports bettor, paying only 10 to 1, which gives them a 31.25% advantage. This can be avoided when betting at BetNow where the payout is +1228.3, or at 5Dimes where it is +1228.
Generally speaking, parlaying 5 teams or more teams is not a good idea; however, for sports gamblers looking for a lotto ticket, 5dimes.eu and Bookmaker.eu each offer up to 15 team parlays and have by far the best odds in the business on these.
How much does a 15 team parlay pay? A 15 team parlay will pay out over +16,000. I just tested this out and a $1 15 team NFL parlay at -110 odds will payout $16,306. Good luck hitting on that!
True Odds Parlays
1 Earlier, I mentioned fixed odds are only given when all selections are 50/50 propositions. If one side of a line requires a greater stake than the other to yield the same payout, this is not a 50/50 proposition, and the bookmaker will now use “true odds”. What’s important to note is that true odds doesn’t actually mean the “true odds” of winning. Rather, true odds pays the same as if you bet each team individually and rolled the profit forward each time, which is what I showed in the example of 8 all in bets starting with a $1.00 stake.
To calculate true odd parlays, each bet first needs to be converted into a multiplier. To do this, take what a winning ticket would return and divide it by the amount risked. For example, at -110 a $110 stake returns $210 ($110 stake + $100 win). Calculating the multiplier as return/risk here, we plug in 210/110, which means the multiplier is 1.91. If we did the same on -115, the multiplier is 215/115=1.87.
Let’s say you’re in the mood to gamble on an 8 team parlay, but the only out available to you is a bookmaker paying 150-1 fixed odds. A trick of the trade here is to include one bet that is priced differently than -110 in order to force the bookmaker to use true odds. So, let’s say you make 7 selections priced at the standard -110 pricing and one at -115. A true parlay calculates by multiplying each modifier together. The math is 1.91 * 1.91 * 1.91 * 1.91 * 1.91 * 1.91 * 1.91 * 1.87, which equals 173.41. This bet returns 173.41 times the stake, which includes the risk amount, so the bet is 1 to win 172.41. Notice this is significantly better than the fixed odds payout of 1 to win 150 on an 8 team parlay. In short, the trick of the trade when dealing with poor fixed odds is to simply add one team to the parlay that is priced differently than the standard -110.
As you can now see, if you know how to bet parlays properly, they are not always sucker bets. There are, however, a few reasons that parlays are generally not a good move. I’ll cover these, and then cover the times it does make sense.
Top Reasons to Avoid Parlays
1) Progressive betting systems are generally regarded as poor strategy for both bankroll management and bankroll growth. Professional bettors make wagers based on their quantified edge per game. While the math can work out, doing the math for proper bet sizing on a parlay is a lot of added work with little to no upside for most sports bettors.
2) Parlay bets have higher variance than straight bets. Here you’re getting the same odds, but your chance of hitting a dry spell is greatly increased. When the odds are the same it is most often better to go with the lower variance option, which in this case is straight wagers.
3) Line Shopping – Sports bettors maximize their profit by always shopping for the best price. For example, finding -4 when other sites are -4.5, and finding reduced vig options such as -104 instead of -110. When betting parlays, you’ll need to find the most favorable odds for each team at a single betting site. This scenario is rare, so generally you’ll end up with better odds by making straight wagers at multiple betting sites.
Parlays That Make the Most Sense:
Reduced Juice – BetOnline.ag offers 6.5 to one on three team parlays. This comes out better than betting sides at the -105 price standard reduced juice sports books offer. In sports such as NFL football where 50/50 wagering propositions are common, a sports bettor gets far superior odds by betting 3 team parlays at BetOnline.
Correlated Parlays – If a bookmaker was offering betting lines on both “will it be cloudy today?” and “will it rain today?”, if allowed, you’d be much better off betting either both as no, or both as yes, in a parlay bet as opposed to straight wagers. While this is a simplified example, there are plenty of times when outcomes are correlated in sports betting. For example, a handicapper might determine that if one team covers the spread, the game is more likely to go over or under the posted total. Also, during the final week of the NFL season, a certain team winning or losing the day game might result in a previously important night game now having no meaning in the playoff race.
