Sideline fan wants some
action
15 August 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I usually go to Vegas during the early spring,
so I've never bet on football, but I will be
there this year in mid-September. Unfortunately,
I have no idea how the betting works,
specifically teasers and parlays. Can you shed
some light on this? Chris S.
Of course, Chris, nice question. I'll get to
parlays and teasers in just two inches, but
first I best illustrate the wager most sports
bettors make when betting football: the straight
bet.
In a straight bet, you simply pick one side or
the other to win the game, plus or minus the
point spread on the board. For example, let's
say you're charmed by Green Bay -7 vs. Chicago.
If you take my beloved Green Bay giving seven
(-7 points), you're wagering $11 that the
Packers will beat the Bears by more than 7
points. If they do, you win $10. The 10 bucks is
for your handicapping expertise, but you also
receive your original $11 back, for a total
payout of $21.
A parlay bet is a group of straight bets
combined into a single wager. For you to come
off smiling after a parlay bet, all the
individual parts of the parlay must win or tie.
Here's an example: Chris places a two-team NFL
parlay on the Lions and the Jets. If either of
those teams fails to cover the spread, Chris
loses his parlay bet. If both teams beat the
spread, the odds are 13 to 5, and Chris gets
paid $13 for every $5 he's bet.
With parlays, if just one team you've bet on
doesn't win or at least tie, you lose the entire
amount wagered. If one of the games is a tie,
then that game is disregarded and you get paid
according to the number of games you did win.
The house edge, based on the number of games bet
and typical casino payout, depends on how many
teams are in your wager. But, Chris, WALLET
ALERT! The more games parlayed, the higher the
casino advantage. For instance, three teams
usually pay 6 to 1, with a house edge of 12.50%.
Four teams pay 10 to 1, with an even higher
31.25% casino advantage, and five teams pay 20
to 1, with a house edge of 34.38%.
A "parlay card" is a set of sides, totals, and
prop bets printed on a special card. The numbers
on the parlay card apply only to bets listed on
the card, and can be different from straight
bets listed on the board. As a rule, you must
select at least three items in order to make a
bet on a parlay card. ALWAYS scrutinize closely
any parlay card offered. Some specify that you
lose a tie, some that ties push, and you might
even find the true rarity, a card where ties
actually win. Some parlay cards avoid ties
totally by ending all spreads at a 1/2-mark.
A teaser, like a parlay, is a group of straight
bets combined into one wager. The difference
between a parlay and a teaser is that with a
teaser the line you bet against for each
individual bet is moved in your favor by the
number of points of the teaser. For example, if
the regular line is the Vikings -7 and you have
a 4-point teaser, then your line would be the
Vikings -3. As with the parlay, all of the
individual games need to win for the teaser to
be a winner. If there is a tie in one or more of
your individual games, then the wager, as in a
parlay bet, converts to one fewer game, with
this cute exception: If a two-team teaser has a
winner and a tie, then the teaser pushes;
meaning "No Action."
Gambling Wisdom of the week: "Look high, look
low, and we see that gamblers actually form the
majority of the world's inhabitants." -- James Runciman, Side Lights (1893)
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