The NFL is the most heavily bet on sport in the United States. More money is wagered in the now 17 games that are played than all of the other sports that have more games. Before you start jumping into placing bets, you will want to make sure you understand how parlays and picks work. In this article, I will talk about the difference between placing a parlay or a single bet. We first need to define what a single bet is and what a parlay is. A parlay is a combination of two or more picks wagered together to enhance the odds and payout. Since the odds are increased, the payout will be much higher than if you were to single bet each of those games. This is how bettors go for big payouts by spicing up their parlays. I recommend doing some research in your picks before placing a single bet or a parlay.
How Do Picks Work:
When you are making a pick or a single bet, you are essentially betting on one outcome to happen. Whether this pick is a team winning the game straight up, covering the spread, the game total or just a player prop, this is just one pick that you are betting on. For example, if you were betting on the Titans +105 to beat the Bengals -125 on the moneyline, then if the Titans were able to beat the Bengals you would win that bet. If you have several picks that you think are going to win, it is probably best to just single bet them. This will guarantee that you make money off of those bets. It makes sense to find single bets that have good value. You don’t want to take a -200 moneyline favorite and expect to make much money. Usually your best value is in the point spread or the over/under. At -200 odds, you are risking $200 to win $100. This is much different than parlay betting. Let’s talk about how parlays work in the NFL.
How Do Parlays Work:
An NFL parlay consists of more than 1 bet. The more games you add to the parlay the higher the payout becomes. A standard 2 leg parlay would consist of two NFL over/under, moneyline or point spreads bets. Some sportsbooks will allow you to use player props as well. This is a way for people to take more juiced odds and parlay them together for a higher payout. If you were to bet on an NFL team that was favored on the moneyline at -170, then adding more picks to a parlay would increase your payout. A lot of people use this to take favored moneyline plays and parlay them together. This gives you the chance to bet teams that are favored to win, while ensuring that you are able to get a decent payout. The one thing to remember is this. If just one of those bets doesn’t win in the parlay, then you don’t profit off of any of the bets. So in that case, if you had a 5 leg parlay and 4 of the 5 bets won, then that means you had 4 winning bets that you could have single bet and won. Oftentimes, it is best to take a strategy of not wagering as much money on parlays.
Parlay Example:
Chargers Moneyline -164
Buccaneers Moneyline -180
Baltimore Ravens Moneyline -200
I gave you an example of three teams favored on the moneyline. Obviously, betting these individually doesn’t have a lot of value and is not a very high payout. If I added all 3 of them to a parlay, the total odds for this play would be +276. That is much higher odds than taking any of those individually. I would need all three of those bets to win though. If just one of them loses, then I do not win any money. While it seems so easy for that scenario to happen, you have to remember that the NFL has upsets all of the time. Not every team that is favored to win on the moneyline is going to win. It is VERY critical that you put some research into the bets and parlays that you are placing. The term any given Sunday is well known for a reason. Be smart about your bets.
You often see people betting on these long shot parlays that have a huge payout. They can definitely be fun but you want to make sure that you are not risking much money on them. One bad pick can ruin a parlay and that is a tough pill to swallow when you have several winning bets that you don’t get to profit from because of one bad pick. Place your parlays with some sort of strategy, and you will be much more successful. As most people have seen on social media, it is very common for people to have long shot parlays with enormous payouts. You might see a guy with a 17 leg parlay risking $2 to win $3,000. Obviously, these are long shots for a reason and placing too many of those can add up. A great way to get yourself a good quality parlay, is taking a look at some best parlay bets today NFL. This will help you find parlays that are well worth wagering on and will give you an edge on the sportsbooks when placing your parlays. Good luck to all of you NFL bettors!
