What is a Parlay in Sports Betting?

If you want to start sports betting or explore more of betting, it is important that you know how everything works. Knowing where to bet, what to bet on, and some strategies and important terms like parlay in sports betting will make it safer for you, at the same time as it adds more fun to the hobby.

There will always be a risk to betting, but there are many ways to do it safer. While you can never be sure that you will not lose your bets, you can make sure that a betting site is good, safe, and legit by doing your research. You can bet safely on this site, to make it a lot more fun to bet. Also, you should learn some of the most important terms when it comes to sports betting, such as what a parlay is.

Parlay bets

In sports betting, we have something called parlay bets, which simply put is when a bettor makes two or more bets and then ties them together in one bet. It can be as few as only two bets, but it can also be much more. Depending on the sportsbook you are using, it might also be called “accumulators” or “multis.” Making parlay bets can drastically change the odds and make them super low, as there is a bigger risk with these bets.

If you for example are watching the NFL season, you can bet on the winning team in 5 matches in a row. To win the bet, all these teams have to win. If you have bet right on the first 4 matches, and the last one fails, you get nothing. So, the disadvantage is that they are harder to win, and they only get harder the more bets you are putting into the parlay bet. On the other hand, it might give you a great sum of money if you win. As with all betting, it is simply up to you to evaluate the risk.

Small deposit, big price

One of the reasons why parlay bets are so popular is that all bettors wish to make that super big payout, especially if it only requires a small deposit. If you plan your parlay bet well, you could potentially turn as little as $10 to $500 if you are lucky. In this sense, bettors are not losing as much money as they would have to risk for a $500 win on a regular 1.50 odds bet for example. However, if you play like this many times, it can cost you greatly. Therefore, try to make more realistic parlay bets that might actually work out. It is not so smart to place 4 quite likely bets and then throw in one with super low odds at the end, as it could ruin your hard work.

How to calculate parlay payouts

If you are so lucky to win a parlay bet, you should know how to calculate the payout. This can be tricky because odds are presented a bit differently from one place to another. If your sports betting site presents ossa in the American way, then they need to be converted. If you do not wish to calculate it yourself, any sportsbook will calculate your potential winnings from a parlay, and this is often the easiest way of doing it.

However, if you want to do it yourself, you can do that. Here’s how:

  1. Convert the American odds to decimal odds.
  2. Multiply all the decimal odds together.
  3. Multiply the result by your bet amount.
  4. Subtract your original stake to get the parlay odds.

Finding a good sports betting site

If you want to have a go at parlay bets, you first need to find a good betting site to do it at. Choosing a betting site is not always easy, as there is a lot of thought that goes into doing so. The site needs to not only be safe, but also have to be good, and offer you the type of betting you enjoy the most. If you wish to bet on basketball, American football, or soccer, you do not have to worry, as most betting sites will have this. However, if you want to bet on more untraditional sports, you might have to look specifically for these.