What is a sports betting parlay? How to make parlay bets, odds calculator for determining payouts

Parlays are popular wagers among bettors because of the appeal of potentially winning a hefty sum with a minimal investment. It's a widespread belief that parlays are mostly done by novice sports bettors, but experienced handicappers are known to play them as well.

Sports betting parlays involve the selection of two or more propositions on a single wager, with each separate portion of a parlay called a "leg." All legs of a parlay must win for the bet to become a winner. For instance, if you pick five teams on a parlay to cover the spread and those picks go 4-1, the bet is a loser. You need to nail all five bets.

Sportsbooks welcome parlays because of their significant house edge. For instance, the true odds on a standard two-team against the spread parlay are 4-to-1, but most betting outlets pay 2.6-to-1 on the wager. The true odds on a three-leg against the spread parlay are 9-to-1, though the standard payout is 6-to-1. Even so, the potential for winning more than the initial investment has proven irresistible to most sports bettors. If you put $100 on a two-team parlay and win, your profit will be $260 for a total return of $360.

The odds for a parlay also shift if bettors include other types of bets with varying "juice" outside the -110 to -115 range, such as moneyline wagers. For example, if you want to take two significant -240 favorites to win their games regardless of point spread, joining those favorites together in one parlay would pay out about $100 for every $100 bet if both win, rather than requiring either a larger stake ($240 to win $100 on either of those two sides) or a smaller payout for each bet separately (each $100 wagered on a -240 favorite would deliver a profit of about $42 if the bet wins).

Calculating the payout on any parlay

Our parlay calculator will combine up to 25 picks and calculate your payout based on your bet amount and the odds for each pick. Find out how much you'll win on any parlay by heading to the SportsLine Parlay Calculator.

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How to bet on sports betting parlays

Placing a parlay bet at a physical sportsbook is simple: Find the rotation numbers (also known as "bet numbers") associated with the pick you want to make, which are typically three- or four-digit numbers that appear next to each team on the sportsbook's list of games available for betting. When you head to the counter, say you want to bet a parlay and then give them the rotation number for each leg as well as the type of bet you're making if it's not against the spread. For example, you might say, "I'd like to parlay these two bets together: 101 moneyline and 103 moneyline" in order to wager on a two-team moneyline parlay.

If you're wagering on a sportsbook's website or mobile application, parlay betting will usually happen inside your betslip after you click on the teams on which you want to bet. Once you open your betslip, look either for a clickable tab with the word "Parlay" or for a Parlay section directly in the main page of the betslip where the odds are listed along with a box for you to enter your wager.

Popularity of parlay betting

Large-scale parlay also have some appeal for casual bettors, giving them the opportunity to make a large amount of money on a small bet if that bettor successfully reads the board correctly on a number of games. Parlaying five -110 picks together can earn a payout of close to 25-to-1, while a $10 bettor could win more than $1,700 on an eight-leg parlay of -110 picks.

Here are some more examples of longshot parlays that have delivered in a major way for bettors: