In the 21st Century, long hours and hard work have gone out the windows and everybody is looking for the get-rich-quick scheme. Slot machines have taken over casinos and lottery tickets are selling at the highest rate ever. People are hoping against hope that they will be the one-in-a-billion person to beat the system and wind up with a boatload of money. Parlays fit this mold, as they allow people to invest a minimal amount of money with the chance of a huge payday if they can correctly pick a certain number of winners without any losers. The problem is that one loss is all that it takes to kill a fine looking parlay card. The following examines the best ways to beat the books playing parlays.

• How To Win Basketball Parlays
• How To Win Parlay Bets
• How To Win Parlay Bets
• How To Win Money On Parlays

One does not need to say any more then what is better to play, straight bets or parlays. The following chart should answer that question for you.

Check out our experts’ top-three parlay tips below: Stick to 2, 3, 4, or 5-team parlays most of the time – As mentioned above, each selection you add increases the. Shop around for the best odds and concessions – Sportsbooks’ odds are a competitive market, not all online sportsbooks. A parlay only wins if none of the sides, totals or money lines selected is a loser. The parlay can still be a winner if a game is canceled or ends in a tie. The benefit of the parlay is that there are much higher payoffs than placing each individual bet separately.

As one can see playing each game individually would result in a greater profit for the gambler. But this is not always an option, as games may be going on at the same time and one does not have the ability of reinvesting the money. The keys to look for in winning a parlay card are as follows.

1) Bet more and keep the teams low. I recommend keeping parlays to 2, 3, or 4 teams. If you go over four teams the advantage shirts greatly to the house, as they hold all of the advantage. Instead of playing a 5-team parlay for $10, play a 3-team parlay for $30. More often then not, you will be happier and winning more.

2) Check the rules of the parlay. Offshore is the best place to play a parlay, as the majority of books push down on all ties. Local parlay cards that can be found at most sports bars do not offer the same benefits. Some allow for one tie, while other cards consider a tie a loss. With the accuracy of the Las Vegas lines, these are great disadvantages to the gambler and need to be avoided if at all possible. If you play cards with this type of format, do your homework when making selections. Avoid selecting a team where the line is 3, since this number decides most football games. Try and select games where the spread has a ½ involved, as this will guarantee you a win or a loss.

3) Hedge your bet whenever possible for large parlays. Say one had an outstanding weekend in football and has hit six selections of your seven-team parlay with the only remaining game taking place on Monday night. One invested $10, and has a chance to win $800 if the Monday night goes as planned. I would take the suspense out of the Monday night game and make a side bet of $418 on the other side. This will guarantee you a profit of $392 if you hit your 7-team parlay. If you would happen to lose the game, you would collect $380 on your side bet. This is the smart move, as you are ensuring yourself a substantial profit and can just enjoy Monday Night Football. However, this should only be applied when you are one game away from winning the parlay, as the odds decrease when you have two or more games left to win.

Be sure to check out our FREE parlay calculator

These are the techniques that I would recommend when betting parlays. Parlays are a fun way to get started in this form of gambling, as they allow one to keep the amount risked low. Unfortunately, one will suffer more losing day then winning days when betting parlays. Doc's is your place for consistent winners, as we have been in the sports information business for over 35 years.

How To Win Basketball Parlays

One of the most lucrative sports bets you can make is a parlay, but unless you employ some kind of betting strategy it can also be one of the toughest bets to actually cash-in on. In simple terms, a parlay is when you combine two or more picks into one single wager. The plus side is that the top online sportsbooks as featured on SportsBettingStats.com offer some very attractive odds for groupings of two to even 16 teams. Our favorites are Bodog for non Americans and BAS for US players. The down side is that the more teams you add to a parlay play the higher the odds are stacked against you to win.

Sometimes it can be hard to pick even a single winner so the catch to winning a parlay is that you have to win every one of your picks. The only exception is in the case of a PUSH when two teams tie with the closing point spread. In that case, you total parlay is reduced by one team.

For example, if you put together a four-team parlay at 12.28/1 betting odds and one of your plays ends as a PUSH, it would be reduced to a three-team play at 6/1 odds.

How To Win Parlay Bets

The betting odds for parlays using point spreads is fixed and based on the total number of teams you group into one bet. Betting parlays for MLB games is an attractive option since you will be working off money line odds as opposed to a point spread that is commonly used in sports such as football and basketball. When betting money lines you only have to pick the straight-up winners, but keep in mind that your payout odds will be based on the actual money line odds for each of your picks. The top online sportsbooks should have a parlay calculator on their website where you can enter the actual money line for each of your individual picks to provide a projected payout of that particular parlay if you win.

Whether you are betting money line parlays for baseball and hockey or point spread parlays for football and basketball, there are a few betting tips and strategies that you should always employ to give yourself the best chance to win. First and foremost, you need to properly handicap each game as an individual pick before grouping them together in a parlay bet.

How To Win Parlay Bets

For example, if you decide to go with a two-team NFL parlay at 13/5 odds, you should probably take the time to breakdown three or four games to come up with your top two plays. Winning parlays is all about your overall confidence level for each one of the picks you decide to group together. If you are not absolutely in love with each one of your picks individually, then do not risk your money by grouping them together in a parlay.

A second tip is to avoid the temptation of parlay picks of three or more teams. You may get excited over the 91.42/1 return you would get if you hit a seven-team parlay, but this is nothing more than lottery ticket when you start calculating your true odds of actually winning all seven games.

How To Win Money On Parlays

Finally, make sure you have some kind of set money management system in place if you are going to be betting parlays. There is a reason why sportsbooks are willing to give you such a generous return on multiple team parlays. The odds are already stacked in their favor that you are going to lose one of your picks even in a two-team wager. Parlays should always be reasonable unit plays that will not break the bank if you lose.