What Is a Parlay Bet? Rules, Payouts, and Examples
Learn how parlays work, how combined payouts are calculated, and what happens when a leg loses, pushes, or is voided.
A parlay bet combines two or more selections into a single wager. Each selection is called a leg. In a standard parlay, every active leg must win for the ticket to win. If one leg loses, the entire parlay loses.
That last point explains why a ticket can show several correct selections and still return nothing. A parlay is settled as one combined bet, rather than separate payments for each winning selection. DraftKings’ parlay explanation (https://help.draftkings.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405235694739-What-is-a-parlay-bet-US)
How does a parlay work?
Imagine a hypothetical three-leg ticket containing:
- Team A to win its game.
- Team B to cover a +3.5 point spread in another game.
- Under 47.5 total points in a third game.
If all three selections win, the parlay wins. If Team A wins and Team B covers, but the third game finishes with 48 total points, the under loses—and so does the parlay.
Getting two out of three right does not earn a partial payout on a standard parlay. Products with special partial-win features have their own rules.
How are parlay payouts calculated?
For a traditional parlay of independent selections priced without special adjustments, you multiply the decimal odds of the legs. You do not add their American odds together.
Here is an illustrative calculation, not a current betting offer:
- First selection: +100, equivalent to decimal odds of 2.00.
- Second selection: +100, also equivalent to 2.00.
- Combined decimal odds: 2.00 × 2.00 = 4.00.
At those combined odds, a $10 cash stake would return $40 if both legs won: $30 in profit plus the original $10 stake. The combined American price is +300. If either leg lost, the $10 stake would be lost.
Actual sportsbook prices, rounding, and product rules determine the displayed return. Always distinguish the potential profit from the total payout, which includes the returned cash stake.
What happens if a parlay leg pushes?
A push is a tied betting result. For example, a team favored by exactly three points wins by exactly three.
In many traditional parlays, a pushed or voided leg is removed and the odds are recalculated using the remaining legs. A three-leg ticket can therefore become a two-leg ticket with a smaller potential payout. Same game parlays and other products may have different settlement rules. The applicable sportsbook and market rules control the result. DraftKings’ settlement guidance (https://support.draftkings.com/dk/en-us/glossary-of-betting-terms?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0010398)
What is a same game parlay?
A same game parlay combines selections from one event. Those outcomes can affect one another, so its price may not follow the simple multiplication used in the independent example above. The sportsbook calculates a combined price for the specific selections. DraftKings’ same game parlay guide (https://support.draftkings.com/dk/en-us/what-is-a-same-game-parlay-sgp-bet?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0010719)
Why does adding legs increase the risk?
Every additional required leg adds another condition that must be met. A larger advertised payout comes with more ways for the ticket to lose; it does not make the wager better value.
Before interpreting any parlay ticket, identify its legs, the combined price, and the rules for pushes and voids. Those details tell you what must happen and what the ticket can actually return.
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Sports betting involves risk. Only wager what you can afford to lose.
Written by The Winning Wager