Sports Betting 101: Parlays & Props Explained
Between parlay bets and prop bets, savvy punters can cash out from any given game in the sportsbook, and the range of available betting options is vast.
The obvious go-to bet in any sportsbook is the simple win/lose binary, with other popular categories including spread and moneyline betting. These are simple, easy bets, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Once you drill down you’ll realise that, when it comes to sports betting, winning isn’t everything.
What is a prop?
If you’ve been following a certain key player, for example, you might focus your betting attention just on their performance. This would be a prop bet, and these describe specific wagers on all sorts of things that aren’t contingent upon a win or lose in any game…
What is a parlay?
We’ll also get fancy with a different style of betting; if you have multiple predictions across games – say, for the moneyline, spread and some props – you could always skip the old one bet:one betslip routine and group them together into one major bet slip. This type of combination betting is called a parlay.
Both types of bets have the potential for massive payouts. At Bodog Casino, we’ve got every type imaginable so you can ponder the props or slap a few layers onto your parlay. Each sporting code does parlays and props slightly differently, so let’s review how they each work.
How To Place A Parlay Bet
When you make a parlay bet, remember that each leg of your bet has to win in order for you to get paid. The more bets you add to your parlay, the greater your payout will be if they all win.. but of course, only one must lose, for the entire betslip to be lost. This indicates the increased risk of a parlay, with each additional bet reducing the chances of sweeping up the rewards.
If you’re feeling confident, this is how you placing the parlay bet. Once you’ve logged in and located your sport of choice, it’s this simple:
- Select your bets one by one.
- On the bet slip, select the option for “multiples” to turn your bets into a parlay.
- As you add more bets, you’ll see the payout odds increasing.
- There will be multiple bets listed, but only one “risk” field. Fill in your wager amount, and hit “place bet”.
That’s all there is to it!
How To Place A Prop Bet
Prop bets are settled outside of the outcome of the actual game. So if you’re placing a prop bet on a specific player, it doesn’t matter if that player’s team wins. It only matters how they performed independently. So if someone said to you as a kid, it’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game, they were probably referring to props betting.
Once you’ve logged into your account and you’ve selected the tab for the particular sport you want to bet on first, this is how you place a prop bet:
- First, find the main match where your props will be. You should see something like “+165 bets >” next to the teams playing.
- Your prop betting options will appear just below.
- Select your bet, enter your risk amount, and hit “place bet”.
You’ll notice that you cannot place multiple prop bets within the same game for a parlay. If you want to make a parlay with props, you can add bets from a different game, or even a different sport altogether.
Parlays & Props in NFL Betting
A common NFL parlay is the 3-team parlay on the spread. You could choose three different spread bets, such as the Rams -4.5, the Saints +2.5, and the Cowboys -10, to all be on one ticket.
Again, you won’t be able to combine point spreads and/or moneylines for the same team from the same game. An example of that would be betting on the Rams to cover a -4.5 spread as well as to win the game outright. What you could do is make a parlay with the Rams -4.5 spread combined with an over/under from the same game.
As for props in the NFL, you could focus on the performance of individual players (called player props) or the performance of the team as a whole (called game props). You can also bet on specific events outside of the game itself such as the wardrobe changes for the halftime show or the result of the coin toss.
Parlays & Props in NBA Betting
Just like with parlay betting on the NFL, with the NBA you can combine bets from across different games like the moneyline, spread, over/under, or props.
It’s common to make parlay bets based on the winner of the game when it comes to NBA betting. For example, you could bet the moneyline for the Heat, the Raptors, and the Suns, and place them all together under one parlay.
Some popular props for the NBA include over/unders for specific players. That could be the number of assists, number of points scored, or number of three point field goals.
Game props are also an option for the NBA which include the first team to reach a certain number of points or whether or not the game will go into overtime.
Parlays & Props in NHL Betting
Hockey is a slightly different beast than both the NFL and the NBA. The games tend to be much more volatile, meaning it could truly go either way in any given match. That makes it exceedingly difficult to predict a winner.
For this reason, many bettors focus their NHL parlays on over/under, or totals, because those aren’t reliant on the win/lose outcome of the game.
For game props, you can bet on the first team to score a certain number of goals, or if the first scoring team is the one to win the game. For player props, you can bet on a certain player to score a goal, or the total shots a certain player makes at the goal, to name just two.
Parlays & Props in MLB Betting
A popular strategy for parlay betting on the MLB is to combine three major favourites from three different games. For example, you could bet on the Red Sox, the Yankees, and the Mets to win outright in their individual games, all on one ticket.
For props, you can bet on team props which would include the team to score first in the game or the number of runs for one team, for example.
Player props are also available, and you can bet over/under for the number of hits, runs, RBI, or strikeouts, but again, multiple props from the same game can’t appear on a parlay bet.
The most important part of making a parlay or a prop bet is to draw on your knowledge, which is excellent because of all that research we know you’ve done. The outcome of your wager could always swing either way, but with options aplenty at Bodog Casino, you can work to your strengths and make a hefty profit from any game. Then winning is everything.