NFL Round Robin Betting
If you are planning to bet on NFL or make the most of the NFL Super Bowl odds, hedging your bets through round robins is a good way to reduce risk. Instead of going for a full-on parlay, you can opt for a round robin to spread the risk through several bets. By going with the round robin, you no longer need every bet in your parlay to win to get a payout. The risk is spread out by turning a large parlay into several small parlays.
What are NFL Round Robin Bets?
Round robin betting organizes your NFL bets into several parlays, with each parlay covering one unique combination of bets. These bets can include point spreads, totals, moneyline odds, futures, and some props—just like with regular parlays. The goal of a round robin is to bet on all possible outcomes of your picks, or several unique outcomes of your picks. There’s a range because the more bets you make, the more expensive it will be but you’ll also have the security of knowing that you’ve covered all your bases. The choice is yours.
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How do NFL Round Robin Bets Work?
Once you’ve loaded your NFL bets onto the virtual bet slip, you’ll see an option for "Parlay" and "Round Robin". In our first example, we’ll keep things simple by looking at three point spreads.
Minnesota Vikings +4 (—110)
Dallas Cowboys +7 (—110)
Green Bay Packers +5.5 (—110)
With a regular parlay, you’d connect all three lines, and if one team fails to cover the spread, the entire parlay loses. However, when you opt for a round robin instead, the teams are placed into three two-team parlays, and you need two of the three parlays to come through in order to get a payout.
Parlay No. 1
Minnesota Vikings +4 (—110)
Dallas Cowboys +7 (—110)
Parlay No. 2
Minnesota Vikings +4 (—110)
Green Bay Packers +5.5 (—110)
Parlay No. 3
Dallas Cowboys +7 (—110)
Green Bay Packers +5.5 (—110)
By turning the single parlay into three parlays that cover every combination of your game lines, you’re protected. If one team loses, you still win a payout. If, for example, the Green Bay Packers fail to cover to the spread, you still win Parlay No. 1.
We’re going to look at a more complex example to demonstrate how intricate round robin betting can be. This example includes four NFL bets:
Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
Kansas City Chiefs
With four picks, you can organize the round robin in three different ways:
1) All Options (10 bets)
2) 2-Team Parlay (6 bets)
3) 3-Team Parlay (4 bets)
The 3-team parlay takes the four picks and turns them into four three-team combinations:
• Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Pittsburgh
• Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Kansas City
• Kansas City-Pittsburgh-Cincinnati
• Kansas City-Indianapolis-Pittsburgh
The two-team parlay takes the four bets and turns them into six two-team combinations:
• Cincinnati-Indianapolis
• Cincinnati-Pittsburgh
• Cincinnati-Kansas City
• Indianapolis-Pittsburgh
• Indianapolis-Kansas City
• Kansas City-Pittsburgh
The “All Options” round robin uses the four combinations of the three-team parlays and the six combinations of the two-team parlays for a total of 10 bets. This is the best coverage you can get.
How are Round Robin Payouts Calculated?
Round robins are simply a way to structure your parlay bets, so they use the exact same payout system as parlays. A two-team parlay, which is any parlay with two bets included, pays 2.6446X your wager. A three-team parlay pays 5.9579X your wager. In our first example, a $20 stake on each of the three two-team parlays would result in a $52.89 payout for each bet. If two of the parlays hit, the payout would be $105.78, and if all three hit, that would be $158.68—these figures are all based on standard —110 game lines. You’re not paid as much as the $357.48 that you’d get from a standard parlay, but it’s a good way to bring down the risk.
Round robins are ideal for people who like NFL betting and parlays, but aren’t comfortable with their risky nature. Covering all your bases may be more expensive up front, but it will result in more frequent wins in the long run. Keep in mind, another option that brings down the risk of parlays is the teaser bet, which shifts the point spread in your favour. Try both and see which parlay modification works best for you.
Types of Round Robin Bet
A trixie is four total bets, made up of 3x two-team parlays and a single three-team parlay. A patent is the same as a trixie, but is seven bets in total as the four single wagers are covered also. A yankee combines 11 total bets and becomes a lucky 15 when the single bets are added. Similarly, a Canadian is 26 bets and renamed as a Lucky 31 when the singles are included. A heinz is an impressive 57 bets and become a lucky 63 when the single are part of the bet, and a super heinz is a whopping 120 bets and can go as high as a lucky 127 if the singles are added to the wager.
For additional information, you can check our guide with NFL betting tips.