Nov 08, 2020 A bettor at the William Hill Sportsbook at the Venetian in Las Vegas is walking home a big winner after cashing in on a seven-leg parlay. The ticket was bought for $4,000 and flipped for a total. Typical point spread payouts look like this: 2 team parlay – 13/5 odds. 3 team parlay – 6/1 odds. 4 team parlay – 10/1 odds. 5 team parlay – 25/1 odds. 6 team parlay – 40/1 odds. The odds continue to get larger and better for the person making the wager with the more teams you add to it.
Parlays are the ultimate big-win chaser’s dream. The combined bets provide massive potential payouts on nominal wagers, and nearly every online sportsbook offers them. Though the odds are low for a given parlay to hit, the possible winnings are huge, and a handful of lucky bettors have cashed in some gargantuan parlay jackpots at legal sportsbooks worldwide.
But before jumping into some of the craziest parlay wins on record, it helps to better understand the betting method, its upsides, and the inherent risk.
How Parlays Work
In simple terms, parlays are “all or nothing” bets. Parlays combine two or more individual bets into a single wager. This ramps up the odds so that a parlay pays much higher than any of the individual bets.
For example, I combined four bets with odds of -110, -110, +150, and +115 today on PointsBet, and the parlay payout came in at +1859. A $20 bet would pay more than $390.
Of course, there’s a catch. For a parlay to win, each individual bet must win. If you combine four bets into a parlay and one of them loses, you lose your bet even if the other three bets won. For that reason, parlays are risky bets, and most experts encourage you to steer clear.
On the other hand, casual bettors might enjoy making a weekly parlay every NFL Sunday or while any other league is in the thick of its season. There’s nothing wrong with making the occasional parlay bet as long as you acknowledge that your odds to win are low, similar to playing a slot machine.
Five Crazy Parlay Wins
Some bettors have beat the odds and been lucky enough to nab astronomical parlay wins in the past. Here’s a round-up of five amazing parlay wins.
The Three Sport Combo
Last year brought a huge windfall to one FanDuel sportsbook bettor who won on a $200 parlay combining 15 NBA, NFL, and NHL bets. The bet hit in November 2019 when all of the bettor’s moneyline wagers won for a payout of $229,276.
The moneyline bets boosted this wager over the edge for a massive win, because moneylines tend to offer longer odds if you pick the underdog. Whether it was sheer luck or educated guessing, this bettor came out on top.
The Charcuterie Parlay
In March 2019, sportsbooks were starting to take off in Mississippi on the heels of an August 2018 launch. March brought one noteworthy parlay win that featured a little bit of everything.
Rather than sticking to one type of bet, this bettor wagered $25 on a 20-leg parlay. The parlay was a veritable smorgasbord of bets and sports, including point spreads, moneylines, and totals. The wager covered a slate of Friday-night games across the NBA and NCAA basketball.
According to ESPN, the customer at BetAmerica sportsbook in Vicksburg, Mississippi’s Riverwalk Casino wagered on 14 favorites, three underdogs, and three “over” totals bets.
After a few close calls, the 20-leg bet won, netting the bettor a $104,412 win.
The Homecoming Special
In September 2020, a BetMGM customer raked in a $152,341 win on a $10 parlay.
The 11-leg bet featured five moneyline bets, five totals, and a single point spread wager (Duke +20.5). The majority of the bets predicted college football match-ups, but a few additional professional games sent the bet over the edge. The Rockets-Lakers under and the Yankees moneyline contributed to the win, resulting in a huge payday for the lucky bettor.
The 15-Leg NFL Slate
Amateur sports bettor Tayla Polia’s parlay success story is featured on countless lists just like this one, and for good reason. In 2015, Polia placed a $5, 15-leg parlay that included 14 point spread bets and one totals wager for the Steelers-Broncos matchup.
To her surprise, Polia’s bet won and paid out 20,000-1 for a cool $105,000. She actually thought the bet had failed initially because the Giants lost their match-up. But Polia had bet on the team to cover, which they did, completing her parlay and netting her a huge win.
Root, Root, Root For The Home Team
In 2015, MLB fans worldwide witnessed history. For the first time since the league’s inception, all 15 home teams won their games on a single day.
One lucky bettor cemented his place in the story by predicting the event with a 15-leg parlay bet. The Ireland bettor had plenty of reason to celebrate proverbial Irish luck when his ~$78 bet, placed at William Hill’s sportsbook, won him $100,810.
