Dogcrap Green - Bet

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The number one search that is bringing gamblers to my blog is "parlays" and "parley" obvious some of you have questions on how they are calculate. In lame mans terms it is simply a series of bets. If the games are played one after the other you can accomplish the same results by letting your money ride onto the next game. The parlay will allow you to do this when all the games are played during the same time slot.

I just recently placed a 2 game parlay on a baseball game. The odds on the Diamond Backs to win were minus 142 and the under was minus 120. My $400 wager would return $1,249.77 or a 2.12 to 1 if it were possible to place to wager the money by letting the winnings ride. (On the multiple odd games like this don't worry about the order they are in on the spreadsheet, 2 times 3 is the same as 3 times 2).

Using the same wager on normal dime lines a two game parlay would pay $1,457.85 on a $400 wager, or 2.64 to 1.

The formual I have in the spread sheet for calulating the win column is:

+IF(D41<1,+ABS(C41/D41)*100,(D41/100)*C41)

with -
"D" being the Odds column
"ABS" stands for absolute (always positive, you can multiply by negative 1 for the same results).
"C" being the Bet column

Return of course is just your win plus your bet

Fair value is equal to

(Curent Return minus the first original Bet) divided by the first original Bet.

These calcualtions are for the fair value of a parlay based on the odds of the game. It is not necassarly what the book pays. Every book has it's own rules. Often the books are gernerious on the lower paying parlays and start getting nervious and cheap on the higher paying parlays.

If you can get by parlaying 5 games and letting the money ride on your 6th game. you might come out further ahead than parlaying all 6 tohgether at once. Of course the timing of the games will play a key roll in this. Another trick to get a higher pay off on a large number parlay, is to throw a money line or odds play into the mix among the normal lines with dime juice games. Some books will then revert back to the normal formual to calulate pay-off.