What is round robin betting

While so-called “round robin” bets may not be as well known as parlays, they arguably offer similar, if not superior, value. In fact, a round robin bet will combine multiple parlays within a single wager. 

The key distinction between round robin bets and parlays is that the former lets you bank potential profits (or at least mitigate loss) even if some of your picks lose.  Of course, round robins differ significantly from single bets, but how can you successfully incorporate them into your sports betting strategy?

This guide explains this form of betting and shows how Betsquare’s betting tools and calculators can help you make the most of your bankroll.

The Mechanics of Round Robin Betting

People may often describe round robin bets as including “a parlay within a parlay”. There’s a good reason for this, as this type of wager lets you construct several small parlays that incorporate several different teams and match outcomes.

To facilitate this, round robin bets incorporate a number of betting lines, from moneylines and totals to point spreads. You can combine markets between three and 15 matches, while each parlay must include at least two lines. Here’s a breakdown of the key round robin betting elements.

Selecting Your Teams

Firstly, you’ll need to select the teams and outcomes you want to wager on, including straight moneylines and point spreads in some instances. This is always the starting point when you learn how to play round robin betting, as informed selections are far more likely to deliver a return.

Your picks will be based on your analysis of the relevant form and performance data, but the most common round robin format sees punters select three teams or outcomes.

 

These will then be combined in various ways to create multiple two team parlays. For example, let’s say that you’re betting on the NRL and pick the following sides to win their respective matches:

 

• Brisbane to win at odds of 1.57
• Manly Sea Eagles to win at odds of 1.45
• Melbourne Storm to win at odds of 1.50

 

At this stage, it’s important to note that bookmakers won’t allow you to wager on any opposing outcomes from the same match. So, if you pick Brisbane to defeat the Illawarra Dragons at the Suncorp Stadium, you cannot also select the away side to win. 

 

Similarly, if you want to include a bet that backs the Broncos to win with a handicap of -8.5 points, you won’t be permitted to simultaneously wager on the Dragons to beat a spread of +8.5 points. This creates an unfair competitive advantage that may guarantee a nominal profit in some instances.

 

Creating Individual Parlays

Next, you’ll have to create the requisite number of parlays based on the number of teams and outcomes selected. Each individual parlay will comprise a combination of your chosen teams, but how exactly will the round robin be structured? Let’s take a closer look using the above picks.

 

Parlay 1	Parlay 2	Parlay 3
Brisbane to win at odds of 1.57	Brisbane to win at odds of 1.57	Manly Sea Eagles to win at odds of 1.45
Manly Sea Eagles to win at odds of 1.45	Melbourne Storm to win at odds of 1.50	Melbourne Storm to win at odds of 1.50

 

In this instance, your three teams produce a total of just three parlays, creating a relatively simple structure that’s easy to follow. However, if you were also to incorporate a bet that backs the Penrith Panthers to defeat the Dolphins at odds of 1.80, this additional pick would increase the number of parlay combinations to 11. 

Obviously, the Round Robin rules dictate that bets become more complex and risky with every additional pick. For example, creating a round robin that featured 11 NRL teams would produce a staggering 2,036 parlays combinations within a single wager.

 

Regulating Your Bet Unit Size and Calculating Returns

Once you’ve constructed your individual parlays, you must determine how much to wager on each one. Ideally, you’ll have a fixed bankroll that you can deploy here, so it’s better to distribute this across a finite number of bets and wager within your means.

 

Round robin betting is advantageous in this respect, as you can create variable ‘ways’ of structuring your wager and distributing your total stake. The only exception to this rule is provided by the three-team above round robin bet, which can only include three, two-team parlays.

For example, let’s say that you picked eight teams in your round robin bet. In this case, you could structure the wager as follows:

 

Teams Picked	No. of Teams per Parlay	Total No. of Bets
8	2	28
8	3	56
8	4	70

 

If you had a total bankroll of $300, you’d stake $10.71 per two-team parlay in the first scenario. However, an 8×4 team parlay would create 70 separate bets, each with a stake of $4.28. This way, you can bet responsibly while optimising returns rather than starting with a fixed unit bet that may scale outside your means.

 

When you set your bankroll and bet unit value, it’s also important to calculate your potential returns. This can be achieved simply by multiplying the odds of the outcomes in each parlay, creating a final, enhanced price. In the table below, we’ve used the earlier three-team round robin and calculated the individual odds for each one.

 

Parlay 1	Parlay 2	Parlay 3
Brisbane to win at odds of 1.57	Brisbane to win at odds of 1.57	Manly Sea Eagles to win at odds of 1.45
Manly Sea Eagles to win at odds of 1.45	Melbourne Storm to win at odds of 1.50	Melbourne Storm to win at odds of 1.50
Final odds: 1.57 * 1.45 = 2.28	Final odds: 1.57 * 1.50 = 2.36	Final odds: 1.57 * 1.45 = 2.18

 

You can take the final odds for each parlay and add them together to create your round robin price. In this case, you’d bet at odds of 6.82, and a cumulative stake of $30 would deliver a total return of $204.60 if each of your teams won. Conversely, a straightforward accumulator featuring the above outcomes would pay out $102.44 at combined odds of 3.41, so it’s easy to see which option is more appealing from a pure profit perspective.

Of course, different results will impact your profit or loss margin depending on how your parlays are structured. However, it’s also possible to recoup some of your stake even if one of your teams is defeated in a round-robin, minimising your total losses in the process.

