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When a correlated parlay favors the bettor

A sportsbook offers a two-leg parlay and prices it the lazy way: it multiplies the two fair single-leg odds as if the legs were independent, quoting 2.00×2.00=4.002.00 \times 2.00 = 4.00. Each leg is a true 50/5050/50 on its own. But the legs are positively correlated: when one wins, the other tends to win too, so the true probability that both win is 0.350.35, not 0.250.25.

What is the fair parlay price given the correlation, and what is the bettor's edge against the book's 4.004.00 quote?

Show a hint

The product rule assumes independence. With positive correlation the true joint probability is higher than the product, so the fair odds are lower than 4.004.00. The book is paying too much.

Your answer

This one is open-ended. Work it through, then check your reasoning against the full solution.

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