A $100 five-leg parlay at fair +100 odds profits $3,100. The same parlay at standard -110 odds profits $2,435.91. That $664 gap is 21% of your winnings, taken by a fee most bettors think of as "about 4.5%." A parlay doesn't add its legs together, it multiplies them, so whatever sits inside each leg gets multiplied too: the sportsbook's vig, the way the legs relate to each other, and, if you have one, your edge.
This post walks through all three with numbers you can check against any sportsbook's parlay table. If you need the basics first, start with how parlay payouts work.
How a parlay actually works
A parlay is a bet that you'll go 5-0, where every win rolls into the next bet. Here it is at fair +100 odds, with no fee in the price:
| Leg | Stake | Odds | Returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100 | +100 | $200 |
| 2 | $200 | +100 | $400 |
| 3 | $400 | +100 | $800 |
| 4 | $800 | +100 | $1,600 |
| 5 | $1,600 | +100 | $3,200 |
Your $100 returns $3,200, which is $3,100 in profit. Note the word "returns." Each leg returns double the stake, but only half of that is winnings.
The same parlay at -110: where $664 goes
Now price every leg at -110, the standard sportsbook line. At -110 you risk $110 to win $100, so each leg returns 1.909 times the stake instead of 2 times.
| Leg | Stake | Odds | Returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100.00 | -110 | $190.91 |
| 2 | $190.91 | -110 | $364.46 |
| 3 | $364.46 | -110 | $695.79 |
| 4 | $695.79 | -110 | $1,328.33 |
| 5 | $1,328.33 | -110 | $2,535.91 |
Your $100 now returns $2,535.91, or $2,435.91 in profit. You hit the same five winners and gave up $664.09. The share of your winnings that went to the fee is 1 − $2,435.91 / $3,100 = 21.4%.
Those -110 figures aren't hypothetical. They match the standard parlay payouts every U.S. sportsbook posts: +264 for two legs, +596 for three, +1228 for four and +2436 for five. The full table is in our parlay payout chart.
Your parlay is worth more without the house cut.
Every leg a book prices carries hidden vig, so the true payout is smaller than it looks. Build the same parlay against real bettors on BettorEdge and keep more when it hits.
The fee compounds with every leg
Each -110 leg pays 4.5% less than a fair price. That shortfall multiplies across legs, so the fee's share of your winnings roughly doubles from 2 legs to 6 and keeps climbing.
One -110 bet costs about 4.5%. Stack the legs and the fee takes 21% at 5 legs and 37% at 10.
By 10 legs, more than a third of what you "won" never reaches you. Run your own legs through the parlay calculator or the fee calculator to see the number for any price.
Correlation: when legs aren't independent
Everything above assumes each leg is independent: one result tells you nothing about the next. Parlay pricing multiplies the legs' odds on exactly that assumption. When legs are linked, the true chance of hitting is different from the price, and that difference is either your edge or your leak.
The correlation coefficient (written ρ, "rho") measures how strongly two outcomes move together, on a scale from -1 to +1:
- +1: they always happen together.
- 0: independent. One tells you nothing about the other.
- -1: they never happen together.
For two yes/no outcomes A and B, correlation changes the chance that both hit:
P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B) + ρ × √[P(A)(1 − P(A)) × P(B)(1 − P(B))]
Take two 50/50 legs in the same game: a favorite to cover and the game to go over the total. Independent, both hit 25% of the time, and fair odds are +300. Now suppose they're positively correlated, with ρ = 0.3, because a blowout by the favorite tends to push the score up.
| Legs relate like this | Chance both hit | Fair parlay odds | Value of taking +300 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positively (ρ = +0.3) | 32.5% | +208 | +30% expected return |
| Independent (ρ = 0) | 25.0% | +300 | Break-even |
| Negatively (ρ = -0.3) | 17.5% | +471 | -30% expected return |
That's why sportsbooks either block correlated legs from standard parlays or move them into same-game parlays priced with their own correlation model and a heavier margin. It's also why a same-game parlay that looks fun can be priced far worse than it seems. When your legs work against each other, like a team to win and the opposing quarterback to throw for 300 yards, you're paying independent-parlay odds on something that happens less often. More on building them in our same-game parlay guide and correlation in sports betting explained.
