What Is a Parlay Bet? A Beginner’s Guide to One of Sports Betting’s Most Popular Wagers

A parlay bet combines multiple individual bets (called "legs") into a single wager. To win, every leg must hit. While parlays offer the chance for big payouts from small stakes, they come with higher risks because the odds of winning decrease with each added leg.

Key Points:

How Parlays Work: Combines multiple bets into one. A loss in any leg means the entire bet loses.
Payouts: Odds multiply across legs, creating higher potential returns. For example, a $20 four-leg parlay at +1326 odds could pay $285.27.
Risk: Each added leg and lowers your chance of winning.
Comparison: Single bets are safer and have a lower house edge (~4.54% at Books or 0% on BettorEdge), while parlays are riskier, they can offer much higher payouts.

Quick Comparison:

Aspect	Single Bet	Parlay Bet
Number of Outcomes	One	Multiple (legs)
Win Requirement	One correct pick	All legs must win
House Edge	~4.54% at a Book (or 0% on BettorEdge)	Increases per leg
Risk Level	Lower	Higher
Payout Potential	Lower	Much higher

Parlays are exciting but risky. Keep them to 2-3 legs for a better balance of risk and reward. Use tools like parlay calculators to evaluate odds, payouts, and probabilities before placing your bet.

Parlay Bet Mechanics

How Parlays Work

A parlay combines multiple bets, known as legs, into a single wager. To win, leg in the parlay must succeed. Your initial stake, along with any winnings, rolls over into each subsequent leg. You can manually do a parlay by just placing bigger bets each time the previous bet wins. The vig (or the bookmaker's cut) from each leg compounds throughout the parlay, making the potential payout larger but also increasing sportsbooks rake. Let’s dive into how the odds multiply in parlays.

Parlay Odds Explained

Parlay odds multiply based on the odds of each leg, following a specific formula. For instance, if you bet on three games with odds of –110 each, the combined parlay odds would be about +596. This means a $100 bet at +596 would return $696 - your $100 stake plus $596 in profit.

Here’s a look at how the odds and hold rates change for parlays with consistent –110 odds per leg:

Number of Legs	American Odds	Hold Rate
2 Legs	+264	8.88%
3 Legs	+596	13.02%
4 Legs	+1228	16.97%

Now, let’s break this down further with a real-world example.

Sample Parlay Breakdown

Consider a $20, four-leg parlay:

Leg 1: New York at –110
Leg 2: Miami at –110
Leg 3: Charlotte at +105
Leg 4: Houston at –110

This parlay would produce the following results:

Total odds: +1326
Win probability: 7.01%
Potential payout: $285.27
Potential profit: $265.27

Understanding these mechanics can help you weigh the higher risks of parlays against their enticing rewards, especially when compared to single bets.

Sports Betting 101: Understanding Parlay Betting

Parlays vs Single Bets

Now that we’ve covered how parlays work, let’s see how they stack up against single bets.

Main Differences

Single bets focus on just one outcome, while parlays combine two or more bets (called "legs") and require every leg to win for a payout.

Aspect	Single Bet	Parlay Bet
Number of Outcomes	One	Multiple (legs)
Win Requirement	One correct pick	All legs must win
House Edge	4.54% at –110 odds	Increases per leg
Risk Level	Lower	Higher
Payout Potential	Lower	Much higher

These differences explain why parlays are so profitable for sportsbooks. For example, in September 2024, parlays accounted for 72.5% of sportsbooks' gross revenue, with a 24.2% hold compared to just 4.4% on other types of bets.

Risk vs Reward

Parlays come with the allure of big payouts but at much lower chances of winning. Here’s how the math works with standard –110 odds:

Single bet: 50% chance to win, 4.54% house edge
2-leg parlay: 25% chance to win, 8.88% house edge
4-leg parlay: 6.3% chance to win, 16.97% house edge

For instance, a 3-leg parlay might offer a payout of +596, but your chances of winning drop to just 12.5%. That’s why many professional bettors stick to parlays with no more than two or three legs to keep their risk manageable.

Here’s how the house edge increases as you add more legs:

2 legs: 8.88%
4 legs: 16.97%
6 legs: 24.35%
8 legs: 31.07%

In the next section, we’ll dive into how odds multiply in parlays and why this leads to a growing house edge.

