For many new football bettors that are getting excited about football parlay betting, there is always the question of how they will master this form of betting.
Although it is not a beginner’s type of gambling, parlay bets are not as complicated as they first seem. Instead, the main idea is to understand the way parlays play out and start by taking baby steps.
History of Parlay Betting
Also called accumulator or combined bets, parlay betting has a historical foundation in pyramiding and the ‘let it ride’ system.
This betting practice is said to be traced back to Italy over 500 years ago. Although it is commonly used for sports, parlays can be used for other types of betting like card games, roulette, or poker. Instead of collecting on the first win, the bettor chooses winners for two additional games or more.
How to Win a Parlay Bet
The idea behind a parlay bet is that you select more than one bet and all of those bets must win. For instance, instead of only betting on your favorite football team, you bet on all the football games that are happening that day. In some cases, this can be up to 12 games.
Regardless, you select as many teams as you want to bet on and choose the winner of each game. If you win your first bet, you cannot collect the winnings. You must wait until all of your combinations play out.
Now, instead of having seven individual bets, you have one bet made of many games. Clearly, there is a huge amount of risk involved here that results in larger winnings if your bet is successful. Sadly, this risk also means that it only takes one team losing to lose the whole bet. In spite of this, there is some strategy to ensure that you do not lose with parlay betting.
Having a Good Parlay Betting Strategy
Newcomers to parlay betting can ensure that they start off on the right path buy not biting off more than more than they can chew. Many professional bettors will recommend that the best way to begin is to choose two bets. This means that you only select two games at one time for one parlay.
Of course, these two games can be added upon if you are aware that most of the teams in your parlay are on a losing streak. This is especially easy to assess mid-season.
One other strategy for new parlay bettors is to check the odds against several online betting websites. You will win more money if you choose a parlay betting website that is offering the best odds.
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How Much Money Can You Make With Parlays?
In general, you will be playing with a set of odds that is different for each football game you are betting on. However, the main idea is that a parlay betting scenario increases your risk of losing and therefore has a higher payout if you win. To visualize this, imagine that you want to bet $100 on four different games.
To simplify this example, let us say that each game has odds of +150. This means that if you win each bet individually, you will make $150 for winning the bet plus your original $100. In total, you would win $600 + your original $400. If you placed these four bets in a parlay, you would still win $600 and an additional amount for putting up a risk.
As far as parlay betting goes, there is no standard percentage that each sportsbook pays when you win. Regardless, you will win much more than if you bet on each game individually.
Adding Points Spreads to Parlay Betting
If parlay bets were not risky enough, there is another strategy to increase the amount of money that you make on a parlay. This involves incorporating the point spreads system. Generally speaking, a decimal point number is placed along with the odds for each team. If your teams’ odds are 3.5 +110, this means that they will need to beat the other team by at least four points in order for you to win your bet.
It is not uncommon to see the points spread at a low 1.5 (which means that your team must beat the losers by only two points). Point spreads are sometimes as high as 9.5 and may be too risky to incorporate into a newcomer’s parlay bet.
In these cases, you can always choose a different website that offers a better point spread with parlay options.
In point spreads with parlay betting, the risk is so high that the payouts for winning can be extremely hefty. For most websites, a four game parlay bet that involves a point spread is usually in the 50% range. This means that instead of getting $600 for four games that you risked $100 each on, you will get $1200 plus your original $400.
Obviously, with big winnings like these, parlay betting is one of the best options for making the most money on your football wagers. With a little bit of practice, you will no longer sweat one of the most daunting angles of football betting.
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