JUMP TO:
- What is a same game parlay?
- How do Same Game Parlays work?
- Why SGPs are popular and risky
- Smart strategies for building better parlays
- How to place an SGP bet on your app
- Best sportsbooks for SGPs
- Popular sportsbooks in your area
- Responsible gambling tips to make SGPs an enjoyable experience
Since the United States legalized mobile sports betting in 2018 for activation in participating states, players have embraced parlay betting, when you combine two or more bets ("legs") into one bet with multiplied odds.
Parlays combine numerous single, one-sided bets across multiple games or markets, allowing customers to spread the risk across numerous events.
A more granular version of these bets, called a same-game parlay, has arguably been the fastest-growing bet type in popularity since US mobile bettors have gained access.
The opportunity for a high-risk, high-reward gain has proven tantalizing for recreational gamblers, and playing too many parlays in general is not a recipe for sustained success in sports betting.
However, within a budgeted plan, bettors can leave room for these occasional dart throws when they present positive value.
Read to find out why same-game parlays, or SGPs, are popular but risky wagers, and see how you can at least put yourself in the best position possible to make logical, calculated SGP bets.
MORE: The dos and don'ts of bankroll management in sports betting
What is a same game parlay?
A same-game parlay is a parlay bet that involves multiple bets from within the same contest or event.
Each bet used in a parlay is called a "leg." The more legs you include in your SGP, the higher the potential payout, as the odds for each leg are combined to create a final number.
Of course, all legs of the bet must win. If even one of the bets loses, the entire SGP ticket goes bust.
Bettors can build a same-game parlay by combining micro-markets from a single contest, including:
- Moneyline
- Spread beting
- Over/Under totals
- Player props: Over/Under on points, yardage, touchdowns, etc.
- Team props: Over/Under on points, yardage, touchdowns, etc.
- Game props: First-half, NHL, period-specific or MLB first-five-innings (F5)
The most logical ways to build a foundation for an SGP are by piecing together "correlating legs." These are bets with statistics and/or results that are logically connected based on projections in game flow; top individual performers; and more factors.
Sportsbook apps often promote their own same-game parlays that feature "odds boosts." An operator often boosts odds as a promo, voluntarily increasing the reward on a winning bet by improving the vigorish, or "juice," on a parlay or straight bet.
MORE: Betting terms glossary
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
How do same game parlays work?
Odds calculated with each additional leg
For every leg bet you add to your same-game parlay, the longer the odds, the lower the implied probability of the SGP ticket winning, and the higher your potential payout on top of your initial stake that would be returned with a win.
Correlation risk
The foundation of SGP betting is correlation: tying together game statistics or events that are naturally intertwined.
Unfortunately and predictably, sports gaming operators know this and, by default, factor these into their already stilted same-game parlay pricing.
For example, a logical same-game-parlay correlation bet would have legs of "QB 300+ passing yards" and "WR1 80+ receiving yards." Sportsbooks already price in these logical pairings and lower the resulting odds as a result, though, so with SGPs, you're not getting true value or return on investment.
MORE: What are the differences between betting exchanges and sportsbooks
Same-game parlay example bet
Let's look at how to build an SGP for an NFL game, this one from December 2025.
For Patriots vs. Bills, we'll take a bet against the spread and combine it with the total points Over/Under:
- Patriots +1.5 (-115)
- Over 49.5 (-110)
FanDuel Sportsbook
Now note the difference and loss of ROI thanks to the operator's SGP correlation pricing:
- Combined SGP odds on FanDuel (+236)
- True odds from Yahoo Sports Parlay Calculator (+264)
Yahoo Sports
A calculator of course cannot take into account the joining betting markets that prompt sportsbook trading teams to set SGP odds.
MORE: How to bet — strategy tips for getting started
Why Same Game Parlays are popular and risky
Pros of SGP bets: Why they're popular
- Big potential payouts: Compared to the capped, one-off rewards offered by your most basic single tickets, compounded juice for multi-leg parlays offer an opportunity to gain exponential winnings. Budget-managing bettors can plan for leaving room to make these bets, as long as they're not jeopardizing unit size or bankroll.
