Sports Betting Parlays - Truth or Illusion
Playing sports betting parlays rarely pays off. Yes, at Sports Betting Smarts, we have been inundated by sports bettors claiming they can hit five, six, seven-plus parlays for big payouts. Often we’ll see evidence of big wins, as images of betting slips are posted on various pages we frequent or sent to us. They may be real, or they may be doctored. But if someone is promising you huge wins via sports betting parlays, all we can say is caveat emptor. That is, buyer beware.
Sports Betting Parlays - Promises, Promises
Years ago when editing and writing articles for an large company that created articles for various online sites, including various sportsbooks and casinos, I was sent a piece by my boss. She asked me to edit it. This article focused on a parlay that the writer claimed was easy to hit and that offered a huge payout. The writer claimed that the possible payout was so attractive (it was something like 300-to-1) that it was worth the required minimum bet of $25.00. How could anyone turn down the chance to win $7,500 on a $25 bet? All you had to do was get three-of-three wagers correct. Right? Well, not quite.
The Skinny on the Parlay
This betting scheme included various restrictions that greatly reduced anyone’s chances of cashing in. Below are the givens:
You could only bet on the three events chosen by the sportsbook. The sportsbook picked events that were very hard to handicap.
The three bets offered usually included a basic point spread, a three-way, and a tournament winner.
The spread bet would be a football or basketball game. Bettors had a 50-50 chance of winning this wager.
The three-way was a soccer match, which reduced chances of winning to 33 percent.
The tournament was really hard to hit. If it was a golf tournament, 70 to 80 players would make the cut. With 70 participants, your chances of getting that bet right are just 1.4085%. As the number of participants increased, your chances of winning were reduced. Note, a tennis tournament may have 128 or more players who qualify, which really expands the odds. The chances of winning that bet are 0.7752%.
All bets had to be made prior to the start of the first game, match, or event on the ticket. Thus, you were putting money on contests that were two or three days away. A lot could happen in that amount of time to alter the outcome of any of the events.
Finally, to make an educated choice, the bettor had to have extensive knowledge of three very different sports. Most bettors are not well versed in a variety of sports.
Sports Betting Parlays - The Truth
It’s clear that the above parlay was attractive due to its possible payout. It should also be clear that such a payout was rarely made. This special sports betting parlay was a suckers bet. Be advised, even basic two team parlays are hard to win. Anyone promising you a huge cashout on a multi-game parlay, such as a 16-team bet which offers a payout of approximately 29,078-to-1, will very likely end up keeping your cash. Make smart bets and chose what you bet on carefully. Remember the ancient proverb, a fool and his money are soon parted.
For more information on smart sports betting and staying in the game for the long run, please see our Smart Betting Guide.
