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Parlays, Teasers & Round Robins | How They Work

Last Updated on November 11, 2025 6:38 pm by Michael Cash

Parlays, teasers, and round robins are multi-leg ways to combine bets. They can boost payouts or smooth variance—but they also raise the house hold if you’re not price-sensitive. This guide explains what each one is, how payouts and pricing work, and when they make sense (and when they don’t). For a neutral primer, see Wikipedia: Parlay and Wikipedia: Teaser. For odds fundamentals, start with How to Read Betting Odds.

What Is a Parlay?

A parlay combines two or more legs (sides/totals/props). Every leg must win for the ticket to cash. Payouts multiply—so does variance. Books often price parlays using fixed tables or by multiplying leg prices (true odds) minus an added house edge.

Parlay Example

Two -110 legs at “true” math would pay about +264; most parlay tables pay roughly +264 to +273 for 2-leggers, varying by book. Always check the book’s parlay price versus the implied multiplication of the individual legs. Have a parlay you want to calculate? Our Free 2025 Parlay Calculator gives you your payout instantly on up to 15 legs.

What Is a Teaser?

A teaser lets you move spreads/totals by a fixed number of points in exchange for a packaged price. In NFL, common teasers are 6, 6.5, or 7 points across two or more legs. Teasers are most discussed in football due to key numbers like 3 and 7.

Teaser Example (NFL)

Tease -8.5 to -2.5 and +2.5 to +8.5 in a 6-point, 2-leg teaser so both legs cross 3 and 7. Price matters—compare teaser odds across books, and avoid low totals where points are worth less.

What Is a Round Robin?

A round robin breaks a list of picks into every possible parlay combination of a chosen size. Example: with three selections (A, B, C), a 2-leg round robin creates A+B, A+C, B+C—three separate parlays. It reduces the all-or-nothing risk of a single big parlay but adds total stake and hold.

When to Use Each

  • Parlays: Entertainment or when leg prices are genuinely mispriced and uncorrelated. Keep stakes small; shop each leg and the parlay payout.
  • Teasers (NFL-specific): When you can cross key numbers (3 and 7) on both legs at a fair package price. Be cautious with college/NBA teasers where keys are weaker.
  • Round Robins: To spread risk across combos if you have multiple mild edges and want to avoid one-leg busting the entire ticket.

Pricing, Hold & EV

  • Multiply true odds: Roughly multiply decimal odds of legs to estimate “fair” parlay price, then compare to the book’s offer.
  • Package pricing: Teasers have fixed prices; value depends on point value (keys crossed, totals environment).
  • Hold adds up: Combining legs compounds vig. Multi-leg bets often carry higher effective hold than singles.

Risk Management for Multi-Legs

  • Small units: 0.25–0.5u for parlays/SGPs is a common entertainment-size stake. Keep most bankroll in flat singles.
  • Cap exposure: Limit daily stake to ≤5–7% of bankroll across all bets.
  • Line shop every leg: Better numbers/prices on legs improve the whole ticket’s EV. See How to Shop Betting Lines.

Examples

2-Leg Parlay Example

Legs: -110 and +115. “Fair” decimal ~1.909×2.150 ≈ 4.11 → about +311. If the book pays +295, you’re giving up value vs. the raw multiplication (not accounting for correlation/hold).

NFL 2-Leg 6-Point Teaser Example

-8.5 → -2.5 and +2.5 → +8.5 (both cross 3 and 7). Compare teaser price across books; avoid totals below ~41 where points may be less valuable.

3 Picks, 2-Leg Round Robin

Selections A, B, C → parlays A+B, A+C, B+C (3 tickets). If one pick loses, you can still profit depending on prices and results.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting correlation: Same-game legs can be linked; many books offer SGPs at adjusted prices to account for this. Don’t assume full “true odds.”
  • Teasing through dead numbers: If you’re not crossing 3 and 7 in NFL, value drops fast. Avoid teasing across totals-heavy, low-key-number environments.
  • Oversizing stakes: Parlays/teasers increase variance; keep fun-size and protect bankroll.
  • Ignoring price: Always compare parlay/teaser offers between books.

FAQs: Parlays, Teasers & Round Robins

Are parlays ever +EV? Sometimes—if leg prices are mispriced and uncorrelated, or if promos materially improve payout. Most recreational parlays are -EV without careful price shopping.

Are teasers worth it? In NFL only when you cross key numbers (3, 7) on both legs at a fair price. They’re usually not good in NBA/MLB/NHL.

Is a round robin safer? It can reduce all-or-nothing risk, but total stake and hold increase. Use small units.

Related Guides

Responsible Gaming

Parlays and teasers are high variance. Keep stakes small, set limits, and seek help if betting stops being fun. See Responsible Betting.