- Opportunity to leverage game knowledge: For those who believe they have an edge or an angle — a narrative or piece of information that sportsbooks are undervaluing in their trading — SGPs could present a potentially exponential play to take advantage.
- Entertainment value: If you allocate a certain percentage of your real-world budget — and, within your betting budget, a certain percentage — for risky bets, you can be comfortable losing an SGP bet. As with the positives of sports betting in general, having stakes on a game is designed to increase your enjoyment. Again, bet with your head and only what you can afford to lose.
Cons of SGP bets: Why they're risky
- Multiple successful bets needed to win: The inherent compounding risk-reward of hitting multiple wagers within parlays by itself gives us less control over the outcome.
- Correlation limits are already built into SGP juice: You will notice a discrepancy when you compare the compiled odds on sportsbooks' same-game parlay features with odds from an online parlay calculator. Unfortunately, for SGPs, you will not get the maximum payout as you would for cross-game or cross-sport parlays. The sportsbook traders already weigh any likely conjoining bets most people would make, which limits the upside of any potential win and often forces bettors to bet despite reduced return on investment (ROI).
- Sportsbooks heavily advertise them for a reason: A same-game parlay's innately long odds which, with some exceptions, are already washed clean by trading teams to erase any edges will
- Experienced bettors will be limited, even on SGPs: Even if you defy the odds and become a "sharp," sharp bettors will not be given much of a stake to play with on same-game parlays.
MORE: Ultimate sports betting checklist to follow
Smart strategies for building better same-game parlays
👀 Compare SGP prices across multiple operators
As with making any sports bet, analyzing differences in odds and availability by line shopping for the best betting odds multiple operators pays off with a bigger return on investment, should your wager hit.
If a particular operator is not penalizing you for correlating legs, that should be your choice for where to place your parlay bet.
This is yet another reminder of why you should bet at multiple sportsbooks to optimize your upside.
🧢 Cap your SGP bet at a reasonable number of legs
Escaping the desire for a bigger payout for a rational amount of legs is one of the most difficult yet most important parts of any rational SGP strategy.
If you want to stretch for a longshot leg, bet multiple SGPs: one with your main bets and, if your discretionary funds allow it, another dart throw tacked on as the final leg on top of your main bets.
🏗️ Build your ticket on in-game correlations
Even with the guardrails that sportsbooks put up for leg correlations, mapping out related outcomes remains a foundational element that goes toward hitting a same-game parlay. A baseline, multi-faceted prediction that puts a checkmark next to more than one leg is invaluable for pushing toward a win.
Mixing these pairings with independent events or props is the best way to make up for the loss of ROI.
❌ Avoid pre-built SGPs from the operator
Sometimes, promos from sportsbooks make sense.
On the whole, however, there's a reason a sportsbook's trading team is promoting a parlay they built. They're typically trying to convince you to bet a parlay with a lower return on investment, or one with odds that don't match the legs' real value outside of the promotion. (It's like how most Black Friday deals aren't really deals; they're just sold as discounts through long-term price manipulation.)
Some of them are just parlays picked by celebrity or tout partners. (Look at the shiny keys and make this bet.)
Anyone who aims to find an edge over sportsbooks will not find that in a pre-packaged SGP.
For this reason, you should also...
💻 Perform your own SGP odds calculations beforehand
Using a parlays odds calculator provides an easy way to keep sportsbooks in check for parlay value. Then, please the SGP where you're getting the closest value to your calculations. Again, the correlation juice already is going to penalize our chance at ROI, so if you want to make a same-game parlay bet, choose where you're getting penalized the least.
For example, Yahoo Sports provides a calculator that lists important pieces of a SGP bet:
If you find you're being underpriced at one operator, swap to another with a more favorable potential payout. This, of course, works cohesively with line shopping across different apps.
↔️ Create multiple SGPs with different final legs
If you have the bankroll, budget yourself for multiple SGPs with the same foundation -- but add or use varying final legs to account for a binary outcome that could give you a bigger reward.
📊 Use odds and performance data to inform your decisions, but focus on angles
Warning: When placing bets, lean on angles before trends. Trends like betting results, player stats (hello, batter vs. Pitcher in MLB betting), coaching tendencies, are often overused by touts to create content and market themselves as "sharps," when most bettors with some acumen know that what happened in the past hardly means anything for future events.