The takeaway: correlation isn't good or bad on its own. What matters is whether the price reflects it. Positive correlation the price ignores is an edge. Negative correlation you didn't notice is a leak.
The flip side: if you do have an edge, it compounds for you
The same multiplication works in your favor. A parlay's expected return is each leg's expected return multiplied together:
Parlay expected return = (win rate × decimal odds)legs − 1
Say you genuinely win 55% of your picks. At fair +100 odds, each leg is worth +10%, and five legs multiply that to +61%. At -110, the fee cuts each leg to +5%, and five legs come to +28%. The fee took more than half your edge. A bettor with no edge, winning 50%, loses 21% on average at -110, which is exactly the fee's compounded bite.
| Bettor | Per leg | 3 legs | 5 legs | 8 legs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55% picker, fair +100 | +10.0% | +33.1% | +61.1% | +114.4% |
| 55% picker, -110 | +5.0% | +15.8% | +27.6% | +47.7% |
| 52% picker, fair +100 | +4.0% | +12.5% | +21.7% | +36.9% |
| 52% picker, -110 | -0.7% | -2.2% | -3.6% | -5.7% |
| 50% picker, -110 | -4.5% | -13.0% | -20.7% | -31.1% |
The row that matters most is the good-but-not-great bettor. At -110 you need to win 52.4% just to break even. A 52% picker is a small loser at a sportsbook and a clear winner at fair odds. Same skill; the fee decides which side of zero it lands on.
Before you load up, the honest caveats:
- Variance is brutal. Even a 55% picker hits a 5-leg parlay only about 1 time in 20. You can be right about your edge and lose for months.
- The edge has to be real. Most bettors overestimate their win rate, and the multiplication punishes that as hard as it rewards skill.
- Size it small. A positive-expectation parlay still deserves a fraction of what you'd put on a straight bet.
- Correlation cuts both ways. Every number in this table assumes independent legs.
Where the fee comes out matters more than its size
The problem isn't that sportsbooks charge a fee. It's where they put it: inside the odds of every leg, so it compounds with every leg you add. A fee built into every leg's odds takes 12% of your winnings at 2 legs, 21% at 5 and 37% at 10. A fee charged once, on what you actually win, takes the same share of a 2-leg win as a 10-leg win.
On BettorEdge community odds, prices are set by other bettors in an open marketplace, so there's no vig built into the odds. More of a parlay's upside stays with the person who called it.
Parlay vig FAQ
How much vig is on a parlay?
A parlay of -110 legs gives up about 12% of its winnings at 2 legs, 21% at 5 legs and 37% at 10 legs compared with fair +100 odds, because the roughly 4.5% vig in each leg multiplies across the parlay instead of being charged once.
Why do sportsbooks love parlays?
Sportsbooks love parlays because the vig in every leg compounds, so a 5-leg parlay at -110 keeps about 21% of a winning bettor's profit instead of the roughly 4.5% on a single bet, and correlated same-game parlays usually carry an even larger margin.
Can a parlay ever be a good bet?
A parlay can be a good bet when each leg has a real edge, because expected return multiplies across legs just like the vig does. A 55% picker at fair +100 odds expects +61% on a 5-leg parlay, but at -110 that falls to +28%, and a 52% picker goes from a winner to a loser.
What does correlation mean in a parlay?
Correlation in a parlay means the legs are linked, so one hitting changes the chance the other hits. Two 50/50 legs with a correlation of +0.3 both hit 32.5% of the time instead of 25%, which is why sportsbooks restrict or reprice correlated legs.
A parlay multiplies whatever is inside each leg, so where the fee sits decides how much of the upside you keep. On BettorEdge community odds you set your own price and match it against another real bettor, with no house margin built into the odds. Open BettorEdge and build or take a parlay, peer-to-peer.
Your parlay is worth more without the house cut.
Every leg a book prices carries hidden vig, so the true payout is smaller than it looks. Build the same parlay against real bettors on BettorEdge and keep more when it hits.