[IE]

Sports Interaction betting analyst Frank Doyle on how to make parlay bets work for you.



Everybody loves to make parlay bets. It’s a fundamental part of human nature. The reason people bet parlays is the same reason people built the Tower of Babel– we always want to see just how high we can go.



Parlays are usually seen as square bets – bets made by amateurs. Sharps, professional bettors, claim they never parlay. They bet straight up, at short odds. This is not strictly true.



The difference between a square and a sharpie is in fun. The sharps might make more money over the long run, but they won’t have the same fun watching the folds of a parlay come up one by one and then sweating the banker bet on the west coast, when the Lakers face the Kings and you have a big score riding on the outcome. That’s living. And trust me, sharpies will always throw down a parlay here and there, for the same reason we all do. Because parlays are fun.



Besides, it is entirely possible to still have fun and find better value parlays. Not biting off more than you can chew is the fundamental rule of parlay betting.



A parlay bettor can’t let him or herself get greedy. You have to do the math and realise that you’re always ahead when you put the parlay down.



For instance: A single bet on a pointspread pays out at -110. A two fold pointspread parlay pays out +264. So, if you bet $10 on each game, the two single bets return $18.18 (twice $9.09) clear profit, but the parlay returns $26.45. This is why people love to parlay. Because you’re better off when you win – 45% better off in this simple example.



And that’s why it’s important not to get carried away when playing a parlay. The simplest parlay with just two bets in it already places you ahead of the game. A three fold ten pointspread parlay has a clear profit of $59.58, 118% more dough than you’d collect from three single bets.



The profits get higher and higher the more you parlay but the more you add to the parlay the more you have to ask: at what stage is the game not worth the candle? At what stage do you say, look, if I win this I’ve enough for my weekend beers. I’m fine with that, and I don’t want to risk it losing it all on the Dallas Cowboys, who look good but who were 5-11-0 against the Sports Interaction spread last year.



It’s always a matter of personal choice. Every bettor has a fine line where the thrill of the bet meets the thrill of the win. It’s just a question of locating where that line is. Best of luck with it.



Click here to start betting at Sports Interaction today!