Betting on athletic competitions has been a favorite pastime of sports fans for as long as sports fans have been around. Many historians believe that the practice has been around since the Ancient world. We definitely have evidence of sports betting going back as far as the 13th century, when British lords would bet on local cricket matches.
Betting reached a particular peak in the Victorian era. This was a time when the British Empire established dominion on every major continent. This is also the time when cricket, soccer, and horse racing spread from England and became a worldwide phenomenon.
In the United States, however, only one of these three sports caught on. Instead, the residents of the US created their own sport at the tail-end of the Victorian era. Known in the US as football, and around the world as American football, the sport is certainly America’s favorite pastime in the 21st century.
When speaking about the favorite sports to watch and bet on in the USA, we can’t get much farther than football for the United States. The National Football League is the biggest sports organization in the country and is worth over a billion dollars.
What is A Parlay Bet?
When it comes to the most popular avenues for betting in the USA, almost everything is done online. Sports websites are the new king of the betting world. They are easily accessible, offer different variants of betting types, and come with some great bonuses. In this article, we would like to focus on Parlay betting, specifically in regard to the NFL. We are going to explain what parlay betting is, help you in understanding NFL parlay betting and go over the ups and downs.
So, what is a parlay? Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase before, or perhaps you’ve heard some of the synonymous phrases, such as “accumulator (Acca) bet”, “combo bet”, or “multi bet”. The way it works is actually quite simple. A bettor places a single bet that links together multiple wagers. It could be two bets or more that are linked through a parlay bet. It is worth noting that, in order to win a parlay bet, you must win every single wager that has been linked.
To make it more clear, let us take an example of an NFL parlay. As an example, let us hypothetically assume that there are four teams playing in the first week. A parlay bet involves placing a bet on each of the competitions, linking them both together, and placing it as a single bet. If then, the two teams you’ve wagered to win do win, your parlay bet pays out. If either of the two teams loses, your parlay bet is considered lost as well.
It is worth noting that many online betting websites put certain restrictions on the parlay bets allowed on their website. The most common restriction is that correlated bets are not allowed to be placed as a parlay. What this means is, is that you can’t place two bets whose outcomes are related in the form of a parlay.
How Does a Parlay Bet Pay Out?
Parlay bets, most often, payout at higher odds than single-game wagers. It is precisely this that attracts most bettors to parlay bets in the first place. For example, in the most common parlay bet (a 2-team NFL parlay) based entirely on the spreadsheet, and with an assumption that each of the single bets is 50/50, the payout should be something like 3: 1.
For the simplest parlay payout formula, all we need to do is take a look at a single selection’s decimal odds. Let’s say you’ve placed a parlay with three links. In order to get the formula, you would need to multiply the odds of all three selections, and then just take a look at your own stake multiplied by the parlay odds in order to get the payout formula.
Differences Between 3-Leg Parlay Bets and 4-Leg Parlay Bets
Oftentimes, when visiting online betting sites, you will find certain parlay bets being referred to as “2-leg”, “3-leg”, “4-leg”, etc. What this refers to is the number of individual bets that are linked using the accumulator bet. So, what makes 3-leg parlays so different from 4-leg parlays or higher?
Well, it is simple. The difference comes from the payout and the odds. A 2-leg parlay has the lowest payout when it comes to accumulator betting. However, it also has the best odds. So why is this? Well, it is simple. In order to win a multi-bet, each of the wagers must be a winning choice. So, naturally, it is much easier to win when you’ve bet on two outcomes, rather than three. Similarly, because the risk is lower, so is the payout.
The same can be said for 3-leg vs 4-leg parlay bets. A 4-leg multi-bet payout will yield a higher amount of cash, however, it also comes with a higher likelihood of losing your cash.
The Downside of Parlay Betting
The biggest downside of a parlay bet is self-evident. It is high-risk / high-reward, with an emphasis on high-risk. Placing a multi-bet relies on the fact that you believe all the outcomes will end in your favor. In that sense, the more bets you place, the more likely it is that it will all go south.
The Upside of Parlay Betting
On the other hand, the upside of parlay is closely related to the downside. Namely, the higher the risk, the higher the reward, with an emphasis on the higher reward. Even a 2-leg multi-bet will yield a higher reward than a typical single bet. It is precisely for this reason that parlays bets remain hugely popular, especially among high-risk bettors.
Final Word
With the NFL season in full swing, bettors are coming out of the woodwork to try their hands at the numerous online betting sites, that have garnered popularity in the past couple of years. With the number of people willing to take risks on the rise, the popularity of parlay betting is also growing. We hope that this article can help you understand what parlay betting is and how it works.