Free Play Bonuses – Several online betting sites, for example BetNow, offer players free bets based on the size of their initial deposit. Free play bonuses are not the same as cash. The difference is that a bet made with cash returns both stake and win, where a bet made with a free play returns only win. Parlays allow you the chance to use the same free play more than once, because a parlay really is only a wager that continues to place stake+win on the next selection. Remember, fixed odd three team parlays pay a little better than true odds. So when using free plays to bet 3 team parlays, you’re getting slightly better odds, and also a chance to apply that free play stake to three different bets. This is common knowledge that 3 team parlays are a great use of free play bonuses.
Circumventing Betting Limits – I’ll warn you upfront that betting sites do not take kindly to this, and it might get you banned. The basic idea here is, say you find a parlay with monster value in a small market with low betting limits. Let’s say a woman’s field hockey line opens at +150 when it should be +100. Here making ten unique two-team parlays, using the +150 bet with a random -110 each time might be advantageous, as on average you’ll get down 5 times the max bet. At -110 juice the expected ROI is less, but to get the maximum amount down on line of significant value, it might make sense. While personally I rarely use this strategy online, I do attempt to get away with it in Las Vegas from time to time. This takes a little bit of acting, such as starting to walk away from the cage and then saying wait, also give me… Know this: It is a trick of the trade advantage players use that is not for novice bettors.
This concludes our article on parlay betting. As a final tip: if you enjoy using parlays as a lottery ticket, www.Bovada.lv runs a $10,000 weekly parlay jackpot during football season, which is an added bonus on top of what a $5 stake pays on a 10 team parlay win. To learn more, see the promo section at www.Bovada.lv. If nothing else, this article gives you some great conversation material next time someone in the sports bar says, parlays are for suckers. Hopefully, it ends up being much more than that, adding extra winnings to your bankroll. Either way, we wish you the best of luck.
Other Advanced Sports Betting Strategy Articles:
» Teaser Betting Strategy
» Prop Betting Strategy
» How To Get Max Value When Betting
A parlay takes multiple wagers and combines them into a single ticket. For a parlay to pay off, all bets on the ticket must win. If even one pick on a parlay loses, the entire ticket is a loser.
Parlays present a higher risk for bettors, but can also pay off at dramatically higher odds versus single bets. The Gaming Today Parlay Calculator functions as a tool that allows you to see the parlay odds and implied win probability for any combination of bets.
Parlay Calculator
Enter the bet amount and the American Odd for each game in the parlay and your bet amount. If you are not using American odds, enter your decimal odds or fractional odds into this odds calculator.
What Is A Parlay Bet?
Legal sportsbooks allow bettors to put together just about any combination of available bets and play them as a parlay. Any ticket that combines two or more bets into a single ticket qualifies as a parlay wager.
The odds on a parlay bet are calculated as moneyline odds, and most US-facing legal sports use the American odds notation to display moneyline odds. American odds are denoted by a “+” or “-“ in front of the odds number. For example, lines like -110 and +150 use the American Odds notation.
Calculating Payouts From Positive Moneyline Odds
To calculate “+” American odds, take the odds number and divide by 100, then multiply that by the size of the bet.
A $50 bet at +150 odds, for instance, is calculated as 150/100 (which yields 1.5), multiplied by $50 (1.5*$50=$75). A winning $50 bet at +150 odds would return $125 total to the bettor ($75 profit plus the original $50 bet.)
Calculating Payouts From Negative Moneyline Odds
To calculate “-“ odds, divide 100 by the odds number, then multiply by the amount of the wager.
A $50 bet at -110 odds would be calculated as 100/110 (without the “-“ for the 110 odds), which yields 0.909. You then multiply that by the size of the bet (0.909*$50=$45.45). A $50 winning bet at -110 odds would return $95.95 to the bettor ($45.45 profit plus the original $50 bet).
Decimal Odds
American odds aren’t the only notation sportsbooks use to display moneyline odds. Decimal odds represent another common way to display moneyline odds. Odds notations like 1.20 and 10.00 are moneyline bets represented with decimal odds.