Parlay Math Explained

Let’s break down the numbers behind parlays and how they work.

Odds Multiplication

When you combine multiple bets (or legs), the odds multiply, which increases both potential payouts and the sportsbook's advantage. For example, if you combine three legs with odds of +100, +102, and +172, the combined odds come out to around +1015 (approximately an 8.97% chance of winning). Adding more legs significantly increases the sportsbook's hold. For instance, while single bets might have a 4.54% hold, a four-leg parlay can push that hold past 16%. This compounding effect explains why parlays accounted for 72.5% of sportsbook gross revenue in September 2024, with a 24.2% hold compared to just 4.4% for other types of bets.

House Edge in Parlays

Using tools like a parlay calculator can help you make smarter decisions. By entering your chosen legs and stake, you can instantly see combined odds, win probabilities, and potential payouts. This makes it easier to compare actual odds with possible returns before committing to a multi-leg wager.

Up next, we’ll dive into strategies to help you manage risks and get the most out of your parlays.

Smart Parlay Betting Tips

To make the most of your parlay bets, consider these practical strategies:

Effective Parlay Strategies

Based on an analysis of odds and house edge, here’s how to approach parlays:

Stick to two or three legs for a better balance between potential payouts and winning chances.
Use a parlay calculator to check combined odds, win probability, potential payout, and profit before placing your bet.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these frequent errors that can hurt your chances:

Adding too many legs: Each additional leg increases the house edge and lowers your odds of winning.
Overlooking compound vig: Adding multiple legs means paying the bookmaker's margin repeatedly.
Chasing huge payouts: Longshot bets rarely pay off. Focus on two- or three-leg parlays with higher confidence.

Real Parlay Examples

Let’s dive into some actual parlay results - one that hit and one that didn’t.

Failed Parlay Analysis

Imagine placing a $20, four-leg parlay with these picks: NY (-110), Miami (-110), Charlotte (+105), and Houston (-110). This bet offers +1326 odds, meaning a big payout if all legs win. However, if Houston loses, your return is $0. This example shows how adding too many legs increases risk.

Many professional bettors stick to two- or three-leg parlays, if they use them at all. It’s a reminder that understanding both successful and unsuccessful outcomes is key to crafting a solid parlay strategy.

BettorEdge Parlay Features

Let’s dive into how BettorEdge’s peer-to-peer model helps you win more.

Zero Vig Advantage

Did you know traditional sportsbooks take a 24.2% hold on parlays compared to just 4.4% on other bets? With BettorEdge’s zero-vig, peer-to-peer setup, that margin disappears, letting you keep more of your winnings.

Betting Tools

BettorEdge offers a parlay calculator that’s handy for both beginners and seasoned bettors. This tool helps you:

Calculate potential payouts for parlays with up to 6 legs
Assess the exact probability of your parlay combinations
Evaluate total profit potential based on your stake
Convert American odds into implied probabilities

Community Features

BettorEdge brings a social element to parlay betting with features like:

A real-time social feed for sharing bets transparently
The ability to follow top bettors and learn from their strategies
Tools to track performance and ROI across NFL, AF1, NBA, and MLB
Leaderboards for win rate and profit competitions

While BettorEdge doesn’t offer native parlay wagers, its zero-vig calculator and community-driven insights help you build smarter, more profitable parlays.

Summary

Parlays can turn small bets into large payouts by multiplying odds, but adding more legs significantly lowers your chances of winning and increases the sportsbook's edge. For context, sportsbooks hold 24.2% on parlays compared to just 4.4% on single bets.

Here are some tips to make smarter parlay bets:

Stick to 2-3 legs to balance risk and potential rewards.
Use a parlay calculator to evaluate probabilities and payouts.
Keep an eye on the cumulative vig as you add more legs.
Set realistic payout expectations and manage your bankroll wisely.

The Parlay Calculator Guide highlights the importance of comparing true odds before placing your bet. BettorEdge’s zero-vig model and community tools offer valuable resources to fine-tune your parlay strategy, even without built-in parlay betting options. Use these strategies to make the most of your next parlay.