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You have probably seen round-robin options from your sportsbook, but didn’t know what they were, or you were not ready to jump into the forbidden waters. Yet!
Aside from making some cool cash, betting should also be fun. But unfortunately, playing the same markets and betting types over and over can get very old very soon. Therefore, it helps to mix things up by trying different betting options.
Let’s look into round-robin sports betting, and hopefully, you can add them to your betting repertoire.
What Is A Round Robin Bet?
You might know about parlay bets. Here, you get to combine multiple games into a single bet slip. When you do this, the odds are higher, meaning you have the chance to win reasonable amounts with minimal wagers.
A round-robin sports bet is essentially just a quick way to create a handful of parlays.
Unlike the parlay bet, you don’t have to accumulate several single bets in one slip. Instead, you get to place bets in groups. This increases your chances of winning.
Therefore, a round-robin bet can be described as a betting system where you create several smaller parlays from a more extensive list of teams. Most top sportsbooks will create [parlays automatically. The more games you pick, the more parlay combinations you can create. These can run into their thousands if you make enough selections.
A sportsbook can create three different two-team parlays with three teams. On the other hand, with five teams, you can get:
· One five-team parlay
· Five four-team parlays
· Ten three-team parlays
· Ten two-team parlays
The more teams you add, the more possibility you get with your parlays. An 11-team round-robin, for example, can give as many as 2,036 parlay combinations.
Let’s look at an example.
Round Robin Example
The easiest round robin consists of three teams, which create three separate two-team parlays.
Take an instance where you opt for these games in the NFL on a Sunday:
Patriots -7.5 vs. Jets
Ravens -6 vs. Steelers
Raiders +4 vs. Broncos
Say you decide to wager $10 on each parlay combination to give you three parlays for a total investment of $30.
Parlay Risk To Win
1. Patriots -7.5, Ravens -6 $10 $26
2. Patriots -7.5 , Raiders +4 $10 $26
3. Raiders +4, Ravens -6 $10 $26
With the above;
· 1-2, 0-3: if one or none of the teams cover, you lose all the three parlays and $30.
· 2-1: If only the Patriot and the Raiders cover, you win one parlay and get $6. This means you lose $20 and win $26.
· 3-0: if all the three selected teams cover the spread and you win all your parlays, you take home $78 ($26×3).
Which Options Should You Go For?
Round robins get more expensive with each game you add-in.
For many bettors, choosing five teams and going with half your wager on ten three-team parlays and ten two-team parlays is an excellent option for college football.
How To Place A Round Robin Bet
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you place round-robin bets;
1. Visit and log onto your favorite sportsbook site.
2. Determine how many teams you want to include in your round-robin bet. Assuming you want three, begin by settling on the three times you will go with.
Open the bet slip and look for the tab labeled ‘Round Robin’ or ‘RR’ in some sportsbooks.
3. Enter the amount you want to wager per parlay, and let the bet slip calculator give you the total amount wagered for the complete round robin.
Based on our3-team example at $25 per parlay, your total risk comes to $75, with possible round robin bet payouts of $152.84. This is if all three teams cover their spreads or win.
How Does Round Robin Betting Work?
Let’s examine how a 3, 4, and 5 round robin bet works.
3 Team round-robin
To create a three-team round-robin, pick your three games. Then, the Red Robin calculator will generate three parlays of two teams each.
These selections will immediately appear on your betting slip, and the sportsbook will also display the breakdown of the wagers.
You might get a breakdown that looks something like:
Round robin (3) Win 39 (5)
Total bets 3
Total bet amount $15.00
Potential win amount $39.00
In the above example, a $5 wager on each parlay has a total risk of $15. However, if all three teams cover their spread, the potential win is $39.
4 Team Round Robin Bet
Pick your four teams. The selections should appear in the bet slip. Then scroll to the round-robin bet to see the breakdown of the wagers.
The round-robin betting calculator will generate six parlays of two teams each.
Based on your four selections, a $5 wager on each means risking $30. If all teams cover their spread, you win $80.57.
5 team round robin bet
Let’s take our example from the NFL. Here, we create a 5-team round-robin at -110 each.
Your sportsbook will display your chosen selections on the bet slip, and a breakdown of the wagers will be on the ‘round robin’ box.
The calculator will give you ten parlays of 2 teams each.
This should look like this:
10 parlays of 2 teams
Round Robin (5) win: 134.31 (5)
Total Bets 10
Total bet amount $50.00
Potential win amount $134.31
With the above selections and a $5 wager on each parlay, the total return is $134.31 should all teams cover their spreads. The risk, on the other hand, is $50.
How Does A Round Robin Bet Payout?
A round-robin bet payout is based on the total winnings of each individual parlay in a complete round-robin wager.
This means that a $5 3-team round robin bet lined at -110 would pay out a total of $39. However, if any one of the two teams doesn’t cover their spreads, these are graded as losses. As such, the wins are significantly reduced.
The Round Robin Bet Calculator
You might have been looking at the examples above and wondering how these figures are generated.
The easiest way to understand how a round-robin bet is paid out is by breaking down each wager individually.
To demonstrate this, let’s use a 3-team round robin with each of the teams lined at -110.
