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Prediction Market Combos Explained: How to Make Combo Trades

Drew Ellis

By Drew Ellis

Updated:

Verified by: Kevin Wolff


If you’re thinking prediction market trading is limited to just a single outcome, you’d be wrong.

Prediction Market Combos give users the option to combine multiple contracts into a single purchase, similar to a parlay with legal online sports betting.

These combo contracts can lead to bigger payouts for customers when successful. Here’s how they work and the options available from the top prediction markets.

Prediction Market Combo Apps

All of the top prediction markets offer combo contract options. Here’s the best apps and their current welcome offers to new customers, like the Kalshi referral code or Polymarket promo code.

What are Prediction Market Combos?

A lot of people often wonder, “Can you do a parlay on Kalshi,” or “Can you do a parlay on Polymarket?” Well, you can’t do a parlay officially, because that is reserved for online sportsbooks.

Instead of a parlay, prediction market combos are used for contract trading, but act very much in the same way as a parlay.

A prediction market combo is where you stack multiple event contracts together for a single price in order to try and create greater winnings by being correct on multiple different event outcomes.

The more selections, or contract, you tack onto a combo, the more the probability of the outcome lowers, thus leading to greater winnings if successful.

For instance, if you happen to like the Los Angeles Rams to win an upcoming game, and also like Matthew Stafford to have a big game, you can set up a contract that encompasses all those things as opposed to buying single contracts for the game outcome and each Stafford stat line you like.

So if you hear people talk about a Kalshi parlay or a Novig parlay or a Polymarket parlay, what they are actually talking about is a combo.

Kalshi Prediction Market Combo

Differences Between a Combo and a Parlay

There are a lot of similarities between prediction market combos and online sportsbook parlays, but also key differences that are good to know before you get involved with top prediction markets.

CharacteristicSportsbook ParlayPrediction Market Combo
Regulated ThroughIn-state regulatory bodyCommodities Futures Trading Commission
ContainsSeries of wagersSeries of contracts
Pricing FactorOdds set by sportsbookProbability set by market
Determination of WinningsGame results/Early cash outEvent results/Sale of contract
AdvantagesSportsbook price settersMarket traders
Promo OpportunitiesParlay BoostsNone

So while a sportsbook parlay can include a parlay boost to increase your winnings, if you’re lucky enough to win, the parlays are still factored and determined by the house, which will determine odds slightly more in its favor.

Prediction market combos don’t have a house. The pricing is determined by the probability factors, which are set by the peers using the app and purchasing contracts on the outcome.

Also, typically after making a online parlay, you sit and wait for your results to play out. Cashing out is not often an option that is very advantageous for users. With prediction market combos, you can remain in on the action throughout and choose to sell off the contract at any point you feel its in your best interest. These contracts keep you more in control as the owner.

How To Make a Prediction Market Combo

Making a combo isn’t much different than making a parlay, the terms are just a little different.

When using a prediction market app, you will select a market of interest and then look for the “Combo” icon to begin setting up your multi-level contract.

Similar to building a Single Game Parlay, which takes you to a different page, the Combo builder section will look slightly different than the standard market page for an app.

  • Select the different contracts you want to include in your combo. These don’t have to be for the same event, or even the same category. Users can build combos that include sports, culture, and more in a single contract. You can use the navigation bar up top to shift between different sports and categories for markets currently available to combo.
  • Once you have selected two or more contracts, the prediction market app will begin producing your probability based on the markets for each contract.
  • Prediction markets use a Request for Quote (RFQ) system to determine the price, which are generated live through other market participants and can change while filling out your combo as the market for each contract changes. These are considered Native Combos. If the app doesn’t have that kind of capability, it will lead to a Rollover Combo where each stage of the combo that succeeds rolls over into the next, exponentially growing your profit.
  • Should market participants not respond to the RFQ, you will not receive a price for your combo and be unable to make a purchase until that RFQ is provided. The more complex and lengthy your combo is, the more challenging it can be to find a price.
  • Just like if you purchased a singular contract, a winning combo contract will pay out $1.00 for each contract you own. That means all of the events that are part of your combo successfully occurred. If any of the events don’t occur, the combo contract pays out $0. In Rollover Combos, the winning gradually build with each successful stage, as opposed to providing one probability payout for the entire combo.

Native Combos vs. Rollover Combos

Not all prediction market combos are the same. There are two different types of prediction market combos, with the operator providing their option based on the app interface and if they are able to produce immediate RFQ results.

Native Combos

Native combos are how we described above and featured in top prediction market apps. You select a series of contracts to bundle into one overall contract with lower probability to create a greater payout if all outcomes occur.

Rollover Combos

In some cases, depending on the platform, your combo builds one step at a time. With rollover combos, you make your initial contract purchase. If that occurs successfully, you can take your payout and roll that over to a second contract event, and so on for as many contracts as you included in your combo. It’s a slower build toward a higher payout.

Prediction Market Combo Availability

Let’s keep it simple, just in case you want to know.

Prediction Market PlatformCombo Trades?
Polymarket✅ Yes
Kalshi✅ Yes
Novig✅ Yes
DraftKings Predictions✅ Yes
Underdog Predict✅ Yes
OG✅ Yes
FanDuel Predicts✅ Yes
ProphetX✅ Yes
Onyx Odds✅ Yes
Crypto.com✅ Yes

How Prediction Market Combos are Priced

With sports betting parlays, the more legs that are added to the parlay creates longer odds for the overall wager. Those odds are determined by the sportsbook itself, so there’s a slightly inherent edge the house will take for itself when setting the odds.

