How Do Sports Betting Parlays Work
Parlay bets have become quite common in Virginia online sports betting as they offer users a chance to win big. If you do your research well and get lucky, you can quickly grow your bankroll using these types of bets, although you will also be taking a much bigger risk than regular bets. If you are not familiar with parlays, we’ll take you through everything you need to know.
What Is a Parlay Bet?
First, it’s important to note that Parlays have different names in different parts of the world, but it mostly depends on the bookie you are using. They are also called accumulators, combo bets, multi-bets, or multi-wagers.
Basically, they are a type of wager that combines multiple bets into one ticket. The wagers become linked and the odds become much bigger, but you must win all individual wagers to win the bet. The bets you select can be different games or different events in the same game.
How Parlay Bets Work
Making a parlay bet is quite simple, as you only need to click on different bets. When you select a bet on a sportsbook, your ticket will be created automatically, mostly on the right or lower side of the website. If you click on a second one, this bet will be automatically combined with the first one. The odds will then be calculated afresh, giving you a much bigger win potential than if you would have bet on the two events separately.
Let’s say you want to bet on the NFL and have two games you are interested in. One is the Kansas City Chiefs to win against the Buffalo Bills, with odds of -110. The second one is the Los Angeles Rams to win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with odds of +290.
Now, if you make individual bets of $50 each, you will win $95.45 in Game 1, including the stake amount. You will then win $195 in Game 2, giving you a profit of $190.45 if both bets are correct.
If you decide to combine the two bets, your odds will be multiplied to give you odds of about +600. If both games go your way, your profit will be much bigger at $600 if you place a wager of $100. That’s a huge difference!
The Upside of Parlay Betting
Although you will most likely be told that parlay betting is simply a way of giving the sportsbook your money, it has its upsides. The obvious one is that you get to enjoy much higher odds, so your payout will be much bigger. This means you don’t have to wager huge amounts of money to make significant profit like you would with singles. A $5 bet can give you significant winnings.
Besides that, parlays are known for the thrill they give bettors. Since you are only betting a small amount for a chance to win big, the excitement as you wait for your bets to complete is usually very high. And if the stars align for you, you get to recoup a huge amount of any money that you have lost.
The Downside of Parlay Betting
While parlays have a huge appeal due to the potential for higher payouts, they also come with their fair share of drawbacks. The obvious one is that the risk is much higher as all your bets have to win for you to get your pay. If one prediction doesn’t go your way, the whole bet is lost, and you won’t get any payout for the bets you’ve already won.
Besides that, parlays make it easy to get overconfident or take more risk than is reasonable. A single addition usually leads to a huge change in the odds, which can easily entice you to overlook the risk involved. Before you place a parlay bet, ensure that you do proper research on each of your bets, then try to keep the slip as small as possible.