Have you ever had several ideas for a bet at once? Perhaps it’s time to consider placing Parlay bets. Not all gamblers have heard of Parlay bets, and they do come with particular odds and risks. Nevertheless, when places correctly, a Parlay bet can make you much more money than you would do with a classic single bet.
What is a Parlay bet?
Simply speaking, a Parlay bet involves betting on two or more phenomena. You will win if, and only if, all of your separate bets are successful. One single failed bet out of five will mean that you lose overall, therefore. If you lose, you lose all your stakes, but if you win, you win big: the payoff will be larger than if you placed a set of single, separate bets. A Parlay bet means connecting up a set of single bets and making them dependent on each other. These types of bets are also known as accumulator bets and combo bets. Whether it is worthwhile placing such a bet will depend on numerous factors – most significant among these factors are the Parlay odds and the payout of your Parlay bet.
How to calculate Parlay odds
Odds for a Parlay bet will tend to be steeper than those for single bets. For instance, placing three single bets with odds of 1:1 each means (at the risk of sounding tautologous) that you have odds of 1:1 of winning each bet. With a Parlay bet, however, you would need to win all three bets in order to win anything at all. This is an all or nothing situation with odds of 3:1. As a result, it will be harder to win outright, but if you do win, because the odds are steeper you will receive a larger payout. This is a somewhat simplified example: real life Parlay bets can be more complex to analyse. Having trouble working out the overall odds for a combined bet of 2:3, one of 4:10 and one of 17:20? An online Parlay odds calculator will help you here.
Calculate Parlay payouts to see if they are worth it
Parley payouts will be higher than payouts for separate single bets. However, you will need to balance this against the fact that you need to put down a larger overall stake as you are placing several bets at once rather than just one stake. Perspective is required here. The potential payout may be huge, but can you afford to lose the entire stake if just one of your bets fails? One of the golden rules of betting in any field (whether it is sports betting or Texas Hold’em Poker) is that you should never bet more money than you can afford to lose.
In sum: when should these accumulator bets be placed?
A Parlay bet should be placed if all of the following three circumstances are true: you can afford to lose the stake, you have done your research into all of your bets and placed them in a careful and informed way, and you have calculated what the odds and the payout will be. Parlay bets take more careful planning than single bets, but if you do them right, they can really pay off. Some online betting sites will provide you with Parlay betting guides that take you through the process of placing this style of bet – this can be very handy for newcomers to the world of Parlay betting.