A parlay is one bet that combines two or more picks, called legs, on a single ticket. Every leg has to win for the parlay to pay, and in return the odds of the legs are multiplied together: two legs at -110 pay about +264, three pay about +596. If one leg loses, the whole ticket loses.
Teasers and round robins are built on the same idea. A teaser is a parlay where you move every point spread or total in your favor and accept a lower price for it. A round robin splits a list of picks into several smaller parlays, so one loss does not sink everything. Below is how each one pays, with the math, and what each one costs you.
How a Parlay Works
You can parlay most standard markets: point spreads, moneylines and totals, and often props. If those three bet types are new to you, start with moneyline vs spread vs totals. A typical three-leg ticket looks like this:
- Team A -3.5 (-110)
- Over 47.5 (-110) in a second game
- Team C moneyline +150 in a third game
Each leg is graded on its own. If all three win, the ticket cashes at the combined price. If any one of them loses, the ticket loses, even when the other two win.
A standard parlay takes legs from different games. Legs that depend on each other, such as a favorite’s moneyline and the same favorite’s spread, are usually refused because one result makes the other more likely. A same-game parlay does allow linked legs, but the sportsbook sets that price itself instead of multiplying the legs, so it usually pays less than the simple product.
How Parlay Payouts Are Calculated
Convert each leg’s American odds to decimal odds, multiply the decimals, and convert back. Decimal odds are what a $1 bet returns, stake included.
- Minus odds: decimal = 1 + 100 ÷ odds. So -110 = 1 + 100 ÷ 110 = 1.9091.
- Plus odds: decimal = 1 + odds ÷ 100. So +150 = 2.50 and +115 = 2.15.
- Back to American (any decimal of 2.00 or more): (decimal – 1) × 100.
A two-leg parlay at -110 and +115: 1.9091 × 2.15 = 4.1045. In American odds that is (4.1045 – 1) × 100, about +310, so a $100 ticket returns $410.45 and profits $310.45. More on the three odds formats in how to read betting odds.
Parlay payout table at -110
With every leg at -110, the parlay’s decimal price is 1.9091 multiplied by itself once per leg. The return includes your stake.
| Legs | Decimal odds | American odds | $10 bet returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3.645 | +264 | $36.45 |
| 3 | 6.958 | +596 | $69.58 |
| 4 | 13.283 | +1228 | $132.83 |
| 5 | 25.359 | +2436 | $253.59 |
| 6 | 48.413 | +4741 | $484.13 |
| 7 | 92.424 | +9142 | $924.24 |
| 8 | 176.446 | +17545 | $1,764.46 |
| 9 | 336.852 | +33585 | $3,368.52 |
| 10 | 643.082 | +64208 | $6,430.82 |
| 11 | 1,227.701 | +122670 | $12,277.01 |
| 12 | 2,343.793 | +234279 | $23,437.93 |
Some sportsbooks pay parlays from a fixed table instead of multiplying the legs, and those prices can be a few points off these. Check the bet slip, or enter your own legs and prices in the parlay calculator.
Worked example: a three-leg parlay
Take the ticket above for $20:
- Team A -3.5 (-110) = 1.9091
- Over 47.5 (-110) = 1.9091
- Team C moneyline +150 = 2.50
1.9091 × 1.9091 × 2.50 = 9.1116, which is about +811. If all three legs win, the $20 ticket returns $182.23: $162.23 profit plus your $20 back. If any leg loses, you lose $20.
When the first legs have won and only one game is left, you can lock in part of the payout by betting the other side of the last leg. Hedging bets works through that exact case, with the stake to use.
Why the House Edge Grows With Every Leg
Take a game that is a true coin flip. The fair price for either side is +100 (decimal 2.00), but the odds offer -110 (1.9091). Each $1 bet returns 0.5 × 1.9091 = 0.9545 on average, an expected loss of about 4.5 cents. That margin is the vig, explained in full in vig and juice explained.
A parlay runs your whole stake through every leg’s margin, so the shortfall multiplies. You are paid 1.9091 per leg while the fair price is 2.00 per leg:
| Legs | Chance all win (50% legs) | Fair price | Paid at -110 | Expected loss per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50% (1 in 2) | +100 | -110 | $4.55 |
| 2 | 25% (1 in 4) | +300 | +264 | $8.88 |
| 3 | 12.5% (1 in 8) | +700 | +596 | $13.03 |
| 4 | 6.25% (1 in 16) | +1500 | +1228 | $16.98 |
| 5 | 3.1% (1 in 32) | +3100 | +2436 | $20.75 |
| 6 | 1.6% (1 in 64) | +6300 | +4741 | $24.36 |
The expected return is 0.9545 raised to the number of legs. For six legs, 0.9545 to the sixth power is 0.7564, so $100 expects to come back as $75.64.
