Types of Parlays

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As mentioned in other pages of this web site, parlays are offered in different forms at different sportsbooks. We shall categorize them into three general groups.

Ready-made Parlays: A few sportsbooks offer a fixed list of games (usually 5 to 8 games) where the bettor simply marks his or her selections. (It is like a 'TotoCalcio' slip, if you are familiar with it). The bettor cannot make his or her own selection of games and the payout is a fixed amount (usually pari-mutuel). These parlays are very rudimentary and should be avoided.

Fixed-odds Parlays: This is the type used by the vast majority of sportsbooks with slight variations. This is how it works. The sportsbook supplies you with a list of games, as shown in the table below,  taking place on a certain day or at a certain tournament, and allows you to form your own parlay by selecting games of your choice. The list may consist of all NFL games of the week, a long list of college football games, or NBA games, etc. These lists are composed of point spreads for each game so that all the odds are evens adjusted for commissions (the standard is 1.91 or  -110). You can form a 2-play, 3-play, 4-play, etc. parlays; the maximum number depends on the rules of the sportsbook. Many set the limit to 6 to 10, though there are a few that allow more.

The Odds of these parlays are fixed and the values depend on the offers of the sportsbook. For example, as shown in the following table, a sportsbook (SB_1) offers 21/1 for a 5-play parlay and 40/1 for a 6-play parlay. Another sportsbook (SB_3) offers 25/1 and 35/1 for the same parlays. You see the discrepancy? SB_1 is better on 6-play parlay, but not on 5-play parlays, than SB_3.

The True (Fair Bet) Odds column is the yardstick to measure how good an offer is. No sportsbook offers these values since it is commissionless; it is computed from mathematical probabilities. If anyone claims to pay more than these values, then it surely is a scam.

It should be apparent from this table that the fixed-odds offered may vary significantly from sportsbook to sportsbook. Some sportsbooks raise the winnings for 4-, 5-, and 6-play parlays, but their odds for higher parlays are outrageously low. Two sportsbooks have 600/1 for a 12-play parlay (which is a quarter of what you should be getting from sportsbooks that use computed odds - Isn't it sad?).

In general computed parlay-odds are far more lucrative than the fixed-odds. Check your sportsbook to see their parlay payouts and compare them to the above table. If you find out that their payouts differ significantly from the 'Computed-Odds' column of the above table, then it is high time that you reconsider your membership to that sportsbook.

Sometimes computed parlay-odds are incorrectly referred to as 'True odds' by some sportsbooks. We hope this untruthfulness is not maliciously intended to mislead bettors, since the true odds are actually the 'fair bet' odds.

True Parlays: Here you will find the freedom and fun of sports betting. Go to the NFL section of your sportsbook and pick a couple of games, not only point spreads but also moneylines; go to the the NCAA section and pick a couple or more; how about some tennis matches from US open, and a few golf pairings, there is soccer too - you've got your parlay - unrestricted, conforming to your knowledge and guts.

The result is a parlay slip similar to the one you saw in other section of this web site. Since some explanations of that slip are in order now, it is displayed again here.

The first two selections need no explanations, except that they indicate the possibility of forming a parlay from various sports. The third selection is simply a pick on the point spread of the game between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic as can be seen from the odds of 1.91. The fourth selection is also a point spread bet but with point selling. A few sportsbooks allow you to sell or buy points by raising or lowering point spreads.  For the game between the Bears and the Redskins, the point spread was probably 6.5 in favor of the Redskins. That is, +6.5 on Bears would make the odds 1.91. However, the bettor here has chosen to lower the spread to +3.5 taking more risk (lower chance of winning), thus the odds are raised proportionally. On the other hand, while the fifth selection is also similarly set to a totals value with even odds (it was probably O 32.5 for 1.91 odds), the bettor has chosen to buy points to lower it to be O 30.5 thus raising his chances of winning. In this case the odds are proportionally lowered since the bettor is giving himself or herself more chance of winning. 

The sportsbook which allows points buying has a predetermined list of by how much to increase or decrease the odds for every half point bought or sold. In summary, the whole idea of point buying or point selling is to exploit the possible outcome of a game to the maximum  - higher risk increase the odds and lower risk decrease them. And this could be a gold mine if wisely used. For more detail see the section on Buying / Selling Points