NBA parlay explained

Bet small, win big, that’s the beauty of NBA Parlay betting. With up to 15 NBA games tipping off every day, the chances to capitalize are plentiful. Don’t be fooled, they’re harder to win than a standard single bet, but expect a much higher return from a small stake if your NBA parlay betting picks do land.

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Click the link to jump to each section:

• How to place an NBA parlay bet

• What do minus and plus odds mean?

• Why bet NBA parlays vs single bets?

• NBA parlay FAQs

• Learn more about NBA betting

NBA parlay betting is a popular and electrifying way to place NBA bets. A parlay is an increasing series of wagers where winnings accrued from the first bet is used as a stake in a further bet. This trend can continue on for however many selections or ‘legs’ you’ve added to your one bet ticket. Since parlays consist of at least two bets you’ll need to have at a minimum two teams/players you’re interested in backing, but the opportunity to add on more is just getting started. Parlays can consist of up to a maximum of 14-15 different legs depending on which sportsbook you’re using. While some of this may sound confusing to the new gambler, I can almost promise you’ll be able to fully understand by the time you’re done reading. Check out a deeper breakdown of parlays below.

One of the fastest growing ways to wager on NBA action is through parlay betting. Parlay betting is selecting multiple teams to win (or players to reach their player props) in different matchups while combining them all on the same ticket. Essentially, you’re waiting for your first bet to win, then the winnings are automatically placed on the next team/player you’ve selected and so on depending on how many “legs” you’ve added to your ticket. If your bet ends in a tie, often referred to as a push, that leg and the odds is subtracted from the bet. For an example, let’s look at typical day schedule during an NBA season.

We have the Philadelphia 76ers vs the New York Knicks. The Boston Celtics host the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers travel to Dallas to play the Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies play the Warriors in San Francisco.

For the sake of the example, let’s say all of the home teams were favorites of (-200) on the moneyline. If you placed a $10 bet on all 4 home teams parlayed at -200, it would mean that the money you’ll win if the Knicks beat the 76ers will be added to your bet on the Celtics beating the Bucks and the Mavericks beating the Lakers if all of the teams you bet on won their respective game. There’s more information on how the math works out is described below.

If you’ve never placed a parlay bet and you’re thinking it sounds like a super complicated task to add multiple legs to the same ticket, breathe a sigh of relief because it’s a fairly simple process.

Parlay betting just requires bettors to select multiple teams or players from a given matchup to be paired with another team or player from a different matchup.

Each team or player added to your ticket is considered a “leg” as mentioned earlier. The more legs you add increases the risk and rewards but decreases your probability of winning. This is one reason parlays have become so extremely popular. Some bettors love the idea of having an enormous return of their initial stake if they can combine multiple legs on one bet. It’s also important to note that most sportsbooks, especially online sportsbooks, allow users to wager extremely small amounts on parlays. Sometimes less than $1 can be wagered. If you're interested in winning some cash on a parlay bet and want to calculate your odds before you place your bet, check out the OnlineBetting.com bet calculator . Let the calculator focus on the math while you focus on selecting the right legs for your parlay.

If you’re wondering why bettors enjoy parlaying there’s a few different reasons. First, there’s the chance for big returns. As mentioned in the example above, if bettors feel confident in adding multiple teams to win on one bet slip, it drastically improves the odds, increasing the payout. While 5-10 leg parlays are difficult to win consistently, there’s an exciting chance to watch multiple predictions win. There’s also an early payout option offered by a lot of major sportsbooks where bettors are able to decide if they’d like to take a portion of their winnings after a few legs have already won in their ticket.

In comparison with a single bet, the opportunity to make more money is the #1 reason parlays are so enticing. Most professional bettors stick to straight bets because of how the chance of winning decreases when you’re needing multiple teams to be victorious. If you’re a recreational bettor looking to catch lightning in a bottle every once in a while and enjoy the thrill of potentially turning a small stake into a big return, parlay betting could be the right wager type for you.

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