Parlay Sports Betting Tips for Canadians

Sports betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the world. Fortunately, there are several online casinos that will let you make parlay bets. 

How to Perform Well in Your Parlay Sports Bets

Sports betting has been around since sports were first created. Bets were made in the first Olympics in Greece over 1000 years ago, and they are still being made to this day. However, sports betting has evolved in a significant way. As a result, there are several things you need to learn before you get yourself involved in this type of gambling. 

Sports betting used to be as simple as betting on one team to win and one to lose. If you were right, you would double your money, and if you lost, you would lose it all. However, odds have made payouts much more complicated. 

Additionally, parlays have become a lucrative aspect of the sports betting industry. It is a high-risk form of betting that can have tremendous payouts. However, if you do not do your research, betting on parlays regularly can quickly lead to you losing a lot of money. As a result, it is more important to do your research with parlays than with any other type of betting. 

What Is a Parlay?

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual bets. Winning is dependent on all of these wagers winning together. For example, if you were betting on NHL games, you could have a parlay where you predicted the Maple Leafs to defeat the Canadiens, and you predicted the Bruins to beat the Red Wings. You would only win the bet if both the Maple Leafs and Bruins won their games. If the Maple Leafs won, but the Bruins lost, you would lose your bet. It can get a lot more in-depth than that, with different bets, but you get the idea.

As you can see, this type of sports betting is very high risk because there is no way to ensure that your picks will win. Sports betting is one of the highest variance forms of gambling, and parlays just add to the inconsistency. So, you need to be aware of the risks before you make a parlay sports bet. 

Look at Several Sports Betting Sites and Canadian Online Casinos

Before you make a parlay or any sports bet, you should look around at the best online casinos to see if the odds are consistent. Odds will vary from casino to casino. You can take advantage of this by betting at the casino that gives you the best payout. There are several options to choose from, but you can find lists that have the best online casinos for CA gamers – many of which include sites with the best slots and highest jackpots. You should use these lists to help you find the online casinos that also provide the best sports betting lines. 

Bet on Multiple Sports

Most people who get into sports betting primarily bet on one or two sports. Typically, people only follow a few sports, and they will only bet on the sports they follow closely. However, the best value bets usually do not congregate in one sport. You can expand your parlay horizons by creating a shortlist of possible value picks. Then you should decide on the length of your parley. You can then narrow down your shortlist to suit your timeline. 

Look for a Hedge Opportunity

One of the best ways to make money in the world of sports betting is to look for hedge opportunities. A hedge should give you guaranteed winnings or at the very least safeguard your stake. 

A well-placed parlay will allow you to hedge on your last leg if your earlier legs have already been successful. Hedging may seem like a negative play to the untrained eye, as it appears to demonstrate a lack of confidence in your picks. However, hedging is like buying insurance. You hope you will not need it, but it is better to hedge when you did not need it than to not hedge when you needed it. 

Even if your final bet seems like a lock to win, sports can be random at the best of times – after all, that’s partly why we love it. The superstar on the favored team can go down with an injury, a referee can make a terrible call that decides the game or a goalie can have an otherworldly session. By hedging, you will be able to avoid disasters at the final hurdle, albeit with a loss in potential winnings. 

Combine Multiple Favorites

When you are betting on sports without parlays, it generally is not optimal to bet on the favorite. Typically, you want to find underdogs that have something going for them that give them an edge that is not reflected in the odds. However, when you are setting up your parlay, it is incredibly dangerous to bet on underdogs. Yes, if you are correct, you will make a significant profit, but you are very likely to lose a parlay that features several underdogs. 

Instead, you should set up a parlay when you want to make a bet on a favorite. Betting on a favorite alone is dangerous because you need to make a significant wager to see a sizable return. As a result, it only takes one loss for you to lose everything you gained from several previous bets. However, if you make a parlay when you want to bet on favorites, you can make a bigger profit with a smaller stake. 

Use a Parlay System Bet

A parlay system bed builds insurance into the bet in case one leg fails. This makes it possible to win with multiple combinations. There are many systems available to choose from for parlays with two to eight legs. A great option is the Yankee system on a four option parlay. 

When using the Yankee system, instead of one bet, you will place 11 separate bets across which your stake will be divided evenly. Depending on the odds of each individual leg, you may be able to cover your original stake with just two legs landing. 

This system might seem a little complicated, and it is. You will want to do your research and make sure you understand exactly how a system works before you use it. Otherwise, you will use it incorrectly and lose a lot of money.

Use Free Bets

Many online casinos and sports books reward clients for loyalty or for signing up. Many of these rewards come in the form of a bonus or free bet. The problem with these rewards is that you only receive a profit from your free bet, not the original stake. However, if you use your free bets on parlays, you can attempt to make a wager on a combination of games that are more enticing than an uninspiring favorite. 

Don’t Be Afraid, Be Confident but Not Reckless

When setting up your parlays, it is important to find a balance between confidence and recklessness. Many people get sucked into the possibility of a massive payout without taking into account the likelihood that they will lose. Conversely, it is important to not be too cautious. Nobody ever made any money in sports betting by always betting on the favorite. So, you need to pick your spots and not be afraid to bet on the underdog every once in a while. 

Parlays are great because you can bet a small amount of money and make a significant profit if you get everything right. However, to do this, you will sometimes need to swing for the fences. This is a great time to bet based on your gut feeling. You might not be successful betting with your gut under normal circumstances, but in a parlay, it can be worth it. 

Bet on the Home Underdog

In the world of professional sports, teams travel around the league to different cities playing their games. There is always a home team and an away team. For whatever reason, home field advantage is a real thing in sports. Teams seem to perform better at home than they do on the road. Maybe teams sleep better in their beds, or they get a boost from fans cheering for them. Regardless, most teams perform better at home than on the road. 

With that in mind, it can be a good idea to take a flyer on the home underdog. Many sports betting sites will not take home field advantage into account when making the odds. As a result, you can place strategic bets on the underdog when they are playing at home. It is not guaranteed to give you a win, but it should help make more money in the long term.