In the latest addition to our globally popular online gambling series, we focus on one of the most useful and interesting options available to sports fans: the round robin.
The round robin is a flexible and unique way to gamble based on the results of sports fixtures, and online betting apps allow you to wager from the comfort of your home or on the move using your Android or iOS device.
As it has several predictions and numerous ways to profit, the round robin gives players the chance to win big off small stakes, similar to a parlay. But, unlike a parlay bet, all your picks don’t need to win for you to profit from a round robin.
Ready to learn more, including the inner workings of a round robin?
Whop’s resident online gambling expert, Frank Monkhouse, is a former professional athlete turned sports betting writer. He has been involved in the sports and gambling industries for decades and shares his experience only at Whop.
Keep reading as he pulls back the curtain on the round robin.
What is a round robin bet?
A round robin bet is type of parlay bet that allows you to gamble on three sports selections.
Unlike a traditional parlay, where all your picks must win for you to land a profit, a round robin offers players a list of smaller combinations known as legs.
Every winning leg in your round robin increases your returns, and an all-correct round robin could result in large profits off a small stake.
| Bet Type | Combinations | Number of bets | Stake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | A, B, C | 6 | Multiply by 6 |
| Doubles | (A-B), (A-C), (B-C) | 3 | Multiply by 3 |
| Parlay | A, B, C | 1 | Total bet 10x stake |
You must choose three selections to create a round-robin, which contains ten individual bets. Those bets are:
- Three doubles
- One treble
- Three single-stakes-about bets, which have two bets in each
You will land the highest return if all three picks in your round robin win. You will also secure a return if one or more of your three combinations of doubles bets wins.
With the singles aspect of the bet, a portion of your winnings from one bet will automatically roll over to the next bet, and if one pick loses, it doesn’t impact some other areas of your wager.
Here are three reasons you should try a round robin sports bet today:
- Spread your interest and bet across multiple sports or fixtures.
- Avoid the all-or-nothing risk of gambling on a parlay.
- Land a return even if one of your picks loses.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is a round robin will cost more than a parlay. A parlay is one bet, meaning it has one stake. But a round robin has ten ways to win, meaning you must multiply your stake to cover those outcomes. For example, a $1 round robin with three picks will cost you $10.
When placing a round robin bet on your desktop or smartphone, check the total cost of the wager in your bet slip before confirming. You can also see the potential returns if every bet wins or use a bet calculator to check the different possible results.
Round robin bet examples
A lot is going on here, and it may take longer to understand a round robin than some other styles of betting, like a parlay. A great way to make things clearer is to look at some working examples of the bet.
I’ll now introduce you to examples of the Round Robin in action, covering three popular sports.
Round robin in the NFL
Suppose you are betting on three games from an NFL round of fixtures. You’ve picked:
- Dallas Cowboys (-4) vs Philadelphia Eagles
- Kansas City Chiefs (-6) vs Denver Broncos
- Green Bay Packers (+3) vs Chicago Bears
The best-case scenario is for all three picks to win. But you’ll secure a return if two of those teams win and one lets you down. Here are the three doubles bets from the round robin:
- Cowboys and Chiefs
- Cowboys and Packers
- Chiefs and Packers
As you can see, the round robin is like a parlay but offers players the safety net of one team losing. With a parlay, if you bet $10 on three teams and only two wins, the bookmaker will keep your stake. But with a round robin, any combination of double from the three bets means a return on your wager.
Round robin in the NBA
The fundamentals of the round robin bet remain the same, regardless of which sport you’re gambling on. You can even mix and match your picks across different sports to keep things interesting.
The NBA is a great option for round robin players as the league has lots of games with staggered start times and a range of betting odds, and it’s unpredictable, too. Here’s an example of what a round robin may look like in the world’s biggest basketball competition:
- Los Angeles Lakers (-2) vs Golden State Warriors
- Brooklyn Nets (+3) vs Miami Heat
- Boston Celtics (-1) vs Toronto Raptors
Again, you’re hoping for all three picks to win to get the most from your round robin, but you also benefit from having these three combinations of double:
- Lakers and Nets
- Lakers and Celtics
- Nets and Celtics
When making a round robin bet, you can stick to favorites to enhance your chances of landing all three picks. But many gamblers like to mix betting favorites with outsiders to give a balance of strength and value to their wager.
If you have two strong picks and one underdog with a fighting chance, the round robin is a great way to cover all three.
Round robin in the Premier League
The English Premier League is the biggest, most-watched, and most bet-on club soccer competition worldwide. Games come thick and fast, with the top teams often playing twice a week. Due to interest levels, the leading gambling apps offer over 200 pre-match and live betting markets on Premier League games broadcast live on television.