Should I Place Parlay Bets?
You may see these wins and instantly open your sportsbook app to start placing a few parlays for yourself. Before you do, it’s important to note that these wins are the exception, not the rule. The sage advice from sports betting experts is to stay away from parlays.
However, it’s okay to place a parlay bet once in a while, especially if you feel confident about a select few match-ups. Parlays can be a fun way to get in on the action and invest yourself in the match-ups of the day. Just play responsibly and keep in mind that your chances of winning any parlay are slim.
Parlay Tips
If you’re planning to place parlay bets, there are a few tips to keep in mind.
Less Is More
Sure, a 15-leg parlay is enticing, especially if the payout has four, five, or even six digits. But the more bets you include, the less likely you are to win. IF you’re interested in placing parlays, keep them simple at first. Combine two or three bets and see how they perform. If you’re lucky, you might win a few hundred dollars.
Favoritism Can Be A Benefit
Underdogs offer better payouts, but that’s only because they are viewed as less likely to win their match-up. If you’re building a parlay of moneyline bets, pay close attention to the odds. If one team is heavily favored to win, that might be the wiser pick.
Carefully Consider Home Team Bets
Unless it’s the mid-90s and you’re placing Chicago Bulls bets every week, try to steer clear of home-team bets when you’re building a parlay. I’ve fallen victim to the trap many times–I place a 5-leg parlay bet that includes my Chicago Bears to win only to find a disappointing 4-1 parlay that loses me my initial bet thanks to a crushing Chicago loss.
If you want to bet on your home team, keep that wager out of your parlays or risk disappointment.
Point Spreads Even Out The Odds
Betting on point spreads gives you smaller individual payouts, but combining them into parlays can produce big potential wins. Point spreads even out the odds of a given match-up, giving the predicted underdog a chance to cover the spread even if they lose the match.
Week 7 features several big games and other contests with huge point spreads. That is going to make parlays even more difficult to hit with tricky lines among this week’s best NFL betting options.
Below, we will be creating a 5-bet NFL parlay for Week 7. This bet includes a few favorites and a few underdogs to increase the odds. Let’s take a look at our top Week 7 NFL parlay.
NFL Week 7 parlay picks and predictions
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 3:27 a.m. ET.
Leg 1: Cleveland Browns -3 (-110) at Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland was embarrassed last week at the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it might just be the best team in the AFC. The Browns get a much easier opponent this week as they will take on the Bengals in Cincinnati. Cleveland is getting healthier and should have a few of its top safeties in this game. Look for the Browns to run all over the Bengals and win by at least a touchdown Sunday.
Leg 2: Atlanta Falcons -2.5 (-110) vs. Detroit Lions
Atlanta picked up its first win of the season Sunday and its offense looked good. In Week 7, it will take on one of the worst pass defenses in all of the NFL and shouldn’t have any problem scoring. Take Atlanta to win and cover at home against the 2-3 Lions.
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Leg 3: Green Bay Packers -3.5 (-110) at Houston Texans
One of the stranger lines of the week features the 4-1 Packers as only 3.5- point favorites over the Texans. These odds don’t make a ton of sense, but don’t overthink this one. Green Bay is the far better team and QB Aaron Rodgers will want to dominate after a poor showing in Week 6. Take the Packers to easily win this game against a bad Texans’ roster.
Leg 4: San Francisco 49ers (+110) at New England Patriots
Both the 49ers and Patriots have disappointed some to start the season, but injuries can be used as an explanation for both. The 49ers are +110 underdogs to win this game outright Sunday and it appears their offense is starting to look like what we saw last year. With TE George Kittle and WR Deebo Samuel back in the lineup, this is one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. Look for the 49ers to find a way to beat the Patriots in New England.
Leg 5: Chicago Bears (+210) at Los Angeles Rams
The Bears are 5-1 on the season, yet they are +210 underdogs at the Rams Monday night. That doesn’t quite add up and the Bears have the defense to match up with Sean McVay’s offense. It’s too good of a line to pass up and Chicago should be able to keep this game close. Take the Bears to win outright on Monday Night Football.
5-TEAM PARLAY Bet $100 to earn a profit of $4,429.61
Vegas 7 Team Parlay Odds
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Also see:
Green Bay not underestimating challenge of facing QB Watson and 1-5 Houston (Packers Wire)3 keys for Chicago’s offense vs. L.A. Rams (Bears Wire)Follow @Marcus_Mosher on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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