In terms of sports betting, the variety and options of sports, markets and bet types is growing day by day. Nowadays there are plenty of Moneyline bets, sports betting picks and parlays available to sports bettors and each one of them works well for different types of sports bettors. Generally, in the US, many sports bettors rely on the Moneyline odds to help them to figure out the likelihood of an event happening. They will look at a match up – e.g. between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights v the Temple Owls and see that the odds of The Rutgers Scarlet Knights winning is -145 on the Moneyline, whereas the Moneyline odds on Temple Owls is +160- which implies that the Rutgers Scarlett Knights are favourites and most likely to win. However, not all favorites come in on top and that’s why punters should check out our free sports picks first – because if you put your money on an underdog and it comes in, it can be very rewarding – and some underdogs have more chances than others.
How MoneyLine Odds Work
Taking the above example:
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
These have been given Moneyline odds of -145. This means that in order to win $100 you would need to wager $145. A wager of $145 will give you a return of $245 (including the initial bet).
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join NowTemple Owls
This team was given Moneyline odds of +160. This means that if you wager $100 you will get a return of $160. A wager of $100 will give you a return of $160 (including the initial bet).
Ultimately, if you see a + then you will win more than you wager, but if you see a – then you will win less money than you wager.
As you can see from the above example, betting on the underdog – or dark horse- of the event, whether it’s NFL, NBA or even college football, can be much more profitable for sports bettors and sports fans – and our expert handicappers are there to make this much more likely by picking out the best value betting odds for favorites and underdogs – on all different sporting games and events.
Other best bets you can make on a sport – that can lead to a decent profit and offer less risk are straight-up sport bets.
Example:
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join NowThe Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college football. Bookies decide that the total score of both teams combined might be 38.5. You simply need to bet on whether you think the total points scored will be over or under that number. Our expert handicappers will look at past performances to predict whether it will be a high scoring game or not.
Sports Picks and Parlays – The Vig
The vigorish, also known as ‘the vig’ or ‘the juice’ is the amount that bookies charge to guarantee your wager. The sum could hypothetically be 10%. In reality, to get that 10% commission, he would need 50% of the bettors to bet on outcome 1 and 50% to bet on outcome 2. However, in reality, it never works out this way and they normally get between 5% to 8%. Sometimes, there will be so much activity on one side of the event that they need to change the odds to attract more bettors to the outcome. This could lead to more value odds. Being a good bettor is as much about finding the value odds as it is about researching the statistics and data of the game you wager on. Our experts help you to combine the two.
Being a skilful bettor requires you to be vigilant. This means not only knowing all about the teams you wager on in terms of information and ability, but understanding that bookies will move the juice before they move the line. So, in a Team A v Team B Situation, if Team B is -4, more punters will likely bet on Team B. So, instead of moving the line, the bookmakers would probably move the juice in order to attract more wagers on Team A.
Sports Betting Picks – The 20-cent Line
With most sport events, the standard is a 20-cent line – but what does this mean?
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join Now- Team A is -110
- Team B is also -110
If this is the case, then the divergence is 20-cents (the teams are given an equal chance to win – but the odds are -110 and not 100, which is 0 cents difference per team).
This gives the bookmaker the chance to move the juice on Team A down to -105 or evens (100). They may even move the odds to +105 which would then encourage even more players to wager on Team A if too many punters are betting on Team B. This would then be balanced out by changing the odds on Team B to -125 – much less value than the initial -110.
Parlay Picks
Parlays are one of the most common wager types because it’s easy to understand. A parlay is the combination of straight-up bets which must include 2 or more plays. Let’s look in a little more depth at Parlays picks and how they work:
What is Picks and Parlays Betting?
In short, a parlay bet is a type of wagering one single bet is made that is the combination of two or more individual bets – up to a total of 12 picks. For you to win this parlay, all of those picks will need to win.
So, for example, you bet on the East Carolina Pirates -3, South Florida Bulls -7, NC State Wolfpack -3 and Appalachian State Mountaineers +3 in a single parlay. All four teams would need to cover the spread in order for you to cash in on your parlay wager.
Although it’s harder to win than a single bet, if you do manage to win a four-way parlay, with each having the standard -110 odds, then a $100 bet could get you a win of around $1200.
So, a Parlay is the perfect type of wager if you’re looking to win a decent amount of money from just a small wager. This makes it incredibly popular with all sorts of sports bettors.
