Parlay
Once you’ve mastered the single bet, it’s time to expand your NFL betting horizons. The parlay is an incredibly popular way to bet on NFL games while increasing your potential payout at the end of the day. Instead of betting on the outcome of a single game or event, you’re now betting on two or more outcomes up to a maximum of 12.
Betting Two-Team Parlay
- Let’s start with a simple, two-team parlay. We use “team” here even though you can also bet on a total instead, which we’ll do in this example:
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- Houston Texans -4
- OVER 48
Here we’re combining two bets: we’re taking the Texans -4 in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and we’re taking over 48 in the same game. We could place two single bets of $11 instead, in which case we’d win $20 if both outcomes came true. But if we parlay the two wagers, our payout gets multiplied by a set rate – in this case, by 2.645. That’s $58.19 if you combine the two $11 single bets into a $22 parlay, or $36.19 in profit instead of just $20.
Your payout gets multiplied by a bigger number for every team you add to your parlay. A three-team parlay pays out at nearly 6/1, while nailing a 12-team parlay would deliver a massive payout at over 2340/1. The risk is that you won’t win anything if you only get 11 out of your 12 picks correct. That’s why many professional handicappers stick with two-team parlays – often combining the spread and the total from the same game, as in the above example. Understanding risk management is just as important as understanding football when you bet on the NFL.