Parlay Sports Betting Terms
By Kris Lazaro (10/26/2006)
Parlay
Definition
A parlay is a type of bet that involves two teams or more that all must win the game straight up (moneyline parlay) or cover (pointspread parlay) for the bettor to win the bet. Parlays payout at a higher ratio, since multiple events have to take place for the bet to win.
Are parlays a good idea?
As stated in another article, parlays are not really a good idea. Most sharps and professional sports bettor agree that parlays are a sportsbooks’ best friend. It is tough enough to win in sports betting, let alone winning 2+ sides to win all at the same time. It would be better to play the sides in a parlay as straight bets than to place them all in a parlay. For example in a 4 team parlay, where the odds are close to 13:1, it is statistically better to play all 4 sides as straight bets. Since it is more likely that one goes 2-2 (where one pushes, less the vigorish), it behooves the bettor to play this way than by betting a parlay. Parlays require the sports bettor to win all 4 sides, a feat that is very difficult to accomplish.
Correlated parlays
Although parlays are generally a bad bet, correlated parlays are actually mathematically sound. For example, in college football, where big favorites abound, parlaying the favorite with the over is actually a very smart bet to make. Take for example a past college football matchup that had USC hosting Arizona. The line for that particular game was USC –37 and the total was set at 50. If one believed that USC would comfortably cover the 37 points, and its defense would give a few scores to Arizona, then would not betting the over 50 also be a good bet? Hooking up USC –37 to the over 50 is called a correlated parlay. Games that feature teams vying for BCS (Bowl Championship Series) consideration have the added motivation of running up the scores; thus, these teams have the extra added incentive to blowout their opponents and run up the score—another good sign for the over.
Summary
In closing, parlays are a bad bet, but if used in correlation, parlays can actually be quite useful. The author wishes to express his discontent with multiple side (uncorrelated) parlays, either on the moneyline or on the pointspread. These types of bets require too much variables to happen, and thus is a bad venture. Lastly, parlays are a sportsbooks’ best friend, so as a savvy gambler, why would one even consider them.
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