Parlay (gambling)
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A parlay or accumulator is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay is that there are much higher payoffs than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher. If any of the bets in the parlay loses, the entire parlay loses. If any of the plays in the parlay pushes, the parlay reverts to a lower number of teams with the odds reducing accordingly.
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[edit] Odds and payout
Parlay bets are paid out at odds higher than the typical single game bet, but still below the "true" odds. For instance, a common 2-team NFL parlay might have a payout of 13:5 if both picks are correct. In reality, however, if one assumes that each single game bet is a coin flip and would be expected to pay out at 1:1, the true payout should instead be 3:1, a substantial difference.
[edit] Example
Example 1
Alex places a three-team NFL parlay on the Lions, Bears and Bengals. If any one of those teams fail to cover the spread, Alex loses his parlay bet. But if all three teams beat the spread, Alex gets paid $600 for every $100 bet.
If Alex pushes on one of those picks, he then has a two-team parlay. If he pushes on two picks, he would then have a straight bet.
Example 2
Arsenal F.C. is playing Manchester United F.C. at home ground
Home team to win: 1.70
Draw: 3.20
Away team to win: 4.50
Chelsea F.C. is playing Fulham F.C. at home ground
Home team to win: 1.70
Draw: 3.30
Away team to win: 4.40
Liverpool F.C. is playing Tottenham Hotspur F.C. at home ground
Home team to win: 1.30
Draw: 4.00
Away team to win: 8.50
Matches results:
Arsenal F.C. 0:0 Manchester United F.C.
Chelsea F.C. 2:1 Fulham F.C.
Liverpool F.C. 3:1 Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Parlay wager example #1:
You bet on Arsenal F.C. to Draw, Chelsea F.C. to win and Liverpool F.C.to win. Wager amount is $1000.
You win $6072 as Arsenal F.C. did draw, Chelsea F.C. did win and Liverpool F.C. did win.
The calculation is as follow: $1000 x 3.2 x 1.7 x 1.3 = $7072, less stake of $1000
Parlay wager example #2
You bet on Manchester United F.C. to win, Chelsea F.C. to win and Liverpool F.C., Wager amount is $1000.
You lose $1000 as Manchester United did not win.