You can stick to the moneyline when betting or try adding one of the specials to your bet slip, such as handicap, total goals, or first scorer.
Here’s an example of a Premier League round robin bet you can make this season:
- Manchester United to win vs Arsenal
- Liverpool to win vs Chelsea
- Manchester City to win vs Tottenham
The best possible outcome is for Man Utd, Liverpool, and Man City to win, ensuring you land the parlay, doubles, and other elements of the round robin bet. But if one of the three picks fails to win, you will have these combinations of doubles to follow:
- Man Utd and Liverpool
- Man Utd and Man City
- Liverpool and Man City
If you enjoy the challenge of a parlay but hate the fact that one team could ruin your entire bet, it may be worth following my advice and trying a round robin wager on the next set of fixtures. You’ll be in the running for a return up until the final whistle.
Best sports for round robin bets
The round robin bet is widely used across many major sports. The main requirement for a round robin bet is that the sport has multiple fixtures available to bet on, so you have a world of opportunities.
When placing a round robin bet, I prefer to stick to one sport, such as soccer or horse racing (if you too are a horse racing fan then check out our TwinSpires review). If I were betting on both sports on a Saturday afternoon, I would place two round robin bets, one on soccer and another on horse racing, sharing my overall stake equally between the two bets.
Having one sport on a bet makes it easier to follow the results, and, in most cases, all three picks in my bet will start and finish at the same time. But that doesn’t mean you must follow my lead.
You can add several sports, fixtures, and even markets to a round robin bet, and it can take one day to settle, a weekend, or even longer.
It’s your bet, your stake, and you must do it your way.
Below are sports and leagues that work well with round robin bets due to their schedule, the competitive nature of games, and the odds available at bookmakers.
- NFL and College Football moneyline.
- Premier League and Champions League soccer correct scores.
- NBA, College, and Euro League basketball totals.
- Major League Baseball prop bets.
- NHL ice hockey moneyline.
- Boxing and UFC method of victory.
- Grand Slam tennis first-set winner.
- Majors golf two-balls and three-balls.
How to calculate your returns
When using an online gambling app, like any of those covered in my popular bookmaker reviews for Whop, the website or app will likely automatically calculate the cost of the bet and the returns.
I use the round robin bet calculator at AceOdds.
In most cases, the system will advertise only the returns if all three of your picks win. It rarely drills down into the different combinations. That means it’s worth knowing how to calculate your returns manually.
This may take a bit more time, but it’s good practice and helps decide if you should accept a cash-out offer or the stake of any other bets you can place to guarantee a profit.
I’ve said it in this article already and I make no apologies for repeating myself here: the more you understand how a bet works, the greater your chance of using it to land a profit, and that includes how to work out your stake and returns.
Calculating your stake is easy, and your betting app should display this information on your bet slip. But the quickest way to know the total cost of a round robin bet is to multiply your stake by ten, as there are ten bets.
For example, a $10 parlay will cost you $10 as there’s one bet and one stake. But a $10 round robin is $100. If you wanted to bet $10 on your round robin, you’d enter a $1 stake.
Calculating returns
It’s fair to say that calculating the stake of a round robin bet is much simpler than working on the potential returns. It does get a bit complicated here as you are working with several possible outcomes and results. But stick with me here, and I will walk you through it as quickly and accurately as possible with my easy-to-follow guide.
- Write down the odds for each of your selections.
- Use those odds to calculate the payout for each of the doubles.
- Add the potential payouts from each bet to arrive at your final returns.
Example
If you bet $10 on each two-team parlay, with three parlays in total, at +200 odds, it will look like this:
- A winning parlay at +200 yields $30 ($20 profit + $10 stake).
- If two out of three parlays win, you would get $30 + $30 = $60.
- Subtract the initial $30 stake (3 x $10), giving you a $30 net profit.
Best promotions for round robin bettors
The best online sportsbooks offer a long list of promotions and bonuses. Check out my article on the best US sportsbook bonuses you can claim today. There, you’ll find examples of the types of deals available, including free bets, enhanced odds, cashback, profit boosts, insurance, and other delights.
Please remember to always read the terms and conditions before accepting a promotion from your online sportsbook.
Insurance: Many leading sportsbooks offer cash-back as a free bet if all the picks in your bet lose. Horse racing gamblers may get money back for a faller or if their horse finishes second behind the favorite. Check your bookie’s promo page and the T&Cs for full details.
Odds boosts: One of the most popular and appealing promotions available to round robin players is the odds boost. Major sportsbooks increase the odds of a popular selection, such as the favorite in a big horse race or a huge sports fixture like the Super Bowl. You can then add that pick at increased odds to your bet slip.