How To Win a Parlay Bet
To win a parlay bet, all of those individual legs of the bet will need to win. So, if your parlay has four teams, you will need four teams to win. If it consists of five teams, all five teams will need to win. If just one of your selections loses then you lose your entire bet. As such, the more legs you have in your parlay, the more risk there is involved. However, the more legs in your parlay the bigger your reward will be if it comes in. The risk reflects the rewards.
How to Place a Parlay Bet
The good news is that placing a parlay, whether it’s in person, on mobile or computer, is very easy. All you need to do is pick your teams and/or totals and select the parlay option that you will find on your bet slip.
On the computer site you simply need to check the box yourself; however, if you are in a land-based bookmaker then you can either tell the bookmaker directly what options you want to put in your parlay or you can fill out a parlay card yourself, which you will find readily available.
If you place your parlay bet on games on an online sportsbooks site then the bet slip will automatically display your combined odds and will tell you how much you can expect to win as soon as you enter your stake.
Different Types of Picks and Parlays Bets
The most common types of parlay wagers are Teasers and Against the Spread parlays. However, there is no end to the different types of bets that you can combine in a parlay.
As well as Against the Spread parlays, Moneyline picks are also very popular parlay wagers. These are often used to combine bets on a few strong favorites which will increase your odds significantly compared to placing a bet on one strong favorite.
Calculating Parlay Odds
Let’s take a look at an example parlay card. This will look in detail at the typical payouts for a parlay of up to ten teams, based in the standard -110 odds with a $100 stake:
Number in Parlay Odds Amount won Payout
2 Teams 2.6 $260 $360
3 Teams 6.0 $600 $700
4 Team 11.0 $1,100 $1,200
5 Teams 22.0 $2,200 $2,300
6 Teams 45.0 $4,500 $4,600
7 Teams 90.0 $9,000 $9,100
8 Teams 180.0 $18,000 $18,100
9 Teams 360.0 $36,000 $36,100
10 Teams 720.0 $72,000 $72,100
Looking at Moneyline Picks and Parlays Odds
However, Moneyline Parlay odds are different to this as there will be more of a deviation in the odds of every single selection. This means that you will need to multiply the individual odds of each selection to calculate the total parlay odds.
NFL Picks and Parlays
You can check out our site for free NFL parlay picks for the most popular NFL betting markets for every week in the season. This includes Moneyline, against the spread and over/under.
NBA Parlays
If NBA is more your preference then you can check out our free NBA Parlay picks all season – regular-season and playoffs.
NHL Parlays
One of the most popular sports for Parlay picks betting is the NHL because there are lots of markets available to parlay.
MLB Picks and Parlays
Free picks on MLB money line parlays are very popular, mainly because of the variation of game odds – with underdogs and favorites usually close in price, which means big returns!
NCAA Parlays
It doesn’t have to be all about pro sports if you’re looking for Parlay picks – you can also find college sports picks as well, including college basketball and college football parlays.
Related Picks and Parlays
Related parlays and picks are another way to approach sports betting and can cause sports betting sites a headache.
A bookmaker could offer
- A line for Team A to be ahead in the third quarter
- A line for Team A to dominate the game.
Placing a parlay on these two lines would make sense given the fact that the team ahead in the third quarter is the team that would likely have dominated the game – and be the team most likely to win.
This means that you will increase your chance of success rate and the size of your payout by placing a wager on both. Because of this, many bookmakers do their best to offer minimal chances of these corresponding parlays. So, if you do see an opportunity for this type of bet, it’s definitely a good one to take up.
Another Example:
- A college basketball has a game spread of 18.5
- It has a game aggregate of 86 points
- The two teams are both high scoring teams
- Team A is far superior to Team B
In this instance, it would make sense to parlay OVER with Team A winning because this will likely be a high scoring game and Team A are strong favorites. Both of these bets wouldn’t offer a great return placed singularly, but together you would get a better return.
Keep The Stakes Low
However, with any parlays, no matter how confident, we would always recommend keeping the stakes low – we would recommend wagering no more than $10-$20 on a multi-leg parlay. In this case, if you go all out and manage to cash in on a 15 leg parlay all with fixed chances, then from just $10 you could stand to win $150,000. This is just like buying a jackpot ticket – but with research and expert picks your odds are slightly better!
Ultimately, parlay bets can up the ante of any sports event – whether it’s UFC or Sunday night NFL football. However, remember to keep that excitement in check. Remember, it should always be fun and you should always remain disciplined. Research, get top picks and manage your bankroll carefully – and always keep it fun!
