Explaining Round Robin Betting: How Does It Work and What Does It Mean?

A round robin bet allows you to create a series of smaller parlays from a larger list of teams or players. In simple terms, you can make multiple wagers instead of a single bet. In a parlay, all your bets are tied into the same bet. 

In this betting system, instead of creating a five-team parlay where one loss can cause you to lose the ticket, you can bet a round robin to break those five teams into smaller parlays. Let’s understand how exactly a round robin works by looking at its example and strategies. 

How Does a Round Robin Bet Work? 

The name round robin meaning comes from the round robin tournament in which every team plays every other team in the group. So, instead of playing each other, the teams form parlays together. 

Similarly, the round robin format involves placing multiple parlay bets on teams or individual players. This leads to various combinations of bets within a single wager. The ultimate purpose of this bet is to increase the chances of winning while spreading the risk across different outcomes. Here’s how the betting process works.

• Selecting Teams

The first step is to select a group of teams or players that you want to bet on. These teams could be a part of sports or events, such as football, basketball or individual players like that of a tennis or badminton tournament. 

• Determining Bet Size

In the next step, you determine how much you want to bet on each parlay within the round robin. This decision will determine the total amount you will be betting or risking. 

• Creating Parlays

After this comes the process of creating parlays. Here, you can create multiple two-team or three-team parlays using the selected teams. Each parlay consists of a combination of teams from your original selection.

For instance, if you have selected teams A, B, C and D, your parlays could include AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, and CD. The number of parlays extends to include the number of picks you chose. So, according to this example, your bets would be:

1. A + B
2. A + C
3. A + D
4. B + C
5. B + D
6. C + D
7. A + B + C
8. A + B + D
9. B + C + D
10. A + C + D
11. A + B + C + D

According to your four chosen picks, you create 11 parlays. You can add more picks to create further combinations. 

• Placing Bets

Once you have created the parlays, you place individual bets on each parlay. The total number of bets depends on the number of parlays you create. For instance, if you have eight parlays, you will place eight separate bets. 

These bets are placed per “line”, meaning the stake you enter is considered per line. If there were eight bets in your round robin, then you need to place eight bets. So, if it is $10 per bet, then the total stake would be $80. 

• Calculating Payouts

If all the teams in a particular parlay win, that parlay is considered a winning bet. The payout for each winning parlay is determined by the odds associated with each team or individual player in that parlay. 

You can calculate the potential payout by multiplying the odds of each team in that parlay. It is best to convert all the decimal odds by multiplying the odds by each other. Alternatively, you can use round free online robin calculators to see the possible returns based on each pick. 

• Risks and Rewards

With round robin bets, you spread the risk of losing across different outcomes. So, even if one or more teams in your selection lose, you still have the chance to win some parlays. Although this depends on how the other teams perform, this significantly improves your odds of winning.

How Do You Calculate Round Robin Odds?

The calculation of a round robin bet can be complicated. Converting the odds to decimals simplifies the process. So, let’s take three football teams: Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. The odds for each team to win their respective games are:

• Arsenal: -150 (decimal odds: 1.67)
• Manchester United: +200 (decimal odds: 3.00)
• Liverpool: -120 (decimal odds: 1.83)

You can create the possible two-team parlays:

1. Arsenal x Manchester United

• Odds of Arsenal winning: -150 (1.67)
• Odds of Manchester United winning: +200 (3.00)
• Multiply the odds: 1.67 x 3.00 = 5.01

2. Arsenal x Liverpool

• Odds of Arsenal winning: -150 (1.67)
• Odds of Liverpool winning: -120 (1.83)
• Multiply the odds: 1.67 x 1.83 = 3.06 

3. Manchester United x Liverpool

• Odds of Manchester United winning: +200 (3.00)
• Odds of Liverpool winning: -120 (1.83)
• Multiply the odds: 3.00 x 1.83 = 5.49

Now, calculate the potential payout for each parlay by multiplying the stake by the decimal odds. Let’s assume you bet $10 on each parlay:

1. Arsenal x Manchester United

• Potential payout: $10 x 5.01 = $50.10

2. Arsenal x Liverpool

• Potential payout: $10 x 3.06 = $30.60

3. Manchester United x Liverpool

• Potential payout: $10 x 5.49 = $54.90

4. Arsenal x Manchester United x Liverpool

• Potential payout: $10 x (5.01 + 3.06 + 5.49) = $10 + 13.56 = $135.60

The potential returns for a combination of winners and losers from this bet:

• All three teams win: $50.10 + $30.60 + $54.90 + $135.60 =  $271.20 – $40 stake = $231.20 profit
• Arsenal loses: $54.90 – $40 stake = $14.90 profit
• Manchester United loses: $30.60 – $40 stake = $9.50 profit
• Liverpool loses: $50.10 – $40 stake = $10.10 profit

As per this example, the combination of certain teams and combinations winning or losing will affect the profit at the end. However, you get two scenarios- the first one is where the teams lose and you still make a profit, whereas if Manchester United loses, then you make a loss. 

Therefore, you have to carefully evaluate and select how you can maximise your bets to get the most returns. 

