Parlays vs straight bets represents two ways of looking at sports betting. These are two are among a substantial collection of betting strategies used in modern sports gambling. These strategies – aka betting systems – are devised by expert bettors to help beat the bookies and make profit from betting. However, is any betting system better than others? The answer is not always. As we’ll find out when comparing parlays and straight bets in this article, the profitability of any betting strategy depends on the punter knowing how and when to apply it. No one strategy fits all scenarios. We start off with a description of each type of betting strategy/bet type.
What Are Straight Bets?
Any wager made on a single outcome from a sporting event qualifies to be a straight bet. A straight bet can be made on any market. Using soccer as an example, these are the most popular markets today:
So a straight bet can be made on any of these or other markets. The key thing is that it has to be a single bet based on a single outcome from that single game. That said, the Moneyline bet is the most popular straight bet there is. That’s because it involves simply predicting who wins, draws or loses a match, which is the most significant thing about any sporting contest.
And What About Parlays?
Parlays have been known by various names in the industry, including accumulator, ‘acca’ or multi-bet. The most layman way to describe a parlay would be ‘compound bet’. Parlays are bets made of many multiple legs combined into a single bet and staked on with a single amount. A parlay is achieved by linking multiple outcomes to form one bet. Since most bookmakers won’t allow outcomes from the same match or sporting event to be made into a parlay, this usually means linking outcomes from various games/matches. The legs may even be picked from multiple sports, but have to be within the same bookie. Most bookies don’t place a limit on how many events a punter can combine into a parlay. As long as there’s two or more legs in the bet, that bet qualifies to be a parlay or accumulator. Parlays have the potential to be highly profitable – way more lucrative than straights. However, there’s a catch. To win an accumulator, all it’s legs or linked events must prove true. Even if just one of as many as 30 linked events is wrongly predicted, the whole parlay falls down like a house of cards. So while being able to make mouthwatering profits quickly holds obvious allure, there’s pronounced risk compared to straight betting.
When Are Parlays/Straights Best Used?
Straights Bets
Straight bets may sound like an enterprise for the fainthearted or less adventurous, but they have their use. For one, they carry less risk since they involve just a single prediction. This betting strategy highly suits situations where there’s a single high-value bet to be wagered. The punter will usually have great confidence of making the right prediction in this scenario, and can therefore stake a large amount to secure a commensurately high profit.
Parlays Bets
Parlay betting is not much different from playing a big jackpot. The chances of winning are never really good but if one does win, it’s smiles all the way to the bank. Here are a few situations for which parlays are the right move:
When having numerous high-probability predictions in mind. These are easy predictions that are will likely have low odds. Combining them into an acca allows the punter to garner reasonable profit compared to betting on them as individual straight bets.
Low stake. Parlays allow punters with low betting budgets to profit greatly by combining single events to raise odd prices.
Expertly knowledgeable about a sport. Parlays are highly rewarding for punters with good sporting knowledge since they are more likely to make multiple correct predictions.
