Round Robin bets are some of the more entertaining ways to gamble on sports. Instead of a parlay, you don’t need to get everything correct to make a profit, but what you gain in expected win rate, you lose in potential payout. So what are round-robin bets, and how do you place them at books like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and other sites? Let’s dive into strategies for round-robin betting. Make sure to check out our sports betting tools or our sports betting promos as well!
How to Round Robin: Betting at DraftKings, FanDuel & BetMGM
What is a Round Robin Bet?
If you know what a parlay bet is, you’re pretty close to understanding a round-robin bet. Like a round-robin in sports scheduling, a round-robin bet includes every possible combination of picks you’ve added to your bet slip. These combinations are individual parlay bets and will have the same odds as a parlay of those bets would have had.
The extra step necessary to understand round-robin betting is that you can choose how many bets you want included in each combination. Common options include 2x, 3x, 4x and 5x round robins, in which your round-robin is a combination of parlay bets with that many legs. For example, a three-pick round-robin consists of every possible three-leg parlay involving your picks.
Other notable round-robin varieties include Lucky 31s, in which all possible combinations of five picks, including straights, are wagered, and Canadian, in which all possible combinations of five picks, not including straights, are wagered.
How to Round Robin at DraftKings
To build a round-robin bet at DraftKings, you’ll want to first add all your picks to your bet slip. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to scroll to the bottom of it.
At the bottom, below the line that will tell you your parlay odds for the given selections, you’ll find an option labeled “Round Robin”. Select it.
Once you select “Round Robin,” a list of the possible options — 2x, 3x, and 4x — will drop down. Simply the stake you’d like to wager on each bet, confirm your wager and you’re good to go!
How to Round Robin at FanDuel
At FanDuel, you’ll also want to select every bet you want to include. After doing so, scroll to the bottom of your bet slip and select “Round Robin”.
After you’ve selected “Round Robin”, you’ll see each available option listed for the number of picks you have selected. You’ll also see a rough estimate of the cumulative odds for the wager.
Then, enter the amount you want to wager in the appropriate box for the type of round robin you want to play and confirm your wager.
How to Round Robin at BetMGM
At BetMGM, you’ll again want to select each bet you intend to include. After you’ve done so, head to your bet slip and click “Round Robins” from the list of options.
Once you’ve pressed “Round Robins”, you’ll have to select which type you’d like to wager. If you’ve made five selections, you’ll also see “Lucky 31” and “Canadian”, which are explained above.
All you have left to do is decide how much you want to wager, click confirm and then you are good to go!
How to Make Money With Round Robin Bets
The following content is repurposed from our guide to +EV betting.
So how do you identify +EV bets that can form the basis of a profitable Round Robin? Firstly, you need some method for identifying the probability that a given wager will win. There are two main methods for calculating this probability: projections-based modeling or market-based modeling. You’re probably familiar with projections-based modeling if you’ve ever seen ESPN’s win probability estimates or fantasy football projections, but market-based modeling is a bit trickier to understand.
Instead of calculating the probability of an outcome based on on-the-field data, market-based models assume that some odds — and some bets wagered on those odds — are sharper than others. Take Pinnacle for example. Pinnacle is a high-limit offshore sportsbook. If the house makes a mistake there, it stands to lose more money than a public book.
If Pinnacle lists a bet for -150 but FanDuel Sportsbook, which is considered a public book, lists the same bet at +150, you probably want to have action on that line. However, understanding which books are sharper than others (and knowing at what point your edge overcomes the hold that each book is taking out) can be difficult. Fortunately, That’s why OddsShopper’s NBA betting model does the hard work for you. Let’s take a quick look at an example wager and how our product team describes each of the key terms.
Bet Size: The recommended bet size as a percentage of your bankroll. This metric is based on a fractional Kelly Criterion approach that leads to a reasonable balance of minimizing risk of ruin while maximizing potential reward.
EV: An abbreviation for “expected value,” this metric estimates the long-term profitability of a wager by taking into account the probabilities/payouts associated with each potential outcome.
xWin: The probability of winning the bet implied by the Sharp Sportsbook Algorithm true odds.
OS Rating: The OS rating provides a rating for each +EV bet. An OS rating above 20 signifies an exceptional bet. Ratings between 10 and 20 are highly favorable bets. Finally, a rating between 0 and 10 indicates a solid bet. We factor in the EV, expected win, bet size, and negative geometric drag to calculate this rating.
Hold: The synthetic hold across the entire market, which is the loss a bettor would sustain if he bet both sides of the market to win equal amounts. The larger the hold, the more difficult it is to beat that market. While uncommon, a negative synthetic hold is possible. Negative synthetic holds are arbitrage situations (also known as arbs) where a bettor can guarantee a profit by booking both sides.
