A Simple Guide To Betting NFL Parlays

A parlay is a multi-leg wager where every bet must hit in order for the bet to cash. Parlay bets can be as few as two legs and as many as 10, though be careful because it’s hard enough to hit a three- or four-leg wager, let alone a nine- or 10-leg bet.

Parlay bets are great because they are a terrific way of getting enhanced odds on bets that are otherwise likely to cash. For example, you can bet on three favorites – like the Chiefs, Eagles and Cowboys, for instance – whose moneyline odds are -225, and the odds of that parlay to cash will be +201.

A -225 wager has an implied probability of 67%, but a combined bet of those three-odds markets will pay out with the implied probability of 33%.

Sundays are perfect for parlay betting since there usually are as many as 14 games on an NFL Sunday, with various start times. Although it is easy to place multi-leg bets on games happening at the same time, from experience we find it is most fun to combine bets on a 1 p.m. ET game, a 4:25 p.m. ET game then the Sunday Night Football game.

If you are a parlay bettor, but there is only one NFL game – like on a Monday night or Super Bowl Sunday – the legal sportsbooks have dialed up same-game or single-game parlay bets for football fans to consider.

In a same-game parlay, players have the opportunity to combine multiple legs from an individual game, like the spread, total and a player-prop wager. For example, a bettor may want to wager on the Baltimore Ravens to cover a hypothetical +4.5-point spread against the Kansas City Chiefs, for Lamar Jackson to record an anytime touchdown and for the game total to go over 47.5 points.

If all those plays hit then the bettor will be looking at a tidy payout.

Word to the wise: If you intend to place a same-game parlay on markets like the spread or total try choosing an alternate spread or total. It’s very hard to hit a wager with multiple legs that have -110 odds.

It is fun! There is nothing quite like hitting an NFL parlay bet, especially a four-legger with odds like +696 or longer.

Sure, there is enhanced risk when parlay betting, and threading the needle of combined wagers can be increasingly complicated especially when a team you wagered blows a huge lead. But with added risk comes incredible rewards as long as you can successfully cross the tightrope.

But the NFL is about the most conducive sport for parlay bettors, especially since pro football is the most popular sport in North America. A parlay is the perfect way to get more lucrative odds on outcomes that sportsbooks deem likely to happen, though again it can be super hard to hit a long-odds parlay and hard to get lucrative odds on a parlay that you think will hit.

Plus, if you go for the multi-time zone parlay there always the added potential complication of cashing out, which means the sportsbook will pay out your wager at a smaller amount.

Still, it’s hard to beat the thrill, and inevitable roller coaster, of betting multiple markets on an NFL Sunday.

Parlay betting is a bit more complex than wagering on a single football market, but it is still not hard to place an NFL parlay wager. Here’s how to do so.

• Sign up at a legal online sportsbook in your home state or log into your online sportsbook account.
• Deposit funds into your account, if necessary. Be sure to use any required bonus or promo code to take advantage of the sportsbook’s new-user offer.
• Click on the NFL tab on the sportsbook home page.
• Tap the first betting market you wish to wager. Add that to your bet slip.
• Add any subsequent NFL legs to your parlay bet, potentially from other football games.
• When you’re finished adding legs, add your stake, or what amount you wish to wager, into the spot that says “parlay.”
• Tap place bet and root for your multi-leg wager to hit!