How Do Sports Betting Parlays Work?

We’ll start with the basic definition of a parlay: It’s a combination of multiple wagers (called “legs”) into a single bet. For a parlay to win, every leg included in the parlay must win.

That means if you have a seven-leg parlay, all seven legs must cash for your bet to win. Even if only one leg loses, your wager loses.

That’s why parlays are risky. On the other hand, because you’re combining multiple wagers into a single bet, parlays have much higher potential payouts than single wagers.

You can combine most types of wagers into parlays. Moneylines, point spreads and totals (over/unders) are all eligible for parlays (with some exceptions). Many sportsbooks also allow parlays on prop bets, so you can customize parlays however you want.

When it comes to building parlays, your options are virtually endless.

Standard Parlay

Most parlays involve moneyline, point spread, or total bets from the four major North American sports: football (NFL and college), basketball (NBA and college), baseball and hockey.

Bettors only need to combine wagers to create a parlay, though some sportsbooks let you combine a dozen or more. The latter isn’t an advisable bet, however, as accurately predicting that many outcomes is extremely difficult.

Generally, each leg that you add to your parlay increases the odds. That increases your potential payout but also makes the bet less likely to cash.

What’s the Better Bet?

By now you might be wondering, “Is it ever smart to bet a parlay instead of a series of single bets?” The short answer is sometimes.

Consider the following example of a three-leg NFL parlay:

• Buffalo Bills -110 at Los Angeles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers -275 at Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions +165 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

This three-team parlay would have odds of about +590. For every $10 you wager, you stand to win $59.

Let’s say you place three separate single wagers on the Bills ($110 to win $100), 49ers ($275 to win $100) and Lions ($100 to win $165), risking a total of $485. Your possible total return is $850 ($365 in winnings + $485 in initial wagers).

Now say you put those same three teams in a $100 parlay. If your parlay hits, you would get back $690 ($590 in winnings + the $100 wager).

With a parlay in this situation, you can have more winnings with a lower stake. However, the risk is that you’ll win nothing if one of those teams loses, whereas you could still win some money by cashing one or two of your straight bets.

Parlays have higher ceilings and lower floors. They are all-or-nothing bets, so you need to account for that when placing them.

Teasers & Pleasers

Teasers and pleasers are special parlays that allow you to change the lines of each leg in a single direction.

In a teaser, you move the lines to give yourself better odds but a lower payout.

A pleaser bet moves the lines in the sportsbook’s favor, creating a better payout but a lower chance of winning.

Many sportsbooks refer to both of these bet types as teasers. You can move the line in either direction based on your preferences.

We’ll provide a full NFL teaser example below.

Same Game Parlay

This is exactly what it sounds like: a parlay that’s constructed from a single game.

Select sportsbooks offer same-game parlays, allowing you to stack moneylines, point spreads, totals and/or prop bets from one game into one wager.

Some sportsbooks even allow you to combine multiple same-game parlays into a single massive wager. These are sometimes called Same-Game Parlay Plus or Same-Game Parlay Extra.

Progressive Parlay

A progressive parlay is a twist on a traditional parlay. It’s unique because you can still win money even if some of your legs lose.

The more legs in your parlay, the more you can lose and still receive a payout. For example, if you place a 10-leg parlay and two or three legs lose, you may be eligible to receive a portion of your expected payout. For smaller parlays with three or four legs, the most you can lose is one leg.

Unlike standard parlays, progressive parlays provide some margin for error. They are available for select sports at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Round Robin

Round robins involve combining a series of bets into smaller parlay combinations. Think of it as a way to make many small parlays from a list of outcomes.

There are various combinations and formats available in round-robin betting.

For instance, a three-team round-robin parlay—one of the most popular types of round robins—would include three separate two-team parlays and (if desired) one three-team parlay.

• Two-team parlay 1: Team A and Team B
• Two-team parlay 2: Team A and Team C
• Two-team parlay 3: Team B and Team C
• Three-team parlay: Team A, Team B and Team C

That’s four separate bets, which means a $10 three-team “all ways” round robin would cost $40. In most cases—especially if all three teams have minus odds—you would need to hit at least two of the three two-team parlays to turn a profit.

Placing a parlay bet is simple. Here’s a step-by-step process:

• Log into your betting account or visit a retail sportsbook
• Select the bets you wish to combine and add them to your betslip
• Decide the wager amount. At this point, you’ll be able to see your potential payout
• Review your wager for accuracy, then submit the wager

Note that some bet types cannot be parlayed. For instance, you usually can’t parlay a moneyline with a spread bet because they are too correlated. If a team wins a game by at least five points it would also win the game outright, so there is too much overlap with those legs.

A sportsbook will let you know in your betslip if certain legs can’t be combined and won’t allow you to submit the wager until you adjust.

Below are some parlay examples involving popular sports. For the football example, we’ll use the teaser format to showcase how those bets work.

Basketball Parlay Bet

Traditional sides and totals. First-quarter, first-half and second-half bets. Player and team props. There’s no shortage of ways to construct basketball betting parlays, especially for the NBA.

