By Larry Rupp
It can be tough to get into the hobby of sports betting without learning all of the terminology first. Different types of wagers have different names and betting strategies attached to them. With that in mind, let’s dive into what a round robin is and how it works.
What is a Round Robin?
A round robin is considered a bet that allows you to create a series of smaller parlays from a larger list of certain teams or players. Of course, the name originates from the popular round robin tournament format where every team in a specific group plays one another. In this case, teams are put together into a string of bets, instead. It’s an option sportsbooks give its users whenever multiple games are selected onto a single betslip.
How does a Round Robin Work?
The more games a bettor picks, the more parlay options become available. Picking three teams allows the software to come up with three different two-team parlays. Meanwhile, picking five teams creates 26 combinations (10 two-team parlays, 10 three-team parlays, 5 four-team parlays and 1 five-team parlay). There is truly no limit to how many games a bettor can pick for a round robin bet. When it comes to each parlay, all bets included must win or else it is considered a loss.
It’s worth noting that the more teams a round robin bet includes, the more expensive it becomes to buy in. If a bettor wants to put in $10 for each parlay in a five-team round robin, they’re looking at investing $260 total. The payout can be massive, though. Seeing four of the five teams come out victorious in the round robin pool would lead to a great result. However, seeing just one of the five teams win is a quick way to decrease your bankroll.
Much like any other kind of bet, it is important to be careful and not bet anymore than you are comfortable losing. Round robins are most useful when targeting a massive slate of college football or college basketball games. The amount of options available make it easy for a sports bettor to find three or more different teams they like. It may still be a bit hard to understand, which makes providing an example next beneficial here.
Round Robin Example
Let’s stick with looking at three two-game parlays created from a pool of three teams. After all, that is the most popular version of a round robin bet. A sports bettor may be leaning towards taking Notre Dame -5, Duke +2 and Virginia -2.5 in an all-ACC college basketball round robin with odds set at -110 each. These would be the three parlays involved.
- Notre Dame -5, Duke +2
- Notre Dame -5, Virginia -2.5
- Duke +2, Virginia -2.5
Assuming all three teams cover the spread, a $30 investment ($10 each parlay) would net a total of $78 ($26 each parlay). If just two of the three teams cover, the sports bettor would net $6 ($26 winning parlay, $20 losing parlays). The worst case scenario here is if zero or one team covers. That would cause all three parlays to lose and the sports bettor would be out $30.
All things considered, round robins can be a fun way to build upside with some of your most confident bets. Otherwise, they can be rather risky. It’s all about finding the right balance.
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