I have covered sports betting for over 3 years, since before the market opened in NJ, and I have guided my thinking with one major precept: Stay away from big parlays.
My dad took me to the racetracks when I was a young kid and gambling has always been something I was aware of (it helped that he worked at the casinos for years). Despite the lofty payouts, especially around Travers Weekend in Saratoga, I never saw him fill out a Pick-4, Pick-5, or multi-race bet slip.
I’ve watched TVG for years and I see the hosts share their multi-race bet cards. Not sure if any have ever hit. I myself write about parlay promos all the time for NJBetting, PlayNJ, TheLines, and a few others but I don’t really have the nerve to try to be one of these players highlighted on social media who string together massive parlays for enormous payouts.
Heck, I tried same-game parlays for Monday Night Football and Europa League soccer last week and they were disasters.
My 7-leg Parlay Super Bet
So why would I, a timid and tenuous bettor, put together a seven-leg parlay across continents and competitions this week?
I have my reasons:
- It’s my birthday, so why not?
- I want to step out of my comfort zone a bit (a sign of getting older but clearly not wiser)
- I wanted to do a price comparison to help our beloved readers
I have three accounts I play consistently and I rarely seem to get the same prices on the same bets. Just this weekend, I put together a two-leg soccer parlay that paid out over 2-1 on both but it wasn’t the identical prices, despite identical legs.
I don’t know why this is the case but I’d be happy to talk to any oddsmakers who want to peel back the curtain.
Nevertheless, here is the $5 bet (seven legs as my birthday is the seventh) with the prices on BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings:
| Leg | BetMGM | DraftKings | FanDuel |
| Italy-Spain: Both teams to score | +100 | +105 | +102 |
| AUS ML v Oman | -250 | -265 | -240 |
| Uruguay ML v COL | +100 | +105 | +105 |
| ARG ML at Paraguay | -165 | -160 | -160 |
| B Aaronson to score & USA to win vs JAM | +190 | +200 | +165 (only to score, no link to result) |
| MEX ML v CAN | -200 | -200 | -195 |
| TEM Spread at CIN | -110 at +29.5 | -105 at +29 | -110 at 29.5 |
| Total odds (payout) | +7369 ($373.45) | +8163 ($413.19) | +7196 ($364.80) |
Wow. Ok, so it is a very different visceral reaction when that’s my actual account bet slip versus some random screenshot on Twitter.
Also, good job by me not doing the opt-in for BetMGM’s Parlay Plus boost, which would’ve been an extra 40 percent, thus keeping it objective and fair comparisons.
Ok, it’s not completely fair because the one element around USMNT isn’t quite the same and the half-point I concede on my beloved Owls (my Mom’s birthday is Friday and she has two of the family’s four degrees from the school). Nonetheless, note the differences in the prices and how that can add up for a bigger play.
How confident am I that these will work? Not terribly.
I passed up bigger favorites in South Korea and Brazil for this card. The best way to follow the progress is on my Twitter account, @CerinoRoyale, where I will share my agony over the next few days.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional bettor. This is not sports betting advice. I’m just sharing my betting experience for entertainment.