Here’s an example of a three-team NBA moneyline parlay:

• Chicago Bulls -145 vs. Toronto Raptors
• Golden State Warriors -510 vs. Portland Trail Blazers
• Utah Jazz -195 at Orlando Magic

This parlay has odds of +202, or essentially 2-to-1 odds.

Obviously, each leg needs to hit. But if you’ve done some research and feel relatively confident, this particular bet gives you a chance to double your money. A $100 parlay at +202 odds would pay you $302 ($100 initial wager returned + $202 in winnings).

If you took that same $100 dollars and spread it across three equal bets (so $33 each), and all three bets won, here’s what your payouts would be:

• Bulls -145 odds: $55.76 ($33 initial wager + $22.76 winnings)
• Warriors -510 odds: $39.47 ($33 initial wager + $6.47 winnings)
• Jazz -195 odds: $49.92 ($33 initial wager + $16.92 winnings)

Add together those three figures and you’d pocket $144.15 ($99 initial wagers + $45.15 winnings).

As you can see, your potential parlay winnings ($202) are greater than your potential single-bet winnings ($144.15).

Football Parlay Bet: Teaser

Like basketball, football presents numerous team and player parlay opportunities. Football is the most popular sport when it comes to a parlay sub-genre: teasers.

As noted above, a teaser allows you to move the point spread in either direction by a certain number of points. For football, that number is usually six, seven or 10 points.

Football bettors typically opt for 6- and 7-point teasers. For the below NFL teaser example, let’s go with the latter.

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers -10.5 vs. Atlanta Falcons
• Indianapolis Colts -8 vs. Houston Texans
• Dallas Cowboys -4 vs. Detroit Lions

A bettor who felt strongly about the Falcons +10.5, Colts -8 and Lions +4 could combine those three bets into a parlay and stop there.

However, bettors can give themselves more protection by adjusting the lines with teaser bets. Here’s an example:

• Falcons +17.5
• Colts -1
• Lions +11

As you can see, the point spread moved 7 points in each team’s direction.

The Fine Print on Teasers

As with parlay bets, each leg in a teaser must win to collect. While a tie (or “push”) simply reduces the number of legs in a parlay, some sportsbooks count ties as losses in teasers.

Make sure to always check the “house rules” before placing teasers (or any bets, for that matter).

The biggest difference between a parlay and a teaser involves the potential payouts. Because you’re getting the benefit of shifting point spreads in your favor, teaser odds are significantly lower than parlay odds.

Using our above example, a $10 parlay of Falcons +10.5, Colts -8 and Lions +4—all at -110 odds—would pay $59.57 (plus the original $10 wager for a total of $69.57).

Teaser odds vary slightly across sportsbooks. Generally speaking, a $10 7-point teaser of Falcons +17.5, Colts -1 and Lions +11—again, all at -110 odds—would pay $15 (plus the original $10 wager for a total of $25).

The odds fo the parlay are +596, while the odds for the teaser are +150. That’s a considerable difference.

The odds shift depends on how many points you add to the teaser. For instance, if you changed the above example from a 7-point teaser to a 6-point teaser, the odds move from +150 to +180.

One final word about football teasers: The main goal in constructing a teaser is to “cross” key betting numbers, which in football are three, seven, 10 and 14. These are the most common margins of victory in the NFL.

So in the above 7-point teaser scenario, moving the Falcons from +10.5 to +17.5 “crosses” the key number of 14; moving the Colts from -8 to -1 crosses both seven and three; and moving the Lions from +4 to +10 crosses seven and lands on 10.

Baseball has become extremely popular in single-game parlay markets, with opportunities to bet on batter props like hits, home runs and total bases; pitching props like strikeouts; moneylines, run lines and totals; and more.

Let’s compile a four-team single-game parlay involving a hypothetical matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals:

• Reds moneyline +140)
• Over 8.5 total runs (-130)
• Adam Wainwright Under 4.5 strikeouts (-115)
• Will a run be scored in the first inning—No (-110)

The combined odds on this same game parlay would be +1450. For every $10 wagered, you would collect $145 (plus your initial $10 investment).

What’s interesting about this same-game parlay is that none of the legs has large plus odds. The biggest long shot here is the Reds winning outright at +140.

This appears to be a reasonable parlay given the possible return on investment. However, the implied probability of this four-leg parlay hitting is 6.45%, so it’s still a long shot.

Sportsbooks want your business, so many offer ongoing promotions to keep your interest and attract your money.

One common promotion offered to customers is a parlay odds boost. This increases your parlay’s odds, giving you an even bigger potential payout.

To take advantage of a parlay odds boost, make sure you opt-in for the boost (if necessary). From there, build your parlay, select your wager amount, review the bet and click submit. Keep in mind that your parlay may need to meet certain criteria to qualify, like minimum odds or a specific number of legs.

Many sportsbooks automatically ask if you’d like to apply the promo. But if your book doesn’t offer the option by default, you can apply the boost manually from the promos page.

In certain instances, parlays aren’t eligible for a boost. Check the promo’s terms and conditions to ensure you are placing an eligible parlay.