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Parlay Odds Explained In Sports Betting

Anthony Elio

Published: May 31, 2024 10:06 pm

Parlay betting has become a much-discussed topic in sports wagering. Many sports betting platforms center their promotions around parlays, with odds boosts or no-sweat parlay offers being the most popular offers. But, if you’ve never placed a parlay before, you’re going to want to know how odds work for parlay bets. Read on to learn all about parlay betting odds and additional information on parlays. 

What Is A Parlay In Sports Betting?

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Basically, a parlay is when a bettor combines numerous bets into one larger wager featuring longer odds. However, in order for this bet to cash, every single individual bet will need to win. If any of the bets (called “legs” in a parlay) loses, the entire parlay will lose. 

The reason that parlay betting is so popular is for the possibility of a large payout with a lower stake. Although it can be difficult for two or more bets to hit, the inflated odds entice many bettors. So if you place a parlay bet on the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers to win, you can win significantly more than if you placed individual wagers on each team. 

Outside of just parlaying teams to win, you can combine tons of different types of bets from different games for parlay bets. That means you can parlay the point spread in one game with the point total in another, and much more. 

In addition to standard parlay bets, same-game parlays have become more prevalent in the past few years. While a regular parlay has you combine bets from different events, a same-game parlay (often referred to as an SGP)  lets you combine numerous types of bets from one event. This means you can combine a point spread bet, the over/under, player props, team props, and more into one single wager. Some sportsbooks even let you add bets from other games with your SGP for one massive parlay bet. 

How Parlay Betting Odds Are Calculated

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Before you start learning about parlay odds, you’ll want a basic understanding of odds in sports betting. To put it simply for American odds, a plus sign before odds means it’s an underdog while a minus sign is for a favorite. So if you won a $10 bet on a +200 underdog (think of it as 2 to 1), you’d win $20. Meanwhile, you’d get a lower payout on a favorite, so if you won a $10 bet on a -200 favorite (think 1 to 2 odds), you’d win $5.   

Calculating your parlay odds is pretty simple after that. First, convert the numbers from American odds to decimal odds. To do this for favorites (-125, -300 etc.), you just do 100 ÷ the odds + 1. So for a -120 bet, it would be 100 ÷ 120 +1, which would be 1.83 in decimal odds. 

For underdog bets (+150, +275, etc.), you’d do the odds ÷ 100 +1. So if the odds are +250, you’d have 250 ÷ 100 + 1, which equals 3.5 in decimal odds. 

After that, multiply the decimal odds of your parlay legs together. So if you parlayed the bets from the above examples (1.83 x 3.5), you’d get 6.4. Finally, multiply that final number by the amount you wish to bet for a grand total you’d get from the wager. So if you bet $100 on that parlay, you’d win $640 total. This includes both your original stake and your winnings.  

Parlay Betting Example

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Let’s go over a quick parlay example. Say that you place a parlay on the following point spread bets, each with -110 odds (1.91 in decimal odds):

• Detroit Lions -3.5 
• Miami Dolphins +10
• Las Vegas Raiders -1.5
• Green Bay Packers +6.5

Going by the calculation we went over, the final odds for this parlay (1.91 x 1.91 x 1.91 x 1.91) would be 13.3. That means a $100 bet would give you $1,330 total, with $1,230 in winnings and $100 back from your initial stake. In this scenario, remember that a single leg losing would mean the entire parlay loses. 

While you can calculate parlay odds on your own, there are also plenty of different parlay calculators available online. 

Additional Information On Parlays

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All of the top sports betting apps offer parlay betting, with most also allowing for same-game parlays. Here are some of the top platforms that let you place parlay bets:

• DraftKings Sportsbook
• FanDuel Sportsbook
• Caesars Sportsbook
• BetMGM Sportsbook 
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• ESPN Bet
• Bet365 Sportsbook

You can also place parlay bets in person at retail sports books. 

Keep in mind that if a game is canceled, it will affect your parlay. In most instances, the sportsbook will simply take the game out of your parlay, which will decrease the odds but still keep the bet active. 

Rules on this vary from sportsbook to sportsbook, so you’ll want to glance at the parlay terms and conditions for your favorite platform. The same can be said for a push, which is when a bet doesn’t win or lose, such as if you take a team -7 and it wins by exactly 7 points. 

Despite the potential profitability of parlay betting, it’s not seen as a majorly effective strategy. This is mostly due to the lack of expected value over a long period of time. With this in mind, parlays are best for more of a fun experience in sports betting than an actual moneymaking opportunity.