Same game parlays: why they pull so hard and how to slow down

Same game parlays pull hard because one ticket holds many bets, so there is always one more leg to add and one more to hope for. To slow down, put a pause in front of the next leg, and make the ticket harder to place.

A same game parlay puts several bets from one game on one ticket. Every leg has to win for the ticket to pay. The steps below are for the moment your thumb is already moving.

Why they pull so hard

• One loss can sit on the last leg. A ticket can lose on the final leg. That can feel like almost winning. It is still a loss.
• Near misses push you to go again. In a lab study, 15 people who were not regular gamblers played a computer slot machine. Near misses lit up the brain's reward areas and raised the wish to keep playing, even though people rated them as unpleasant. It was a slot machine, not a parlay. Many people describe the same feeling with a ticket that was one leg short.
• There is a next leg. People say it like this: "the next one will hit", "just one more leg". The ticket does not feel finished.
• A same game parlay lives inside the game. The legs come from the game you are watching, so every play seems to change your ticket. Your eyes and your thumb are both on the game.
• It is quick. Adding a leg is a tap.

None of this means something is wrong with you. These bets are built to be easy to add to.

The next 10 minutes

Use these when you are building a ticket, or when one leg is still alive. You will need the phone again for some steps. Put it down only until you have taken a breath.

1. Stop before you confirm. Close the slip without confirming it. Put the phone down for a minute.
2. Say what this ticket is for. "I am adding this leg because ___." If the answer is "to win it back", "to make up for the last one", or "it is a sure thing", that is the urge talking.
3. Set a timer for ten minutes. Water, cold water on your face, a short walk. Breathe out slowly ten times.
4. Make the next one harder. Log out. Turn off notifications and odds alerts. Take saved cards out of the app and the browser.
5. Tell one person. "Rough moment. I was about to build a parlay." If you want a voice, a gambling helpline can listen. The numbers are below.
6. Decide later. When the timer goes off, ask: "Do I still want it?" If you do, that is common. Start another ten minutes. Write down what you want and tell someone before you act on it.

If a ticket is already live

A live ticket makes the pull louder. Step away from the phone. Do not place a second bet to cover the first. Read how to stop live betting during the game.

If the ticket has just lost

Stop there. Read what to do after a slip and how chasing losses works.

Make the next time easier

• Block betting sites on your iPhone or on Android.
• Self exclude from every sportsbook.
• Remove odds widgets and lock screen alerts from your phone.
• Read more on parlay and prop bet urges and fantasy sports and prediction market bets.