To convert “+” American odds into decimal odds, take the odds number and divide by 100, then add 1. Converting +150 to decimal odds is executed as (150/100)+1. That reduces to 1.5+1, which equals 2.5. So 2.5 decimal odds are equivalent to +150 American odds.
Converting “-“ odds to decimal odds requires dividing 100 by the odds and subtracting that quotient from 1. The -110 are converted as 1-(100/-110), which reduces to 1-(-0.909) and solves as 1.909. So -110 American odds convert to 1.909 decimal odds.
To calculate the return on a bet using decimal odds, multiply the wager by the odds. For example, a $50 bet at 1.909 decimal odds returns $95.45 to the bettor. To calculate profit, subtract the amount of the wager from this product ($95.45-$50=$45.45).
Favorites Versus Underdogs
The favorite in a game is the team with the higher implied probability of winning. Favorites are denoted by “-“ odds when using American odds. Favorites win more often overall, but pay out less on a win compared to underdogs.
Underdogs are the team with the lower implied probability of winning and are denoted with “+” odds. When making a parlay bet, combining multiple underdogs can produce potentially huge payouts, but the implied winning probability of such a ticket is low.
Implied Probability
The Gaming Today Parlay Calculator allows you to take any number of moneyline bets, input them into the calculator, and see both the payout odds and implied probability of winning. Implied probability can be derived from any moneyline number.
Implied probability for “+” odds is calculated as 100/(“+” American odds + 100)*100. So for instance, the implied probability of +150 moneyline odds is calculated as 100/(150+100)*100. That reduces down to 40, so a bet with +150 odds has a 40% implied probability of winning.
For “-“ odds, the implied probability is calculated as “-” odds / (“-” odds + 100)*100. Putting -110 odds into that equations yields 110/(110+100)*100, which solves to 52.38. So a -110 American odds bet translates to a 52.38% implied probability of winning.
Looking for other calculators to use when sports betting? Check out:
Finding Value In A Parlay Bet
The implied probability of any bet, including parlays, can be used by astute bettors to find value in a sports wager. Finding value means making bets on teams that have a better chance of winning on the field versus what the implied probability indicates.
When trying to find value in a parlay bet, you must evaluate whether all of the bets on the tickets have a better chance of winning than the implied probability of the entire ticket. Keep in mind, however, that all of the bets on a ticket have to win for the parlay to win. No deposit online casino for real money.
What Is A Parlay Calculator?
The Parlay Calculator will help you determine the expected payout for a given moneyline parlay bet. Parlay bets are a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and are dependent on all of those bets winning.
Parlays have higher payoffs than placing each individual wager since the difficulty of winning it is much higher. If any of the bets in the parlay lose, the entire parlay loses. Any plays in that “pushes” or ties, then the parlay eliminates that bet from the parlay and is recalculated based on fewer bets in the parlay.
How The Gaming Today Parlay Calculator Works
The math calculating a parlay gets more difficult with each new bet, but if you understand how moneyline calculations work, it becomes just a matter of a couple of extra steps. Let’s take a set example.
Bet 1: -110
Bet 2: -150
How Much Does A 3 Team Parlay Payout
Bet 3: +100
To calculate the payout we need to evaluate each set of odds into decimal odds, multiply the result, and subtract a factor of 1. Remember from the moneyline calculator article, that negative odds and positive odds need to be evaluated differently. Here is what that looks like:
Bet 1: (-1*-110+100)/-1*-110 = 1.909
Bet 2: (-1*-150+100)/-1*-150 = 1.666
Bet 3 (100+100)/100 = 2
Next, we multiply the three results and subtract 1 from the total, and multiply by the Bet Amount:
(Bet 1 * Bet 2 * Bet 3 -1) * Bet Amount = Parlay Payout
Which looks like:
(1.909 * 1.666 * 2 -1) * $100 = $536.08
Not a bad result, but don’t be fooled: the multiplication here is also consistently multiplying the risk. The implied probability of the above occurring is 13.59%. Those odds would look like a +536 longshot bet. Now let’s look at the event where Bet 2 is a push:
3 Team Parlay Payout With A Push
Bet 1: (-1*-110+100)/-1*-110 = 1.909
Bet 2: (-1*-150+100)/-1*-150 = 1.666
Bet 3 (100+100)/100 = 2
(1.909 * 2 -1) * $100 = $281.80
In the above case, the push is removed entirely from the outcome and the odds adjust accordingly. Below is a basic parlay chart for -110 odds for each bet:
This graph shows the profit as the number of bets in a parlay increase, based on a total $100 bet.
