Parlays vs Straight Bets
A straight bet needs one thing to go right. A parlay needs everything to go right. That difference is why parlays pay so much, and why they cost so much.
Straight bets
A straight bet is one wager on one outcome: one game, one result, one payout. It is the easiest bet to track and the easiest one to have an edge on. If you are building a bankroll, straight bets do the work.
Parlays
A parlay puts two or more bets on one ticket. The payouts multiply, but every leg has to win. Miss one and the ticket loses. A two-leg parlay at -110 each pays about +264; a four-leg parlay pays about +1228.
How fast the hit rate falls
Suppose each leg is a good bet that wins 55% of the time:
| Legs | Ticket cashes |
|---|---|
| 1 (straight) | 55% |
| 2 | 30% |
| 3 | 17% |
| 4 | 9% |
| 5 | 5% |
The sportsbook's cut also compounds on every leg, which is why books promote parlays so hard.
When a parlay makes sense
- Small stakes, 0.5 units or less, for a big payout.
- Correlated legs, where one result makes the other more likely (a quarterback's passing yards and his top receiver's).
- When you would bet every leg anyway, and want a little extra upside on top.
- Make straight bets your core plays at full unit size.
- Keep parlays small, 0.5u or less, and never your biggest bet of the day.
- For several plays you like, a round robin is a safer way to parlay them.
Put it to work
The MC Sports model boards rank every player and game, every game day, and show the numbers behind each score.
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