Parlay and Accumulator FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Parlay (Accumulator) bets

1. How do parlays work?A parlay is a group of bets, the total win and risk amount of the first bet in the parlay is used to go all-in on the next bet. This means that the money snowballs or “accumulates” which is why these bets are also called “Accumulators”. Let`s look at a simple example: Bet 1$ at -110 (1.90) odds on Team A to win, you win your bet and now the risk amount of 1$ plus the winnings 0.90$ are bet on the next bet in the parlay. The next bet is Team X to win at 2.00 (+100) odds which means 1.90$ bet at 2.00 odds, this wins and now you have 3.80$ and you won a 2 leg parlay. Team A 1.90 Team X 2.00 Risk 1$ to win 3.80$, if either team A or team x had lost you would have had zero.

2. Are Parlays worth it? Parlays are harder to win than single bets. Regardless of the odds, the statistical chance of you winning a parlay of two, three or more bets is much lower than winning a single bet.

3. How to make a parlay bet? Most sportsbooks have a button that you press in order to start adding selections to a parlay bet slip. If the games are not at the same time you could just take all of your winnings from the first game, including the risk amount and go all in on the next game that you want to bet. This is what a parlay does.

4. Why do people bet parlays? Most people bet parlays because they want to bet a little to win a lot.

5. What are the disadvantages of parlays? You can only make a parlay at one sportsbook. The sportsbook might not have the best odds for all of your selections in the market at any given time. You are also paying “juice” for each leg of your parlay. This means the combined juice is much higher than on a single bet.

6. How can you make money with parlays? To make money with parlays you need to have good bankroll management since you will not be winning them often. In order to win of course all selections in the parlay must win, otherwise, the parlay is lost.

7. Should you cash out your parlay? Sometimes you get an offer to “cash out” your parlay from a sportsbook. It is up to you to decide if you want to cash out. You should consider hedging the parlay yourself instead of just pressing the “cash out” button. Often you can find a better deal by hedging the parlay yourself.

selection of coupons at a UK sportsbook
8. What are some common mistakes when making parlays?The main mistake in betting parlays is adding selections with low odds to “add value”. The value of a bet does not change just because it is in a parlay. A general rule of thumb is that if you would not bet it as a single bet, then do not bet it in a parlay.

9. What are parlay cards? “Parlay cards” or in the UK “Accumulator coupons” offer you fixed odds for parlay bets. A lot of the time vegas parlay cards are against the spread where a typical UK coupon is for 3-way soccer betting and doesn’t have fixed odds but offers something like insurance if you get one pick wrong. Both of these are real papers that you can pick up at a casino or sportsbook that you fill out.

Typical American style parlay card, against the spread
10. Where can you make parlay bets? You can make parlay bets at most sportsbooks, we recommend the following: BitcoinRush, Sportsbook.ag, BetDSI, 5dimes, Fortune Jack or any listed here.

11. Are parlay cards illegal? They are only illegal where sports betting is illegal and if offered by a sportsbook or bookie without a license.

12. Can you parlay prop bets? Some sportsbooks like 5dimes allow you to parlay prop bets that are not in the same game. Some places also offer “bet builder” (5dimes has this too) which allows you to combine some prop bets for the same game. In soccer betting, there are many sportsbooks that offer prop bet parlays as a fixed bet. For example “home team wins and over 2.5 goals”.

13. Can you parlay money line and spread? Yes, at nearly all sportsbooks you can parlay money line and spread as well as totals in the same parlay. Most also allow “mixed sports parlays.

14. Can you parlay spread and over under? Yes, you can parlay spread and over under of different games in one parlay. Most sportsbooks do not allow you to parlay the spread or money line together with the total.

15. Can you parlay future bets in Vegas? No, normally you can not parlay futures online or in Vegas. 5dimes might offer this on some prop bets related to futures.

16. Do parlays push? This is something you need to think about -before- you make your parlay bet. In most cases, a push in a parlay just reduces the payout. However, there are some types of paralys where “push=loss”. These are normally parlay cards and some other types of parlay offers. This is also why some parlay cards always have half points to prevent any pushes.

17. Do parlays have juice? YES, parlays have TONS of juice. The more selections the more juice. Some sportsbooks in Las Vegas or Atlantic City offer reduced juice parlay cards.

18. Should you only parlay big favorites? There is no one way to win at sports betting or parlays. However, you should try to think out of the box. A lot of the time a 2 leg parlay with two underdogs pays more than a 5 or 10 leg parlay with all favorites. You can decide what is worth it.

19. Why do people lose so many parlays? The main reason people lose parlays and in, in general, is that they are -afraid of losing-. Instead of looking for value people are looking for bets that they think that they -will not lose-. This also goes for parlays and is why you see so many parlay slips full of 1.05 and 1.20 odds bets because people think they are “locks” “sure” or even “fixed”.This is the way to lose money.

Have you won any big parlays?
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