What Is Line Movement?
Sportsbooks set the lines on each game to produce enough bets on both sides of the line to allow the house to make money. If 100% of bets come in on the favorite of a given game, for example, the sportsbook loses massively if the favorite wins.
To balance that out, the sportsbook sets lines that encourage plenty of bets for both the favorite and the underdog. If too much money starts to come in on one side of a bet, the sportsbook will adjust the line in hopes of prompting more bets on the other side.
Note that the house sets betting lines in a way that allows the sportsbook to take vig, aka house cut. For example, totals bets often set the line at -110 on both sides, though a true even money bet would set the odds at +100 for both the under and the over.
The Legal Online Sports Betting Industry In The US
A change in federal laws in 2018 prompted the current boom period of the US sports betting industry. Many states offer both retail and online sports wagering legally.
In states with both physical and mobile sportsbooks, online wagering produces the majority of overall bets. DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and PointsBet have emerged as three of the top online sports betting platforms in the US market.
3 Best Online Sportsbooks In The US
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook offers a selection of sports that yields almost infinite ways to put a parlay ticket together. DraftKings Sportsbook operates in Michigan, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Iowa, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Gaming Today Parlay Calculator can be used as a valuable tool to evaluate the best ways to assemble a parlay ticket from the vast selection of wagers at DraftKings Sportsbook.
FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook represents another major player in the legal US online sports betting market. Much like its competitors on this list, FanDuel Sportsbook allows bettors to combine several different kinds of bets on a parlay.
Using the Parlay Calculator, you can compare the parlay odds at FanDuel Sportsbook to what the same ticket would pay out at DraftKings or PointsBet. Bettors in Michigan, Virginia, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Tennessee, and West Virginia can access FanDuel Sportsbook’s mobile platform.
PointsBet
Operating in Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, PointsBet presents one of the most unique platforms in the legal US online sports betting industry.
PointsBet offers many different ways to put together parlays, including the Single Game Parlay. The Single Game Parlay allows you to combine moneyline, totals, and point spread bets from a single game into a parlay ticket.
Claim up to $2,000 in bonus offers at PointsBet – Use code BIGBONUS
Gaming Today Parlay Calculator FAQ
Yes. The overturn of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018 cleared the way for states to decide their own individual sports betting laws.
States that choose to legalize sports betting can opt to allow retail and/or online sports betting. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Colorado host some of the biggest legal online sports betting markets in the US.
Always. The Gaming Today Parlay Calculator presents a critical tool that should always be used to evaluate the overall payout odds and implied winning probability of a parlay.
Parlay tickets involve complicated odds calculations and potentially massive payouts. With that kind of money on the line, bettors would do well to crunch the numbers of any parlay bet through the Parlay Calculator.
Yes. The Gaming Today Parlay Calculator is a legal tool, and you can rest assured that sharp bettors across the country are using it to evaluate any parlay they might be thinking about making.
Each sportsbook has a team of bookmakers, aka oddsmakers, that evaluate where the sportsbook should set the lines on each game. To make money, sportsbooks must choose lines that bring in an appropriate amount of money on each side of the bet.
The public can affect the movement of a line. After the bookmakers set a line, the line will move if too much money starts coming in on one side of the bet.
Favorites are the team or athlete which the sportsbook presents as having the higher implied probability of winning a game or match. Favorites are denoted with “-” odds when using American odds notation and pay out at less favorable odds compared to underdogs.
Underdogs have a lower implied probability of winning and are denoted with “+” American odds notation. Which bank has highest interest rate for fixed deposit. Underdogs win less often than favorites, but the payouts are better.
DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and PointsBet represent three of the top-tier online sportsbooks in the US. All three of these platforms offer a comprehensive menu of domestic and international sports.
The huge selection at each of these sportsbooks yields almost infinite ways to combine bets into a parlay ticket.