Parlay Gambling: How to use parlay bets in sports betting?
Are you new to sports betting and do you want to explore how parlay gambling works? What does parlay mean in betting? Betting sites use parlays to boost the thrill of a wager. Simply explained, a parlay is a sequence of wagers or many bets that must all be won for you to get your profits.
If you’re betting on football, for example, you may put a parlay wager like this:
- You are backing team A to win.
- Team B to lose by more than 12 points.
- Total points scored to be more than 20.
What’s A Parlay Bet?
Parlay gambling is one of the most common types of sports betting. What’s nice about parlays is that they allow sports bettors to wager on two or more point spreads, OVER/UNDERs, or Moneyline Bets at the same time. If all your predictions are correct, then you can earn higher payouts. However, if one of your parlay bet fails, your whole parlay bet loses as well.
How Do Parlays Work?

Parlays combine many bets, and the risk is substantially larger than a single-game wager. As we said, all of the stakes in a parlay are must-win for the parlay to pay off. The parlay odds, on the other hand, reflect the higher risk.
Most sports bettors are familiar with parlay bets. Parlay gambling has been around for a long time and is quite popular in both the EU and the US. Although, it has two completely different names. The term “parlay betting” is used in the United States, whereas “accumulator betting” is used in Europe.
Parlay Gambling: Understanding Parlay Odds
Take a look at three different football games. For a three-team parlay, the football parlay betting odds would be as follows:
3-Team Parlay
Sa Bayern Munich vs Greuther Furth | Spread | Munich -3.5 / Furth +3.5 |
PSG vs Real Madrid | Moneyline | PSG -180 / Real Madrid +160 |
Man United vs Brighton | Totals | OVER 47.5 / UNDER 47.5 |
You choose Munich to cover for your first wager because they have a history of doing well against the spread (ATS). Then, on your second bet, you pick PSG to win the game outright. You choose the OVER on the third bet because you think the total number of points scored will be at least 48.
Meanwhile, the odds for each game will be the same as if you were placing a single wager. However, because you have a 50-50 probability of winning each bet (3 bets x 2 = 6) the football parlay odds for the whole bet would be +600 (6-1).
Therefore, if you wager $100 on the full parlay, you’ll earn a parlay payout of $700. This includes your initial $100, plus your $600 wins. Besides, you may use an Odds Calculator to figure out how much money you’d win based on the odds and the amount you bet.
What If One Of Your Bets Is A PUSH?
In parlay gambling, when your spread or totals bet reaches the precise figure set by the bookmaker, it becomes a PUSH. Assume if the totals above were 47 instead of 47.5. Let’s say the combined score for both teams was exactly 47. Then, you will get your money back because neither the OVER nor the UNDER won or lost.
This wager would be omitted from your parlay as if it had never occurred. To collect a payoff, you’d still have to win the other bets on your parlay card. However, it’s comforting to know that bookies will deduct the PUSH from your wager.
Parlay Gambling Tips
Sportsbook loves offering parlays because parlay gambling requires bettors to be flawless, which is hard to achieve. However, this does not rule out the possibility of parlays. Handicap each game you wish to include in your parlay selections before you place your wager.
If you don’t do your homework, you may have a difficult time winning a parlay. We at Odds Shark, on the other hand, provide all of the required handicapping tools to guarantee you have all you need to make informed wagers.
Parlay Gambling: Should I Bet On A Parlay?

Keep an eye on your cash while researching each wager. Even if parlays pay out more, you must have enough money to continue betting. Also, you don’t want to get into a parlay gambling situation like that. When making your deposit, take note that if you lose even one bet on your card, your parlay will lose all of your bets.
The parlay ticket is a loss if you place a 3-team point spread parlay and only win two of them. So, if you’re betting on spreads and totals, you’re interested in more than simply teams winning. Therefore, pay attention to team reports and betting trends.
Parlay Cards: How Do Parlays Work?
Usually, online sportsbooks won’t allow you to build parlay cards with different sides of the same game. Although it would be convenient to be able to accept odds on both sides of a bet, this is not a common betting strategy. Whether you are betting on MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, or NCAA college sports.
Instead of two of the same type of bets, each 2-team parlay would have to include a spread and a moneyline or total. Even if the sportsbook in Singapore permits it, you will be wasting your money since your wagers will cancel each other out.
Parlay Betting Pros and Cons
Pros of Parlay Gambling
- Higher returns than single bets
- Excellent for free bonus games
- High-risk, high-reward
- Potential for a correlated parlay
- A great deal of excitement
Cons of Parlay Gambling
- High-risk, high-reward
- Some sportsbooks do not accept correlated parlay bets.
- Fixed odds favor the sportsbooks.
- There’s a higher likelihood of a losing streak.
Parlay Gambling FAQs:
Are accumulators and parlays the very same thing?
Yes. There is no difference between parlays and accumulators. In the United States, the term parlay is often used, although, in the United Kingdom and Europe, the term accumulator (a.k.a. ACCA) is used. They both indicate the same thing: a collection of two or more bets, each of which must win.
Is it profitable to bet on a parlay?
Let’s be clear about one thing: sports betting experts do not endorse parlay betting as a long-term strategy. However, this does not rule out the possibility of parlay gambling being profitable. If the adrenaline of the hunt isn’t enough for you, we’ve already provided you with some great circumstances for parlay bets. Imagine the bragging rights you’ll have after completing a four-team parlay! Isn’t that more precious than cash?
Are parlays a waste of money?
In sports betting, there is a widespread belief that all parlays are losing bets. This is because most sports bettors are unfamiliar with how they function or how to effectively bet on them.