When Betting Parlays, Line Shopping Is An Absolute Must

There are two rules for sports betting: Always line shop and never bet parlays. It's hard to get one pick right, never mind two, three, or four. Sportsbooks make over 30% on parlay bets, compared to 5% or so on straight bets. For a recreational gambler, line shopping is an absolute must. For him, parls are fun, but he's going to lose most of the time. He will always line shops when betting parles.

The Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals are playing a Thursday night game. Five sportsbooks are offering a parlay with a "anytime touchdown" wager. Joe Mixon is at -130 at DraftKings and Caesars, but all the way at +190 at Barstool.

FanDuel offers a better odds than Caesars, Barstool, BetMGM and DraftKings. A $5 bet on Draft Kings on the above pays $200. At FanDulle it pays only $326.55.

A parlay with Nick Chubb, Jonathan Taylor, Trey Lance, and Taysom Hill scoring two touchdowns during the NFL season would have paid out $20,536 at Caesars and $40,131 at FanDuel.

There are more chances to break even at Caesars than at FanDuel. Sports betting rabbi Jack Andrews advises to shop for the best price.

There are some terrible betting parlays available on the internet. They are long-shot bets that are hard to price. Line shopping is an absolute must. It is important to take into account the differences between the parlay options.