Parlay Bet Calculator

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One of the most common bets that are placed all around the world are parlay bets. They are also known as accumulator bets.

The ultimate multiple bet for many, with a parlay bet there is no flexibility. If one of your selections loses, your bet loses, if all of your selections win, your bet wins.

Ranging in its size, a parlay bet can consist of as few as four selections but can also accommodate for numerous selections. There have been parlay examples where up to twenty different teams have been chosen.

If you are new to parlay betting or simply want to find out a little more than don’t worry as our Parlay betting guide has you covered. We will reveal how it works, what you need in order for the bet to win, how the wagering can work, how the odds are calculated, reveal any famous bets and assess the various advantages and disadvantages.

A Parlay Bet Explained

Parlay bets are commonly used across all of America’s major sports and for the purpose of this guide let’s create a parlay bet using NFL teams.

Ahead of an NFL Sunday slate we want to bet on six different teams to win their games - the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills.

With our bet placed, the only way we can win our parlay bet is for all of our selections to win their respective games.

Let's say that every team wins, but the Cowboys lose their game. Despite the other five teams winning, the Cowboys loss would mean that our bet would be a losing one.

As iterated at the top of this guide, a parlay bet is the ultimate risk/reward bet.

Unlike other multiples such as a Heinz or a Goliath, these bets offer flexibility and winnings can still be made even if numerous selections end up losing. That isn’t the case with parlays, every team has to win in order for your bet to win.

How Big Can a Parlay Bet Be?

It isn’t uncommon that a parlay bet can be as big as ten selections. There are no different rules for having a large amount of selections within your accumulator bet slip, the rules remain simple - in order for your parlay to win, every leg must win.

How are Parlay Bets Calculated?

Every sports bettor dreams of the big win and that can often be achieved through placing a parlay bet.

The odds for a parlay are calculated by multiplying the odds of all of your different selections together to create one final value.

Most online betting sites or apps will do all the calculating for you. Once you enter your stake the return should be immediately shown before you confirm and place your bet.

If that doesn’t satisfy you, you can also use a great selection of online betting calculators should you want to find out your returns another way.

What Other Sports are Good for Placing Parlay Bets?

We have already highlighted that the NFL is one of the sports that lead the way when it comes to parlay betting, but there are plenty of others that could be worth considering.

Tennis is very popular for multiple bets and is often a great choice if you want to load up your bet slip with numerous selections.

Due to the fact that in tennis there is often a heavy favourite, sometimes placing a double or treble can’t provide the value you need. Often to make it worth the risk and to see some decent returns often numerous selections are needed and we have seen tennis accumulator bets contain more than ten selections.

The other leading sport is football. With many matches from all over the world taking place almost daily, those looking to complete football parlay bets can choose to load up their bets from one league or can combine teams from across some of the best leagues and competitions.

Online Betting Features

Cash Out

There are a few different features that you can take advantage of after you have placed a parlay bet. The most common is the option to cash out your bet early. Let’s use our NFL example from earlier. If the Steelers, Chiefs, Dolphins, Eagles and Bills have all won their games and we are just waiting on the outcome of the Cowboys game, we may be able to cash out early.

What happens here is that the bookmaker will offer us a percentage of our overall return value that we will be able to claim as winnings. If we decide to cash out it will mean that we won’t win as much as bet the originally promised, but it then means we aren’t sweating on the result of the Cowboys game. If the Cowboys lose but we have cashed out, it doesn’t matter as we still would have our previous cash out settlement.

Edit Your Bet

The other option that some online bookmakers provide is the option to edit your accumulators. If one of your legs is losing but the others are winning, you may be able to remove this leg from your bet.

If you do this, your overall returns will greatly diminish but it can be a good way of keeping your bet alive.

Have There Been Any Famous Parlay Bets?

Due to its popularity there have been many examples where bettors have been able to win fortunes by placing parlay bets.

One of the best examples is when one better landed a fifteen team parlay when betting on basketball. Betting just 50 cents, the lucky bettor saw all fifteen of his selections come up trumps and saw him win $305k.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Placing a Parlay Bet

Just like every bet type, there are advantages and disadvantages to placing a parlay bet.

Advantages

  • Easy to place
  • Provides great returns
  • Allows the bettor to take advantage of services such as ‘cash out’
  • The bettor can choose how much risk they want to take based on the amount of selections they can include
  • A wide range of bet sizes are accommodated for

Disadvantages

  • Can be hard to win regularly
  • A lot of risk
  • Just one leg needs to lose in order for your bet to lose