How Do Parlay Cards Work? | Las Vegas Advisor

Can you please explain how parlay cards work? I understand that they're like the most popular sports bets to make, but why? What's so good about them?

Happy to.

A "parlay" is a wager that involves two or more events.

For example, I'll bet you that I can get my golf ball onto the green from the tee in two shots, then hole it in two (more) shots. To win, I have to be successful in both propositions and I have to win as specified. I can't get onto the green in one shot and sink the ball in three or get on in three and sink it in one.

"Parlay" is also a verb. When you parlay, you use the winnings from one wager to make another. One advantage of a parlay is being able to roll the winnings from one bet into a second bet that's taking place simultaneously, as in betting the Yankees and the over in the same game.

You can create and bet parlays in a sports book by combining wagers "off the board" (meaning taken from the odds board) or by using a parlay card, which is (usually) a rectangular piece of thin card stock pre-printed with the eligible betting options that you're allowed to combine. For example, a football parlay card might have bets on sides, totals, and some propositions.

The attraction of parlay cards to players is the big payoffs they offer for small bets -- 10-teamers, for example, might pay 850-to-1. But they're no gambling bargain. Parlay cards in Nevada sports books require at least three bets and pay winners at odds in the area of 6.5-for-1 (which is the same as 5.5-to-1). The fair payoff for correctly predicting three independent events is 7-1, so a sports book ostensibly has an 18.75% edge on this bet.

Why "ostensibly"? Because the pre-printing of the pointspreads can yield opportunities when the current line moves away from the line on the printed card that can't be changed. So players can lock in a number that's better than what the market is offering. Also, skilled gamblers sometimes find correlations in the betting options, which can also erase the book's advantage.

For the most part, though, the casinos have a big edge on parlay cards and continue to profit handily from them every year.

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Kevin Lewis Jan-05-2025

The math of a parlay

When a given (desired) result depends on two or more outcomes (each favorable), the odds of that result can be expressed by stating the probability of each outcome as a fraction and then multiplying the fractions together. So winning a three-team parlay where each picked team has a 50% chance of winning is 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2, or a 1/8 chance aka 7 to 1 against. Continuing to, say, five picks is 1 in 32, or 31 to 1 against. But go to any sportsbook while the games are on the TVs and you'll see dozens of players clutching their parlay cards in sweaty fists, hoping they'll win. They won't.

Any time you need to win twice or more to win, the math bites you on the ass. For instance, Team A beats Team B 2/3 of the time. BUT the odds are against Team A winning two in a row! 2/3 x 2/3 is 4/9, or 44%.

Of course, even a long-odds play can be fine if you get paid the proper odds when you win. But the more props on a parlay, the worse the payoff gets--casinos penalize long-odds bettors.

AyeCarambaPoker Jan-05-2025

Spreads or odds don't change?

Is it really true that the odds or spreads don't change after the parlay cards are printed?

Here in the UK we get similar cards on our version of football (with the round ball) with preprinted odds but they will often change when the card gets scanned at the cashier

Jon Miller Jan-05-2025

Sucker bets?

 I’ve seen recent statistics that 90-93% of the billions of dollars in sports betting generated revenue is from PARLAY wagers.

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