Round Robin Examples

Let’s understand the round robin example by choosing three teams to create three separate two-team parlays. The three premier league matches can look like this:

• Arsenal -7.5 vs. Manchester United
• Liverpool -6 vs Everton
• Aston Villa +4 vs Chelsea

If you decide to risk $10 on each parlay combination, you have three parlays for a $30 investment. 

Parlay	Risk	To Win
Arsenal -7.5, Liverpool -6	$10	$26
Arsenal -7.5, Aston Villa +4	$10	$26
Aston Villa +4, Liverpool -6	$10	$26

• 3-0: If all three teams cover the spread and you hit all three parlays, you will win $78 ($26 x 3).
• 2-1: If just the Aston Villa and Arsenal cover, you’ll win one parlay, taking home $6 (win $26, lose $20).
• 1-2, 0-3: If one or zero teams cover, you lose all three parlays and end up losing $30.

Which Parlays Combos Should You Take?

In round robin, you have the opportunity to diversify your risks. However, it can be equally tricky and deceptive. The more teams you get, the more expensive your bet becomes. If you have seven teams, that’s enough to create a hundred combinations!

Carefully evaluate the teams before you select your parlays. Try and maximise your upside by choosing three or four underdog picks. Although the chances of their winning are slim, you increase the chances of hitting a few of the parlays.

If you have six teams, and put $5 on a 6 teams round robin, using two-team and three-team parlays, you’re already in 35 parlays ($175 total). Now, if you want to bet the four and five -team parlays off a list of six teams, it will end up costing $280. 

You can choose to bet smaller amounts like $1 or $2 instead of $5. However, this will also result in smaller payouts. 

What are the Round Robin Nicknames?

You can find round robin options with various nicknames. Many of them are borrowed from horse racing. For example, a Trixie is four total bets (4 x bet):

• 3 two-team parlays
• 1 three-team parlay

A Patent is similar to that of a Trixie. But here you can also get your three bets as a single wager. A Patent is listed with a 7x bet next to it because it consists of seven total bets. 

• 3 two-team parlays
• 1 three-team parlay
• 4 single wagers

A Canadian is formed when you select five games for a 5 round robin. You can select 26 different parlays:

• 10 two-team parlays
• 10 three-team parlay
• 5 four-team parlay
• 1 five-team parlay

Similarly, there are multiple nicknames for round robin:

• Yankeyy: 11 bets
• Heinz: 57 bets
• Super Heinz: 120 bets

You can also add single bets to all parlays. In that way, a Canadian becomes a Lucky 31 or a Heinz becomes a Lucky 63. 

What are the Different Round Robin Betting Strategies?

You need to understand the correct strategies in order to increase your chances of winning round robin betting. If you have the wrong pick, it can cost you all your profits. Therefore, select your strategies carefully that allow you to take advantage of the game.

• Full Coverage Strategy: In this strategy, you include all the possible combinations of parlays with your selected team. If you have four teams- A, B, C and D, you will create six two-team parlays (AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD) and four three-team parlays (ABC, ABD, ACD, BCD). This strategy provides the highest coverage but requires a larger stake since you are betting on all possible combinations. 

• Limited Coverage Strategy: You choose a subset of combinations as per this strategy instead of choosing all the possible parlays. By following this strategy, you can reduce your stake while maintaining decent coverage.

• Risk-Reward Balance: According to this strategy, you adjust the number of teams in each parlay to create a balance between risk and reward. For instance, you can create a mix of two-team and three-team parlays. The two-team parlays may have a higher chance of winning with lower payouts whereas the three-team parlays may have higher payouts but are riskier. Manage the risk by finding the right balance between the parlays while aiming for significant payouts. 

• Focus on Favourites: Choose the strongest teams or individuals with the lowest odds in your parlays. By focusing on your favourites you can increase the chances of winning individual parlays. However, you might get lower payouts because of the lower odds associated with the favourites.

• Diversified Markets/Sports: Diversify your round robin bets by placing them across multiple sports or events rather than limiting yourself to only a single sport. This thoroughly spreads the risk and provides you with multiple betting opportunities.

How to Place a Round Robin Bet? 

The process of placing a round robin bet varies in different sites. However, in general, you would need to complete the following steps:

Step 1: Head over to a betting site and create your account. Once you are done, navigate to sports and betting markets. 

Step 2: Click on the odds to add a selection to your bet slip. Add all the bets as singles to start. This gives you the option to choose the bets you want to include.

Step 3: Once your picks are made, choose the button stating “Create Round Robin.”

Step 4: Choose the type of bets you want to place. You may also get the option of a full parlay that includes all the results. 

Step 5: Choose the amount of money you want to wager. This is the sum per line. So, if you have 10 wagers at $10 each, your total bet would be $100.

Step 6: Accept the odds and place your bet. Keep track of your live bets within your account section. 

Conclusion

Round robin betting provides you with a plethora of options to diversify your risks and increase your chances of winning. However, using the correct strategy requires skills and knowledge. Therefore, garner an in-depth understanding of this betting process before you start placing bets.