In our example, let’s use a $5 wager.
Parlay wager
Result
Risk
Parlay odds
Potential payout
Team a + Team b
Win
$5
264
$13.22
Team a + Team c
Win
$5
264
$13.22
Team b + Team c
Win
$5
264
$13.22
Total Payout
$39.66
The above example illustrates the entire breakdown of a 3-team round robin. The results displayed are based on every parlay winning.
As we know, this is not always the case.
Below is a different example:
Parlay Wager
Result
Risk
Parlay odds
Potential Payout
Team a+ Team b
Loss
$5
264
$0.00
Team a + Team c
Loss
$5
264
$0.00
Team b+ Team c
Win
$5
264
$13.22
Total Payout
$13.22
The above has a loss with Team A; as you can see, the wins are significantly lower than we had in the first example.
The Round Robin Betting Strategy
A regular parlay can be rather appealing whenever you get multiple bets on odds boards worth betting on. However, one missed pick on the parlay, and the entire thing crumbles.
Round robins are a bit different. For example, if you create a 4-team round robin and one loses, you still finish on the positive side.
It’s, however, essential to note that round robins take up a higher investment to play. So to make up for this, they offer higher chances of winning and lower your chances of completely losing out.
Round robins also offer the opportunity to hedge and minimize losses. Hedging means picking the other side of a wager. This strategy can reduce profits, but it also helps minimize losses which is a good trade-off. You can realize more profits if you learn how to pull this off correctly.
You can have over 10 teams in a round-robin. Remember that each added time means adding more bets, which can significantly raise the investment. Large round-robin bets can also include more than two teams per leg. Still, the best strategy is to keep all parlays at two teams apiece.
Do round robins have nicknames?
Depending on the site and the format, there are several variations of round robins. The most common ones are:
· The Trixie; consists of 3 two-teamers and one three-teamer
· The 4x; 3 two-team, one three-team, and four single wagers
· Canadian; this bet has 5 teams, with 26 options
· Heinz; this is a round robin bet consisting of six teams
We also have the Yankee, the Super Heinz, and the Lucky. The lucky has 31 bets, 120 for the super Heinz and 11 bets for the Yankee.
What happens If There Is A Non-Runner?
If there is a non-runner (a canceled game, match, or event) in a round-robin, all other bets in other selections still stand.
For example, if you have a three-team parlay with a non-runner, it becomes a two-team parlay. A two-team parlay with a non-runner becomes a straight bet. Further, stakes on affected bets are placed on the other selections on your bet.
Many bookmakers will flag the non-runners after making the necessary changes to your bet.
How Are Round Robins and Parlay Different?
The main difference is that you need all your games to win in order to win a payout in parlay betting. On the other hand, not all fields must be successful for you to win a round-robin since not every bet includes all the selections. So the payout gets smaller with every loss, but you can still finish ahead, even with losses.
Round Robin Betting FAQs
Here are some quick answers to questions you might have on Round Robin betting.
Is Round Robin A Good Bet?
Round robins are widely considered to be bad bets. However, much of their shine comes from the fact that they offer bigger payouts and better chances to mitigate losses.
For example, a $100 bet on a 3-team point spread parlay can win you about $600. A similar wager on a 3-team round robin will cost $300, but with a nearly $1,100 payout.
A traditional parlay is always more enticing when you compare these two bang-for-your buck.
On the flip side, if you go 2-1 on your parlay picks, you lose your $1000 wager plus the parlay. 2-1 in a round-robin, and you walk away with a $528 payout on a $300 wager, so you finish ahead.
Round-Robin bets can be more beneficial than not, depending on the type of bettor you are.
For recreational bettors, Round Robin bets can offer much better alternatives than the often long-shot parlays and multi-team teasers.
If you are a professional sports bettor or make part of your income from betting, round robins might not support you adequately. Most professional bettors will admit that wagers carry a negative expected value and lose more than they win.
What Are Some Pros of Round Robin Bets?
Bettors that play Round robins are primarily attracted to them because:
· They can lead to some rather enticing payouts
· You can still win something even when some of your selections fail
· You can use a round-robin bet with Against The Spread (ATS) or Asian Handicap (AH) selections to minimize the margin of error
· It can also be used alongside hedge betting to secure profits
· You can combine Round Robin bets with correlated selections to maximize the winning percentage
What Are Some Cons Associated With Round Robin Bets?
Some of the downsides of these bets are:
· Round robin bets are normally larger than other markets
· Tracking them can get complex
· Some sportsbooks will only allow moneyline round-robin wagers
What Are The Most Popular Sports For Round Robin Bets?
Round robins are extremely popular in NFL games. However, they are used for all major team sports, including the NBA, NHL, MLB, and some soccer leagues like the MLS and the Premier League.
What Is An Each Way Round Robin?
An ‘each way’ is a horse betting strategy where you pick the winning horse and place another in other specified positions. You get a profit if you win on either, but the bet size is doubled.
In essence, an each-way round-robin combines multiple races on a bet slip. This is anywhere from three to eight picks.
What is a 3-Pick Round Robin bet?
A 3-pick round-robin bet combines three selections to create three two-team parlays.