The break-even rate per leg does not change: at -110 each leg still needs to win 52.4% of the time, the same as a single bet. What changes is how much of your money sits on that margin at once. If you really are getting better than fair prices on each leg, a parlay compounds that edge too. If you are not, it compounds the house’s. That is why most bettors keep parlays to a small fraction of a normal unit; see bankroll management for how to size them.
What Is a Teaser Bet?
A teaser is a parlay of point spreads or totals where every line moves in your favor by the same number of points: usually 6, 6.5 or 7 in football and 4, 4.5 or 5 in basketball. Favorites lay fewer points, underdogs get more, Overs come down and Unders go up. Moneylines cannot be teased. Every leg must still win, and the price is fixed by the number of teams and points, well below a normal parlay.
| Football teaser | Typical price | Each leg must win |
|---|---|---|
| 2 teams, 6 points | -120 | 73.9% |
| 3 teams, 6 points | +160 | 72.7% |
| 2 teams, 6.5 points | -130 | 75.2% |
| 2 teams, 7 points | -140 | 76.4% |
Prices vary by sportsbook. The last column is the break-even rate per leg: 1 ÷ the decimal price, then the root for the number of teams. For a two-team teaser at -120, the decimal is 1.8333, 1 ÷ 1.8333 = 0.5455, and the square root of 0.5455 is 0.7385, or 73.9%. Moving a line 6 points does not make every leg that likely to win. Only some moves do.
Key numbers 3 and 7 in football
In the NFL, 3 and 7 are the most common final margins, because of field goals and touchdowns with the extra point. A six-point move that carries a line across both 3 and 7 picks up the most final scores. A move that crosses 0, or sits between key numbers, gains far less. Football totals and basketball spreads have no margins that common, which is why teasers on them rarely clear the break-even rate. Our guide to NFL odds and key numbers covers how those numbers shape every line.
Worked example: a two-team, six-point teaser
Two lines on the board: Team A -7.5 (-110) and Team B +1.5 (-110).
- Team A -7.5 becomes -1.5: Team A must win by 2 or more instead of 8 or more.
- Team B +1.5 becomes +7.5: Team B can lose by up to 7 instead of 1.
Both legs cross 3 and 7. At -120 you risk $120 to win $100: if both legs win, the ticket returns $220; if either misses, you lose $120. The same two original lines in a normal parlay would pay +264, but each team would have to beat the harder number. Check other point and team counts in the teaser calculator, and find current lines on our NFL odds page.
What Is a Round Robin Bet?
A round robin takes a list of picks and bets every parlay of a chosen size that can be built from them. With three picks, A, B and C, a round robin “by 2s” places three two-leg parlays: A+B, A+C and B+C. Each is its own ticket with its own stake, so a losing pick only sinks the tickets it is on.
The number of tickets climbs fast, and so does the total stake:
| Picks | Tickets by 2s | Tickets by 3s | Total stake at $10 a ticket (2s / 3s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 1 | $30 / $10 |
| 4 | 6 | 4 | $60 / $40 |
| 5 | 10 | 10 | $100 / $100 |
| 6 | 15 | 20 | $150 / $200 |
| 7 | 21 | 35 | $210 / $350 |
| 8 | 28 | 56 | $280 / $560 |
Tickets by 2s = picks × (picks – 1) ÷ 2. Some sportsbooks also offer every size at once, from 2s up to the full parlay: that is 4 tickets with 3 picks, 11 with 4 and 26 with 5.
Worked example: three picks by 2s
Three picks at -110, $10 a ticket, $30 in total. Each two-leg ticket pays 3.6446, so a winning ticket returns $36.45.
| Picks that win | Tickets that win | Total return | Net result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 of 3 | 3 | $109.34 | +$79.34 |
| 2 of 3 | 1 | $36.45 | +$6.45 |
| 1 or 0 | 0 | $0 | -$30.00 |
The same $30 on one three-leg parlay would return $208.74 (+$178.74) if all three win and lose $30 otherwise. The round robin gives up most of that top payout for a small win when one pick misses. It does not lower the house edge: every ticket is a two-leg parlay carrying the 8.88% expected loss from the table above. The round robin calculator lists every combination and its payout for your own picks.
Pushes, Ties and Void Legs
- Parlays: a leg that pushes (Team A -3 wins by exactly 3) or is voided (a postponed or cancelled game) is removed, and the ticket is paid on the legs left. A three-leg parlay at -110 with one push pays as a two-leg, +264. A two-leg parlay with one push becomes a straight bet at the other leg’s price.
- Teasers: the rules vary more. Usually the pushed leg drops and the ticket is repriced as the next smaller teaser; on a two-team teaser a win and a push often returns your stake. Some teasers are offered as “ties lose”, where a push counts as a loss. Read the rule before you bet.
- Round robins: every ticket that includes the pushed pick loses that leg. A two-leg ticket becomes a straight bet on its other pick; tickets without the pushed pick are not affected.
Parlays pay big because they rarely win. Bet only what you can afford to lose, and see our responsible gaming page for limits and help.