 

Advantages of Round Robin Betting

Pursuing higher payouts is arguably the main advantage of round robin betting. However, there are other benefits, too, whether you’re a seasoned sports bettor or someone who simply wants to minimise loss. These include:

 

• Better risk distribution and management: One of the most important sports betting tips is to minimise your risk exposure. Round robin betting helps in this respect, enabling you to spread your risk against different combinations and outcomes. For example, if you build a three-team round robin and one of these sides loses, you can recoup some of your stake and mitigate losses. You can afford more losses depending on the number of teams selected.

• Build more flexible bets: When compared to singles bets and standard parlays, round robins offer far greater flexibility, too. For example, you can bet on a number of different teams and match outcomes, whether you want to pick moneylines, spreads or totals markets. You can also structure your round robin bet in a number of different ways as you adjust the number and size of your parlays based on your risk tolerance and starting bankroll.

• Leverage knowledge to capitalise on betting opportunities: Another advantage of round robin betting is that it creates a strategic vehicle through which you can successfully leverage your knowledge of a particular sport. Certainly, round robin bets unlock various combinations of betting lines and opportunities, some of which may not be available in a single parlay wager. 

Strategy Tips for Round Robin Betting

Of course, execution is key if you’re to fully leverage your knowledge and expertise with round robin wagers. So, we’ve prepared some insightful round robin betting tips to help you on your way!

 

• Prioritise favourites: Prioritising favourites is key to any accumulator or round robin betting strategy. Remember, the odds of your selections are multiplied together to create enhanced round robin prices, so even picking short price favourites can deliver significant payouts while maximising your chances of winning. This helps to create the optimal balance between risk and reward.
• Diversify markets and sports: You can bet on numerous match outcomes in a round robin wager, including point spreads and totals. As a result, you can diversify across different markets and further minimise your exposure to risk. We’d also encourage you to diversify across alternative sports where possible, as this unlocks a much wider range of high-value odds and betting opportunities.
• Consider a limited coverage strategy: With a full coverage round robin strategy, you’ll include all potential parlays combinations from your selected teams. However, a ‘limited’ betting strategy may be recommended in some instances, as this lets you pick fewer potential combinations that have the best possible chance of winning. This can help to simplify your bet and increase your chances of winning.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

In addition to building an optimal betting strategy, it’s also important to avoid the most common round robin mistakes. But what are the most widely reported round robin betting pitfalls?

 

• Building unrealistic round robins: The increased profitability and flexibility offered by round robin betting are highly appealing. However, this wager type is also highly complex, so it’s important to focus on building small and manageable parlays that strike the balance between risk and reward. Remember, the risk of loss increases with every team or parlay line that you add, while this may be compounded when picking a high volume of outsiders.
• Ignoring bankroll management: Bankroll management is key to successful round robin betting, especially as you’ll have to stake money on a number of individual parlays. Remember, the number of potential parlay combinations and bets can scale incrementally with every team that you add. So, try to create an initial bankroll that can be broken down into smaller bets while factoring in your potential profit and loss.
• Picking only favourites: As we’ve touched on, you should prioritise favourites when building round robin bets. However, you shouldn’t become preoccupied with only selecting short-price picks, as this will cause you to ignore value bets where the odds don’t reflect the actual, implied probability of a particular outcome occurring. Instead, carry out a detailed analysis of teams and games and make truly informed selections.

Comparing Betting Platforms

When looking to identify a viable sportsbook for round robin betting, you should note that there’s a large number of potential options.

Not all of these have been created equal, however, so we’d recommend using an objective comparison site to identify the best value sports betting platforms. 

This way, you can identify the operators that offer the broadest range of sports betting markets. BetSquare’s round robin sites also tend to offer highly competitive odds and generous promotions, optimising your potential returns. 

Tools and Resources for Bettors

If you’re new to the concept of round robin betting, you may need some help constructing wagers and calculating your potential returns. 

Fortunately, you can access some insightful BetSquare Round Robin betting tools online, including comprehensive guides and bet calculators.

The latter also enables you to calculate returns using different odds formats across alternative wager types. This includes parlays and round robins, while you can add and remove betting lines to create a wager that treads the fine line between risk and reward.

Legal and Responsible Betting

Although round robin bets help you mitigate losses compared to standard parlays, it’s always possible to lose money when engaging in sports betting. 

So, responsible gambling is key when building round robin wagers. Most importantly, you should never bet an amount you cannot comfortably afford to lose, while your bankroll must also be set to cover a finite period.

There are also legal betting considerations when constructing round robins. Most importantly, sportsbooks won’t allow you to bet on opposing sides of the same match in a single parlay, as this would unfairly negate the house edge and potentially guarantee a profit in some instances.

Bottom Line

Despite its complexities, there’s no doubt that round robin betting is enduringly popular and potentially rewarding. It also offers several advantages over traditional parlays, creating more flexible wagers and minimizing your exposure to risk.

Using Betsquare’s recommended sportsbooks, betting guides and calculators, you can incorporate round robins into your wider wagering strategy and potentially unlock far greater returns over time.

Our resources will definitely help you to build effective round robin bets, based on your starting bankroll and appetite for risk. Just remember to start small and manage your bankroll carefully, while remembering that two and three team parlays are recommended for beginners.