Parlay bets are popular with many sports bettors because they offer them the opportunity to collect a big payout if they can successfully pick multiple winners. The main drawback for parlay cards, however, is that in most cases you lose your entire bet if you miss on just one part of your parlay. A person can have a very good day picking winners and still walk away with nothing if they are betting a parlay.

Some sportsbooks offer what is known as a progressive bet or progressive parlay bet. These types of parlays are going to pay less if you happen to pick all of your games correctly, but the trade-off is that you don’t have to choose every game correctly to have a winning bet. As you see in the illustration above, you can have two losing picks on an eight-team progressive bet and still win a 2-to-1 payout on your original bet.

The payouts are less than 50% of a traditional parlay in most cases, so it’s up to the bettor to decide if the extra security that comes with being able to misfire on a game or two is worth the reduced payout should they happen to choose all of the games correctly.