Free bets: A type of promo that’s often tied to loyalty bonuses, you may find free bets available to use on round robin. If you have accumulated enough points to earn a free bet or a bookie gives you bet credits as a welcome bonus, you can use these to make a round robin wager on three sports picks.
Reduced juice: It may sound like a strange name for a betting promotion, but reduced juice simply means your sportsbook charges less vig or juice on combination bets like parlays and round robin. That means more cash in your account if you find the winners.
The promotions mentioned above aren’t available at every bookmaker, but they do appear and are worth searching for before your next gamble. As always, reading the terms and conditions will explain how the offer works and what’s expected of you as a customer when using the betting promos.
How to place a round robin and cash out
You can cash out just about any bet made at a respectable online sportsbook, including the round robin. The ability to cash out wagers has changed how we gamble on sports forever, giving players the chance to end a bet early. But how and when should you cash out, and how do you know if it’s the correct decision?
To place a round robin, you must visit your sportsbook, log into your account with your username and password, and then visit the competition you wish to gamble on, such as the NFL.
Click the odds attached to one market from three different fixtures to add to your bet slip, input a stake, check, and confirm.
Your wager is now live, and a cash-out value will often appear on your bet slip.
When your bet is live, you can follow the cash-out value, which will start level with your stake but rise and fall depending on how well your predictions are performing. Monitor the cash-out and consider accepting when a positive balance is available.
But how do you know if the cash-out offer is worth taking? That’s when learning how to calculate your returns manually comes in handy.
Add the odds of your three selections to a bet calculator and work out how much you’ll receive for each combination of doubles.
If all picks are performing well and likely to win, it’s best to let the bet run and target the full returns.
But if just one selection is struggling and looks like it could cost you a treble, it’s worth considering the cash-out, but only if the offer is higher than the bet returns for that double, as your third team may mount a late comeback.
Creating a sports betting account
To start gambling on sports and taking advantage of the round robin option ahead of the next round of fixtures, you must first register with an online sportsbook that’s legal and licensed in your city.
The quickest way to do that is to enable geolocation services on your smartphone and download your favorite betting app. When you create an account, the app will automatically tell you if they can accept your registration or not based on your location.
If sports betting is legal in your region and you’re ready to create an account, you can do so by following these simple steps. The process works on all major gambling websites and apps, but please follow carefully, as missing just one step could delay your account or cause you to miss the welcome bonus.
- Visit the homepage of your chosen bookmaker and click the Join button.
- Complete the registration form, adding your name, date of birth, and address.
- Create a memorable but secure username and password.
- Add the promo code (if available) and make your first deposit of $10 or more using a card.
- Place a qualifying bet on sports, such as a football round robin.
- The welcome bonus due will automatically appear in your account balance.
It’s worth knowing early that you must verify your details. Your bookmaker may request verification when you create an account or request to withdraw funds from your betting balance to your payment card.
Thankfully, verifying is quick and easy when following these steps:
- Use your smartphone to take a snap of your photo ID (passport or driver’s license).
- Email that image to your bookmaker’s customer care team.
- They will check the details and pass your account or ask for more information.
How Whop can help round robin bettors
There you have it, everything you need to know about round robin betting in one place. I hope you enjoyed my article and found it useful. You are now ready to create an online betting account, snag the welcome bonus free bet, and start enjoying gambling on sports using the round robin bet.
Before you do, I’ll leave you some tips on keeping safe when betting online and where to find expert advice to improve your understanding of betting.
Bankroll management: Round robin bets include multiple selections and ways to win. You multiply your stake by ten when using a round robin, so you must have good bankroll management and stick to it to avoid overspending. Set a budget for betting.
Betting strategy: There are many great betting strategies, but the one I rate the highest and easiest to follow is in-depth research. Never part with your hard-earned stake without first fully researching your picks. Go deep into recent form, head-to-head scores, league standings, injury news, and more.
Browse the markets: Many bettors stick to one market and don’t change. That’s because they are familiar with that market and don’t want to risk their stake on another approach as they don’t fully understand how it works. The moneyline option is a great way to bet, and it’s simple, but research other markets like totals, props, and handicaps. You may find an easier way to earn a profit.
The same applies to types of bets. Parlays are easier to understand and follow than round robin bets for new customers, but the round robin gives you more ways to win and a better chance at landing a profit.
Follow the experts: You can always follow the advice of professional gamblers, handicappers, and betting industry experts. Browse the many great sports picks communities at Whop and I’m confident you’ll discover a gem. There’s something to suit all levels of bettor and fans of multiple sports, from the NFL to US horse racing.
The best Whop communities are run and managed by professional sports gamblers and profitable bettors. They share their picks on the most popular sports, finding you betting value, underdogs with bite, and big-priced parlays.
Browse Whop, choose your favorites, and start placing winning bets.
