Parlays and teasers, honestly

A parlay Glossary Parlay One ticket with two or more bets that all have to win. Payouts grow fast, but so does the house edge. Full glossary ties two or more bets into one ticket. Every leg has to win. The payout multiplies, which is why the ads love them. The house edge Glossary House edge The share of each bet the sportsbook expects to keep over time. About 4.5% on a −110 spread; much more on most parlays. Full glossary multiplies too.

The parlay math

Take legs that are true 50/50 coin flips, each priced at −110. Here’s what a parlay pays vs. what it would pay with no house edge, and what you should expect to lose per unit over time:

Legs · all hitPays / no-edgeExpected

Single · 50.0%−110 / +100−4.5%

2 legs · 25.0%+264 / +300−8.9%

3 legs · 12.5%+596 / +700−13.0%

4 legs · 6.3%+1228 / +1500−17.0%

A single −110 bet gives up about 4.5%. A 3-leg parlay gives up about 13.0%, nearly three times as much, and only hits 12.5% of the time.

The honest flip side: if you truly had an edge on every leg, a parlay would multiply that too. Most bettors don’t, so for most people a parlay multiplies the house’s edge instead.

Same-game parlays

A same-game parlay Glossary Same-game parlay A parlay with several bets from one game. The legs are linked, which makes the real price hard to judge. Full glossary mixes bets from one game, like a quarterback’s passing yards plus his team to win. The legs are linked, so the book prices the combination itself. You can’t easily see the margin built in, so assume it’s at least as big as a regular parlay’s. Big payouts, hard-to-see cost.

Teasers

A teaser Glossary Teaser A parlay where you move each spread or total in your favor (often 6 points) in exchange for a smaller payout. Every leg still has to win. Full glossary is a parlay where you move each line in your favor, often by 6 points, and accept a smaller payout.

Hawks −7.5 becomesHawks −1.5

Owls +2.5 becomesOwls +8.5

Say this ticket is priced at −120 (a made-up example price; real teaser prices vary). To break even, each leg has to win about 73.9% of the time. Both legs must win; one miss loses the ticket.

Teasers that move a spread through both 3 and 7 (like the two legs above) pick up the most common margins, which is why people argue those are the only teasers worth a look. Teasers that don’t cross those numbers buy much less. Either way, the price decides it, and books know the math too.

Quick checkA 3-leg parlay at −110 per leg pays about +596. If every leg were a true 50/50, what would a no-edge payout be?Tap to see the answer

+700. Three coin flips all landing is 1 in 8, so a no-edge ticket would return 8 for 1 (7 profit). The gap between +596 and +700 is the house edge.