What Is Same-Game Parlay?

In November 2021, one lucky bettor turned a $50 wager into $1.1 million. 

Yes, you read that right.

How did he do that? He combined 15 different bets from across the entire sports spectrum, including hockey, football, golf, and basketball, to create a mega-bet — and hit every single one of them.

That’s what we call one damn good parlay.

A same-game parlay is very similar and can be a great strategy to bring in big rewards in sports gambling. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about same-game parlays so you can add them to your gambling arsenal.

What Is a Same-Game Parlay?

Parlays have been a popular staple of sports gambling for years. A parlay is when you bet on multiple different aspects across different sporting events — all under a single bet. If every leg of the bet wins, you get paid out big time.

However, hitting every single leg is also a lot riskier. If you do a seven-leg parlay and six out of the seven legs come true, you still win nothing.

A same-game parlay is similar to a normal parlay in that you can choose several different aspects to bet on under a single ticket. The difference is that you all of them from the same sporting event. 

These single-game parlays are wildly popular amongst sports bettors because not only do they bring the possibility of huge rewards, but they also make games much more exciting. 

That being said, hitting a big parlay can almost be like winning a lottery ticket. The odds of landing every leg of your bet can be hundreds-to-one to even thousands-to-one.

Real example: Colts vs 49ers

For example, someone could have made a single-game parlay on an NFL game in 2021 between the Colts vs. the 49ers to have five different players score touchdowns.

• Carson Wentz
• Michael Pittman Jr.
• Elijah Mitchell
• Deebo Samuel
• Jonathan Taylor

If you put $10 on this parlay and all five of the players scored touchdowns, you would have been paid out $4758.30.

How to Bet on Same-Game Parlays

Putting together a same-game parlay is pretty straightforward. Depending on the sportsbook, all you need to do is go to a game, select one of the competing teams, then find a button that reads “same-game parlay.”

Several bets will appear. Choose one and select “add bet to slip” and it will tell you what the parlay will pay out. 

Of course, there is a huge range of parlays that you can participate in. You can select small, two-leg parlays that might pay out somewhere around +500, or pick a 5-leg parlay that pays out +5000.

You can probably understand why same-game parlays have become so popular. But should you use it as a strategy for your bets? Let’s look at the pros and cons.

Pros

The upside to using same-game parlays is obvious — you can potentially make a huge payout from risking a very small amount, to begin with.

Take our earlier example between the Colts and the 49ers. There aren’t many other bets that you can make that would give you 475-to-1 odds in a single game. 

Having all five players score a touchdown might not be the most realistic event, but it could happen in a high-scoring game. Betting a same-game parlay also brings a ton of excitement to the game as well.

Cons

Although these bets might be exciting and have the possibility of scoring big, there are downsides that you need to be aware of before using them.

The main issue with same-game parlays is that it’s nearly impossible to know the true correlation between the different bets hitting — which means it’s impossible to know the true odds. In other words, you have no way of knowing how bet #1 correlates with bet #2 and #3 and so on. 

Although we can’t answer that, sportsbooks will use their algorithms to come up with the payout, which isn’t shown to the customer. Even though we can’t see them, the sportsbook will likely build a pretty large cushion for themselves in the process.

Strategies for Same-Game Parlays

Just like any other kind of bet, there are certain principles that you can apply to same-game parlays that can help you win. 

First off, like any other bet, you should make sure you shop lines between different online gambling platforms. As mentioned earlier, different sportsbooks use different algorithms to come up with their payouts, so the same parlay could pay out much more on one site than another.

Another tip is to try to use platforms that show the prices of the individual bets while you look through the same-game parlay options. This will allow you to check back and compare how much the bet “should” pay. 

When it comes to the bets, make sure you pay attention to how the different legs of the parlay may affect one another. For example, how will the game be affected if a certain player puts up big numbers? Will this affect the spread or point total? Always aim to choose parlays that complement each other.

For example, let’s say the Patriots are playing at home and they are 7-point favorites. If you believe that they’ll cover the spread, you probably think they’ll score many points as well — which means you might be well off choosing the over for the game as well.

If you think an underdog has a good chance of winning a game, you can parlay that team’s overs with the favorite team’s unders.

Last but not least, only use a very small percentage of your bankroll on same-game parlays. Think of them as lottery tickets — fun little gambles that you’re probably unlikely to get a win from.

Start Strategizing Your Next Parlays

That’s all you need to know about what a same-game parlay is. These popular bets can be incredibly fun, exciting, and possibly profitable, but it’s also important to remember that they are mostly long shots. 

If you’re tired of guessing on “longshot” gambles, maybe it’s time to learn how to make your own expert picks with real strategies based on sports betting models. Enroll in our free online course to start winning today!