Online Sports Betting- Betting Parlays

Online sports bettors looking for a higher return their money often turn to parlays. By grouping two or more game picks into one bet, you can earn much larger return on investment than the standard 1-to-1 return on an individual straight bet.

The biggest caveat to earning that bigger return is the primary rule governing any parlay play. All the picks included in that one single bet must be correct. Most online books such as HRWager will not count a PUSH (tie) as a loss. This just lessons the parlay play by one pick.

The minimum amount of game picks for a parlay is two. Most online books will allow you to group as many as 15 games together in a single parlay play. The books also have a set payout table depending on the number of picks grouped together. The standard return is as follows:

2-Team Parlay pays 2.64-to-1

3-Team Parlay pays 6-to-1

4-Team Parlay pays 12.28-to-1

5-Team Parlay pays 25-to-1

The payout odds continue to increase with each additional team added but the degree of difficulty winning that bet increases at a higher rate. For example, the actual calculated odds of winning a five-team parlay are 31-to-1.

The payout odds listed above are for plays using the posted pointspread and total line. This is often referred to as a Fixed Odds Table.

Actual payouts for parlays using moneyline odds can be determined with a Parlay Calculator.

Tips and Strategies for Betting Parlays

At the top of the list for tips betting parlays is the actual number of teams you group together in a parlay. Professional gamblers tend to stay away from parlays altogether. They already know just how hard it can be to correctly pick multiple winners.

If a pro handicapper is releasing three strong plays, they are hoping to hit at least two to walk away with positive money. If all three are correct, that is a major bonus.

Given this scenario betting parlays, keeping them to two or three plays makes the most sense. Once you move to four teams or more, the odds move against your favor. To many bettors are attracted to the possible return. They fail to account for the increased risk vs. reward factor.

If you still want to test your skill (and mainly luck) in playing larger parlays, you should lower the amount of the bet with each extra play you add.

For example, Using $50 as a base bet on a three-team parlay should be lowered to $40 for four teams. The total bet is then decreased another $10 for each extra team added.

Another tip for betting parlays is knowing the exact payout odds for the online book taking the bet. There are some slight variations as the total number of teams increase.

Another strategy is to look for Parlay Boosters. Some online books like to spice things up with a slightly higher return for betting specific parlays. An example of this would be a 6.5-to-1 return for a West Coast special betting the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers and the San Francisco 49ers in a three-team play.

The specific plays in a Parlay Booster are chosen by the online book not the bettor.

Parlays remain a great way to add even more excitement to betting your favorite sports. As long as you limit your picks and money bet, this is still a great higher risk vs. higher return option.