While not necessarily as popular in football betting as in other areas, parlay bets; otherwise known as accumulator bets, are really nothing more than a single bet linking to two or more other bets together and winning is completely dependent on those wagers being successful as a group. The benefit of a parlay bet is the simple fact that the payoffs are much higher than traditional single bets, because hitting each consecutive bet in order to make the parlay is extremely difficult and with higher risks comes higher payouts. In addition, if a single bet within the parlay loses than the entire parlay is lost, which makes it even more risky.
Parlay bets still pay out far below the true odds in sports betting, despite the fact that they are paid out at odds higher than a traditional single game bet. An example would be a typical football match in which the payout is 2.6:1 as long as both choices are correct. When looking at sports betting overall, a professional gambler will recognise that the true payout should actually be three to one, but that is the cost of using a bookmaker rather than an online exchange for your sports betting needs.
Parlay betting is really only worthwhile for those who like a little extra risk. If you are someone who prefers to remain in control with a higher level of consistency, parlay bets are probably not for you, because there is always a higher level of risk than single fixed-odds bets.
You can make parlay betting pay if you are prepared to do the additional work involved. I like betting on multiples in uk football, I like to bet on favourites but I hedge a draw into all my different lines. You really need a spreadsheet or good parlay calculator to make it worthwhile doing. Cheers for the post.