One of the best tools a bettor can use is the money line parlay betting.  Money line parlays have two main benefits: the exponential value of parlays and the simplicity of money lines. If you’ve ever used a parlay before, then you know how quickly your return can increase as more games are added in. The simplicity of the money line is that you pick a team based on the fact that you think they are going to win. There is no worrying whether they will win by 2 or 10 or 20; all you need is a W by your picked team. Combine these two benefits together and you get a tool that is easy to use and easy to control.

There are two main types of money line parlays: an aggressive money line parlay, and a “safe” money line parlay.

The “safe” money line parlay is a low risk, low reward type of bet. This is the type of bet you can use when you are looking to strengthen your bankroll, and not have to worry too much over the games involved.   When you are making this type of money line parlay, you want to eliminate all factors that could possibly burn you and cause you to lose this bet. Some of the circumstances you might want to avoid include:

·         Teams playing on the road

·         Teams playing the second night of a back-to-back (NBA)

·          Injuries to impact players on EITHER team (often has the opposite effect of what you might expect [Ewing Theory])

·         Any type of revenge factor for the team you bet against

Now let’s look at an example from NCAA Basketball. Here are the teams that you like to win (money line in parentheses): Duke -12 (- 1000), Kansas -15 (-1200), Xavier -8 (-500), Kentucky -20 (-2500). Now let’s look at how each of these affects the total parlay (running total in parentheses): Duke -1000 (-1000), add Kansas -1200 (-522), add Xavier -500 (-232), add Kentucky -2500 (-204). So despite the small amount of risk involved (assuming you avoided the extenuating circumstances), you would still get a 50% return on your bet. This is not the kind of bet that you will be raving to your friends about and buying rounds at the bar, but it is a low risk way to build your bankroll.

The second type is the aggressive money line parlay, a high risk, high reward version of this bet. This bet is very similar to the standard parlay, except that you still have the simplicity of the money line to work with. There are a couple of times when this strategy can be helpful: in games with close point spreads, or when you think an underdog will upset the favorite. In the aggressive money line parlay, you are not looking to strengthen your bankroll as much as you are looking to make the big hit. Let’s look at an example. The teams you think will win are: Villanova  -3 (- 145), Ohio St -5 (- 235), Georgetown +4 (+140), Syracuse pk (-110). Now let’s calculate and watch the value shoot through the roof: Villanova -145 (-145), add Ohio State -235 (+141), add Georgetown +140 (+478), add Syracuse -110 (+1003). So, for knowing the winners of four games (granted, they are predicted to be close, and one is an upset), you can get a 1000% return on your bet.

These two types are the most common kinds of money line parlays, but there are no rules that say you can’t combine the two types in one bet. In fact, this is often a excellent way to turn a standard -110 bet into something more valuable. Here is an example. You like West Virginia -6 (-110) to cover the spread in their game. Normally, this would be a $100 bet to win 90$, paying $10 in juice. But the same night, Michigan State -15 (-1350) is playing and you feel confident they are going to win without a problem. Combine the West Virginia spread with the Michigan State money line in a parlay, and instead of the -110 payout, it now becomes +105, eliminating the juice and then some, all for very minimal additional risk.

Just like every type of bet, there is no guaranteed winner, so play accordingly. But if used correctly, the money line parlay can be a valuable tool for a bettor.