For prediction market combos, the pricing of the overall contract is determined through the market itself with a RFQ.

Pricing comes as a probability of all the collective results happening, thus determining how much you pay for each contract and how much profit you’d make per $1 contract win.

To figure out just what your pricing/payout would be is multiplying the listed probability for each contract in your combo together.

So, if your combo features two contracts, one at 75% probability and one at 25% probability, your combo probability would be: 0.75 x 0.25. That equals 0.1875, or 18.75% probability, which would equate to 19%, or +426 in sportsbook odds.

That means each contract would cost you $0.19, so for every contract you purchase, you would receive an additional $0.81 if the combo prevails.

The more contracts, the lower the probability, which means the higher potential win. If you have a combo that features five contracts, all at 50% probability, your contract cost will be: 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5. That is $0.03125, or 3% probability, or +3233 in sports betting odds.

Combo Winnings Compared To Single-Contract Winnings

To provide an example, here’s how winning on a combo contract can lead to bigger winnings that successfully winning a series of individual contracts.

ContractContract 1Contract 2Contract 3Combo Contract (123)
Probability70%30%40%8%
Price Per Contract$0.70$0.30$0.40$0.08
Odds Conversion-233+233+150+1150
Contracts Purchased100100100100
Overall Purchase Price$70$30$40$8
Payout For Correct Outcome$100$100$100$100

So, in the scenario where you purchase Contracts 1, 2, and 3 separately, you’d be spending $140 to win $300. In the scenario where you purchase a combo of 1, 2, and 3 together, you’d be spending $8 to win $100.

Prediction Market Combo Contract Fees

Prediction market apps still make their money, not through losing wagers, but through small fees that can come through contract trading or banking.

When purchasing a combo contract, there can be fees involved.

Here’s a look at each of the top prediction market apps, their current ratings, and any fees associated with using their platform.

Prediction Market AppiOS/Android RatingTrading Fees (Per 100 Contracts)Maker Fees (Per 100 Contracts)Additional Fees
Kalshi4.8/4.7Up to $1.75Up to $0.442% Debit Transactions
Polymarket4.6/4.0Up to $1.50NoneNone
Novig4.6/4.4Up to $0.75NoneNone
OG.com4.4/4.4Up to $1.75None$1.99 bank withdrawals
ProphetX4.8/4.3Up to $1.00NoneNone
FanDuel Predicts4.8/4.6Up to $2.00NoneNone
DraftKings Predictions4.9/4.8Up to $1.00NoneNone
Crypto.com4.7/4.4Up to $1.75None$1.99 bank withdrawals

Why to Use Prediction Market Combos

When you see the math, it’s easy to understand why people use prediction market combos as opposed to sticking to singular contracts.

While prediction markets can go well beyond just sports topics, you can also center in on certain sports like NFL prediction markets, NBA prediction markets, or MLB prediction markets.

Either way, there’s plenty of reasons why users would opt for combos.

  • Larger Payouts: Like a parlay, a combo can lead to larger payouts as their probability is significantly lower than a single contract purchase.
  • Better “Odds”: With online sportsbooks being able to set the odds that favor them ultimately, prediction market combos can provide better “odds” or prices due to the probability being set by the market itself, not the operator.
  • Capitalize On Strategy: Especially with sports contracts, users can capitalize on similar markets that one would expect to rely on one another for successful outcomes. As noted previously, if you like a similar markets for a particular player like passing yards and passing touchdowns, you can make the most of it through a combo as opposed to singular purchases.

Prediction Market Combos FAQs

What is a Prediction Market Combo?

A prediction market combo is a collection of contracts combined into a single purchase to lower the probability and increase the winning potential. All aspects of the contract must have a winning outcome in order for the combo to be successful.

Are Prediction Market Combos the same as a parlay?

These are very similar, but parlays are provided by online sportsbook and the odds are set by the house, where prediction market combos are a series of contracts with the pricing/probability set by the market, not the operator.

Can I buy a parlay at a prediction market?

No, you will not see an option to purchase a “parlay” at a prediction market. Instead, you will have the option to set up and purchase a combo, which acts similarly.

Why do users purchase Prediction Market Combos?

Prediction market combos create greater winning potential because the results depend on a series of events as opposed to just one singular event outcome.

How are Prediction Market Combos priced?

Market combo pricing is determined by multiplying each individual contracts probability with one another. So a combo contract with two singular probabilities of 50% will be 0.5 x 0.5. That results in a probability of 25%, and a price of $0.25 per contract.

Do Prediction Market Combos pay out the same as singular contracts?

Yes. Each combo contract you own will pay out $1 if all events turn out. So, because you’re paying such a small price per combo contract, the return on each winning contract is much greater.

What prediction markets offer combos?

All of the top prediction markets offer combo options. That includes Polymarket, Kalshi, Novig, DraftKings Predictions, Underdog Predict and more.

Where can I buy Prediction Market Combos?

In any state that offers prediction markets, you can legally put together prediction market combos. That includes California prediction markets, Texas prediction markets, Georgia prediction markets, Alabama prediction markets, and more.

Drew Ellis

Drew Ellis has decades of experience in media covering sports, gambling and general news. He has provided news coverage for online and retail casino developments across the US and around the globe.

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