An angle is a more applicable piece of information that often goes against sportsbooks' expectations. Could weather impact the game? Is an injured player going to be active but not play as much? If a game has a high Over-Under total, it should prompt you to include at least one player's Over in yardage or points, depending on the matchups listed.
💰 Leverage promo boosts when appropriate
When you receive a certain percentage of a boost to your SGP odds, this should signal you to construct a parlay with odds as close to -110 as possible. Pick the likeliest events to happen, then use the boost to set you up for a larger return.
Promo boosts are almost wasted on longshot SGPs; they're already designed for a large return, and you should use the power-ups given to you by the operators to milk more return on investment out of likelier events to cash.
Between capitalizing on betting promos and bonus bets, you can time the best ways to use SGPs as a long-shot opportunity to possibly stock your bankroll.
📒 Track your SGP bets to keep yourself accountable
Entering your bet record, win-loss and return-on-investment data will go a long way to serve as a reminder to stay within your limits.
Though circumstances change from bet to bet, your ticket history should also provide you with a semblance of evidence of what works and what doesn't.
MORE: What is a betting unit?
Best sportsbooks for Same Game Parlays
Most operators look to limit how many futures bets can be parlayed, and many take a similar approach to same-game parlays to avoid losses on a string of micro-betting events with long odds.
| Sportsbook | SGP Feature | App SGP Review |
| FanDuel Sportsbook | Same Game Parlay+ | Top sportsbook app for SGPs, with SGP+ and customizable markets |
| bet365 Sportsbook | Same Game Parlay | Same Game Parlay+ allows users to combine SGPs |
| BetMGM Sportsbook | One-Game Parlay | Restrictive format, purposefully limiting |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Same Game Parlay | Pre-made SGP "Quick Picks" and tailored odds |
| DraftKings Sportsbook | Same Game Parlay (SG Parlay) | Generally flexible -- offers display of either true odds or dynamic odds |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | Same Game Parlay | Focuses on pre-made SGPs |
- However, given the daily handle they take in and the larger population of casual bettors who place same-game parlays on their sites, market leaders and SGP innovators FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook offer more flexibility in parlay betting.
- With the volume they circulate, they're more willing to let bettors dream up their crazy concoctions of bet groups that will too often fail.
- On the bright side for the bettor, FanDuel carries the banner as the top platform for same-game parlays.
- FD specifically earns praise from those looking to expand their SGP strategies with their SGP+ feature, which allows customers to build a mega-parlay comprised of multiple same-game parlays. (Of course, the probability of these hitting remains stupendously low, but at least bettors have a larger degree of freedom here.)
- BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook typically limit same-game parlay options in order to more strongly restrict their exposure. They generally offer fewer props to use in SGPs in general unless it's a major, wide-scale event like the Super Bowl.
Bet365 Sportsbook
How to place a Same Game Parlay bet on your sportsbook app
- Open your betting app and navigate to your desired sport.
- Navigate to the labeled section for Same Game Parlays, Single Game Parlays, or One Game Parlays. This may be its own heading or within the game you want to bet.
- Select the bets you want to place that will make up your SGP.
- Enter your wager amount (manually, not with suggested wager amount buttons) and double-check the SGP combined odds are at least close to what appears on your calculator.
- Click 'Submit' and track your bet until its resolution.
Popular sportsbooks that may be available in your area for SGPs
Even if sports betting is legal in your state, not all sportsbooks may be available to you. Here are some of the most popular options to look into:
Responsible gambling tips to make SGPs an enjoyable experience
Plan and log your SGP picks
As noted previously, record-keeping will go a long way to putting your same-game parlay trends and success into perspective.
Are you chasing losing bets? Are you going over budget or over your desired pace of betting? Use your list to know when to back off.
Utilize RG resources if you or someone you know feels out of control with betting
Mechanisms to seek out include:
- Self-exclusion tools on betting apps or at casinos, through local gambling governing organizations
- Help lines for problem gambling, including the nationwide toll-free phone number 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
- Click for more responsible gaming resources and phone numbers.
MORE: How sportsbooks set betting lines