Although all sportsbooks will automatically calculate the total odds for your parlay picks, you may want to know more about the process. This is why a parlay calculator comes in quite handy as it allows you to do the maths on your own and see whether the odds you are getting from a sportsbook are completely accurate.
But before we move on to the functionality, we’d like to be sure you know the meaning of a parlay. A parlay is a bet form in which multiple picks are joined together for the purpose of creating a bigger payout. It is considered as one big bet, meaning that all of the parlay picks must win for you to get paid on a parlay. Even if just one of let’s say six bets in a parlay loses, the whole parlay is wasted. Betting on parlays instead of singles is a great way of budgeting in sports betting and making smaller bets work to your advantage.
Where can you find parlay calculators?
We live in an era of a huge expansion of online sports betting. We thus have access to bountiful betting-related sites (such as Betting Billy) and the vast majority of them will have the parlay calculator. To find one, simply type in “parlay calculator” in your web browser and you will get to it instantly.
How do parlay calculators work?
It is very easy to understand the maths behind the parlay calculator processes. You can do it on your own by following this simple route:
- Convert your American odds to decimal odds
You can do this with the help of odds converters (again, very easy to be found online). On there, just type in the American odds and the computer will convert them to decimal. For example, the common -110 American odds are equal to 1.91 decimal odds, -200 odds are 1.50, and so on.
- Multiply the decimal odds for all of your selected picks
Let’s say that you want to make a 5-leg parlay consisted of the following:
- Miami Heat to beat Cleveland Cavaliers @ -250 odds (1.40)
- Los Angeles Clippers to beat Dallas Mavericks @ -160 odds (1.63)
- Kansas City Chiefs to beat Baltimore Ravens @ -200 odds (1.50)
- Los Angeles Dodgers to beat New York Yankees @ -130 odds (1.77)
- Washington Capitals to beat Montreal Canadiens @ +120 odds (2.20)
When you multiply these odds, you’ll get: 1.40 x 1.63 x 1.50 x 1.77 x 2.20 = 13.32
In American odds, 13.32 odds are equal to +1232. For a $1 stake, you would thus be looking at a $12.32 profit.
