How to Bet on Sports Parlays

Parlay betting in Maryland is legal in both retail and online sportsbooks. Any betting site you come across will allow otakparlay you to group multiple bets on your betting slip, sometimes up to 10 or more. Parlay bets offer a chance to win a big payout on a small bet outlay. However, all bets on the ticket have to be successful for you to win.

So are parlays worth the risk? Should parlays be your primary sports betting approach? Are parlays in some sports a better bet than in others? How do early payouts work? We’ll answer those questions and more.

What is a parlay bet?
A parlay bet refers to a wager grouping multiple bets on a single ticket. For the whole parlay to be successful, all those individual bets must be successful. Because the odds of all the individual bets get added together, parlay payouts can be huge, even when your bet amount is relatively low.

Depending on the sportsbook, you can typically place a maximum of 8-10 picks on a single parlay. Naturally, the minimum number of bets is two.

Is it smart to bet parlays?
The allure of a parlay bet is easy to understand. It offers a bigger payout even on a small bet outlay. For many, the payout is the biggest advantage of a parlay bet, but it comes with greater risk. Namely, all of your picks have to win.

If you get seven out of eight bets on a parlay correct, that’s a nice percentage. But it’s still not worth anything. You must go eight for eight. That’s why many people avoid parlays, as they’re just too risky. Even if you bet only on favorites or on bets with minus odds, the probability of your parlay winning is still relatively small.

What are round robins and teasers?

If this sounds tempting, you should consider a couple of variations on parlay bets. One is called a teaser bet, which allows you to adjust the point spread or game totals to create a higher probability and lower return.

This kind of bet can’t be taken as a single, as you will be required to choose at least two teams and up to 15 in some cases. The only major restriction is that your teaser can’t include two teams from the same game.

Another interesting parlay variation is the round robin. Remember how we said you need all of your selections to be successful for a parlay to pay out? Well, a round robin is a kind of insurance against that.

What is the optimal number of bets in a parlay?
You can place anywhere from two to 10 (or more, at times) selections on your parlay ticket. The more games you bet on, the higher the payout will be. But that doesn’t mean you should clog your ticket with a bunch of games. Of course, that will make it more difficult to win. Your overall winning probability drops with every added bet.

The number of picks you put on a ticket will also depend on the odds. If your selections have plus odds, don’t select as many. The potential payout will already be pretty high.

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