Sports Betting 101: What is a Parlay?

Parlays are several individual bets all rolled into one bet. With parlay betting, your odds are worse but the payout is higher. The high stakes have made parlay betting one of the most popular forms of online sports betting in the world.

FTN Bets takes a look at everything you need to know about parlay betting.

Parlay Overview

What is a parlay?

A parlay is when you combine multiple individual bets (two or more) into one wager for a higher payout. The more bets you add to your parlay ticket, the bigger your payout will be. You must hit each leg (bet) of your parlay to win your bet. If one of the five legs in your parlay loses, your bet loses.

How Does a Parlay Work?

Let’s say you love this week’s NFL slate — you’ve already bet these four games straight up, but you think they’re all going to cash. So you decide to put all four individual bets into one parlay ticket to increase your payout. Normally when you bet a side at -110 odds, you need to risk $110 to win $100. Here you’re going to place four bets that are listed at -110 into one four-game parlay.

For example:

Buccaneers -2.5 (-110)
Cowboys -5 (-110)
49ers -7 (-110)
Steelers +3 (-110)

If all four teams win, your parlay would pay out +1228! That’s over $1200 if you risk $100, or $122 if you only decide to risk $10. You can use FTN’s Parlay Calculator to figure out the potential payout for your parlay.

What is a Same Game Parlay?

It wasn’t too long ago that sportsbooks didn’t allow you to parlay bets that were correlated or were part of the same game. That all changed, as same-game parlays are now quite popular among recreational bettors. The enticing odds attract bettors who believe they know exactly how a specific game is going to play out or if they’re just looking for some action with a lottery-type payout.

Let’s say you love the Cincinnati Bengals this week and expect them to blow out their opponent and light up the scoreboard. You believe Joe Burrow is going to have a huge day through the air and you just know Ja’Marr Chase is going to be heavily involved. Your same game parlay could look something like this

Bengals Win
Joe Burrow Over 285.5 Passing Yards
Joe Burrow Over 1.5 Passing Touchdowns
Ja’Marr Chase Over 85.5 Receiving Yards
Ja’Marr Chase Scores Anytime Touchdown

Your same-game parlay has five legs and would pay out around +1000. Meaning a $10 wager, would profit $100, and a $100 wager would profit $1,000! Just like a regular parlay, you need all your legs/bets to hit to cash.

What Are the Odds of Cashing a Parlay?

2-team parlay: 27.47%
3-team parlay: 14.37%
4-team parlay: 7.52%
5-team parlay: 3.94%

Keep those numbers in mind the next time you think your parlay can’t lose! The odds will fluctuate a little depending on the payout for each leg of your parlay. To get an accurate payout amount, check out the FTN Bets Parlay Calculator to find the best price.

Where Can I Bet a Parlay?

Parlays are available from all of our sportsbook partners. Many of them also offer a deposit bonus for new subscribers and stepped up payouts on parlays with three or more legs. Here is a list of eligible books: