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.

Parlay odds won’t typically vary much between college football betting sites but doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find the gambling site with best payouts. Almost all sportsbooks pay +264 on 2-team parlays, but there are some differences at 3-teams.

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.

1. When betting sites offer fixed parlay odds on point spreads generally the more teams you bet the worse the odds become. If you were to roll all bets forward 8-times, staking your full return each time, you’d get paid 175.45 to 1 and notice BetOnline only pays 165 to 1 on 8-team parlays.
2. Most betting sites will automatically calculate the payout for parlay using true odds rather than fixed odds if any of the selections are at odds other than -110. So a good trick here is to always try to include such a selection. Doing basically forces a betting site.
3. If one of your betting sites is offering a great line on game A and the other has a juicy line in game B, the only thing you can do is straight bet each of them. The more legs in your parlay, the more likely you will have poor odds since you must fill the parlay with odds from a single sportsbook.
4. Most betting sites have a limit to how much they’ll pay out on one single wager. This limit is usually high enough to only effect the highest of high rollers, but it can come into play when betting parlays.

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.

Parlay bets are wagers where multiple teams are selected to win, linking them onto a single ticket. Instead of making multiple straight bets, parlays offer increased odds, giving handicappers the chance to turn a small bet into a large payday. With each team added to a ticket, the higher the odds.

In order to win a parlay bet, every team on the ticket must win. For example, if you’re 6-0 on a 7-team parlay, the last team needs to win, otherwise the entire ticket is lost.

* The best parlay odds online are offered at Sportsinteraction.com

Different sports, point spreads, money lines, and totals can all be combined onto a single parlay ticket. If any game within a parlay results in a push, the parlay reverts down by one game. For example, if you had a six team parlay with one push, the payout would be based on five team parlay odds.

Best Sportsbooks on the Internet for Parlay Betting

For frequent parlay betting, Bet365 offers some of the best daily odds for parlays of 9 teams or less. Here is a quick comparison chart for point spread parlay odds.

Parlay Bet Calculations

Parlays can be placed on NFL and NBA basketball games using the point spread, or any sport using the money line. When making parlay bets on games using a point spread, most sportsbooks stay within a certain range of odds until they get above 8 team parlays. At 8 team parlays and bigger, there’s a fairly wide range of odds that are offered.

Since the odds on money line bets vary, the odds are calculated differently. When money line bets are added to a parlay ticket, obviously the odds of each individual game have to be factored into the payout calculation.

Useful Tips & Strategy

Parlay In Sports Betting

Instead of placing parlay bets with lots of teams on them, split them into multiple, smaller tickets. We recommend keeping your parlay bets down to 2-5 teams per ticket. This will increase your odds of winning, keeping your bankroll replenished with smaller, more frequent wins. Also, with each team added to a parlay ticket, the house takes a larger edge. When you get into 6+ team parlays, the house edge grows considerably.

With each team added to a parlay, the smaller the bet amount should be. Some professional handicappers suggest a maximum of 2-3% of a bankroll, but we recommend that with increased odds and decreased chances of winning, to respectively lower the % of your bankroll committed to the parlay.

Make sure the final game on every parlay is scheduled to begin after every other game ends. Give yourself a bit of time to place a side bet and protect a potentially large win. For example, if you’re 4-0 going into the 5th and final game of your parlay, you stand to make a nice win if the final team wins. If they lose, your parlay loses too. Instead of risking the entire parlay, place a side bet for a guaranteed win.

For example, if the final game is between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, and your parlay has the Eagles, place a bet for the amount of money you want to guarantee on the Giants. If you have a 5 team, $50 parlay on the spread at 20/1, you stand to win $1000. Placing a $250 side bet on the Giants will return a $227 profit at -110. Minus out the $50 on the parlay, and you’ve guaranteed yourself a profit of $177 no matter who wins. If your parlay bet wins, you still take home a big win.

How to Win Big

With the parlay odds chart above, you can see that the opportunity to win big by parlay betting is definitely there. If you’re a professional handicapper looking to hit big, try to follow the proper bankroll management strategy. Don’t risk too much on parlays with a lot of teams on them.

For casual punters looking to have some fun, forget everything mentioned above and go have some fun. Keep in mind, if you’re going after a large parlay, don’t risk money you cannot easily afford to lose. Parlay bets are difficult to win, and Mr. Furley expects the rent payment next month.

But, if you’re looking for a big win, register at Sportsinteraction.com. Four team parlays pay 12/1 instead of 10/1. A seven team parlay pays 80/1 odds instead of 75/1. Nine team parlays pay 300/1 instead of 150/1.

For our own sense of responsibility, we want to remind anyone reading this that parlay betting for big wins can be a very risky, losing proposition. Please do not bet with money you cannot easily afford to lose.

Parlay Betting Tips

Since you’re asking for it, here’s our next tip for hitting big parlay wins.

Best Parlay Betting Sites

Use the money line instead of the point spread. Pick a 5-6 team underdog parlay with money line odds in the +110 through +160 range. Underdogs will pay much better than favorites, and the odds dramatically increase. Don’t go too crazy, putting 10 underdogs onto one parlay (unless you’ve recently spotted a unicorn). Keep it down to a more reasonable number of dogs that need to win.