Bet Types: How Each One Settles and Where the Margin Hides
Most explanations of bet types list them by name. This one sorts them by the question that actually matters to your budget: how is the bet settled, and how much margin does it carry? A bet type is just a container for one or more prices, and every price contains a margin. Some containers add margins together; others multiply them.
Singles: one price, one margin
A single is one selection at one price. If you back a -110 side, you are paying one dose of margin — the 4.8 points calculated on our sports betting overview. Singles are the easiest bets to evaluate, because there is exactly one probability to compare with your own estimate.
Parlays: margins multiply
A parlay (accumulator) combines selections and multiplies their decimal prices. Four sides at 1.91 give combined odds of about 13.3. If each side were truly a coin flip, fair odds for all four would be 2.00 x 2.00 x 2.00 x 2.00 = 16.0. The gap between 13.3 and 16.0 is the margin compounding: roughly 17% of the fair payout has disappeared, against under 5% on a single. Every extra leg makes it worse.
| Legs at 1.91 | Parlay odds | Fair odds at 50% each | Payout lost to margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.91 | 2.00 | about 4.5% |
| 2 | 3.65 | 4.00 | about 9% |
| 3 | 6.97 | 8.00 | about 13% |
| 4 | 13.31 | 16.00 | about 17% |
Round robins and teasers
A round robin splits a group of selections into every possible smaller parlay — three picks become three two-leg parlays, for example. It softens the all-or-nothing nature of one big parlay but costs more stake, and each mini-parlay still compounds margin. A teaser, common in North American football and basketball, moves the spread in your favour on every leg in exchange for a lower payout; the price of that adjustment is set by the bookmaker, and it is rarely generous.
Props and futures
Props are bets on events within a game — a player's points, the first team to score. Futures are bets on outcomes weeks or months away, such as a championship winner. Both tend to carry wider margins than main markets, and futures tie your money up for a long time while injuries and trades change the picture.
Pushes, voids and half-wins
A push is a tie with the line — a spread of exactly 7 decided by 7 points — and the stake is returned. A void cancels a bet, for example when a match is postponed beyond the bookmaker's deadline. Quarter-goal Asian lines can produce a half-win or half-loss. In a parlay, a pushed or voided leg is usually removed and the remaining legs are recalculated. Read each sportsbook's rules page, because these details differ.