Propositional Bets
By Kris Lazaro (5/4/2007)
Propositional (prop) bets are those bets offered by the sportsbooks as an extra. They usually deal with a player’s or a team’s specific line (such as how many point will player A score). Prop bets are a great way for a sportsbook to make more money, since most prop bets have unequal juices associated with them. For example, a typical prop bet might look like this.
How many points will Kobe Bryant score? Over 45.5 (-140)
Under 45.5 (+110)
In this example, if a sports bettor believes Kobe will score over 45.5, then one would have to lay $140 to win $100. On the flipside the under 45.5 has a positive commission at +110 (risk $100 to win $110).
During the Superbowl, sportsbooks try to entice gamblers to make prop bets. This is perhaps the biggest time for most sportsbooks, and as such, they want as many people betting, than not. Books have all kinds of crazy bets for the Superbowl. One of the most funniest bets is will the coin flip be heads or tails. This is a virtual 50/50 shot and should not really be bet upon, unless one side shows positive commission. Another interesting bet during the Superbowl is actually a correlllated question, “Will the team who scores first, win the game?” Mostly, in Superbowl history, teams who score first win the game about 90% of the time. As such, this prop question is highly bet upon and easily recognizable by the general public.
One can be successful with prop betting, if one knows what they are doing. The author suggests to take the under on most player props (usually at positive money). This is due to the fact that injuries, blowouts, and saving energy for the next game can all take place, all at the whim of the head coach. Therefore it is safer to bet the under than to hope for a close game and cheer on the over.
In closing, propsitional bets (prop bets) are those that are offered extra by the sportbooks. Do not bet too heavy on such bets, for they have horrible juice slapped onto them. |