In sports betting, proposition bets or most commonly known as prop bets, are bets that aren’t directly related to the game’s outcome like straight bets do, which includes the points spread, moneyline, or the totals. It’s more directly tied to game scenarios ranging from who will sing the national anthem to the color of the Gatorade the winning team will pour on their coach’s head.
This form of betting is generally considered the easiest type of bet to beat than other bet types. Not only that, but a lot of sportsbooks nowadays are limiting the money that goes in prop bets to limit their losses. Bookmakers constantly create several hundred lines for the line managers. Thus line managers tend to create a simplistic and straightforward method for small props.
It means that a regular veteran bettor can analyze the bet more and find loopholes to win more money. A lot of general strategies are created by bettors to be more profitable in prop betting. But before that, let’s tackle the different types of prop bets first.
Team Scoring Prop Bets
Even though prop bets don’t necessarily relate to the game’s outcome like the point spread, some team scoring bets are based on the two sides’ point difference. The most common team scoring bet is the margin of victory bet, where bettors bet on how many points will likely be the difference between the two teams once the game ends.
Individual Performance Bets
Individual performance bets are probably one of the most, if not the most popular type of prop bet there is. This category includes any performance a single player will do in a specific game, which the bettor will bet upon.
Some typical example is:
- Who will most likely get the most receiving yards in a game?
- How many passing yards will player x have?
- How many rushing yards will player x have?
Timing Prop Bets
Some prop bets are directly tied to the timing of individual events in a game. One most common example of this type of bet is will the game go into overtime. Normally, predicting if the game will go into overtime is pretty much impossible to do. That’s why the payout is significant when you bet on the positive side of the bet. Other popular bets are the duration of the halftime and the exact running time of the game.
Now that we talked about some of the most common types of bets in prop betting, we need to know how to strategize to win big in prop betting. Here are some strategies that will help you win big the next time you do prop betting.
Research Player Usage
As mentioned before, some prop bets include betting on a player’s outcome in a game. That said, researching how a player is involved in a team’s strategy is necessary to accurately predict his performance in the game, including team trends and player engagement.
Knowing the teams well and applying their past strategies in the current game will help you make an educated guess on how they will use their players. With this, you can have an edge on prop betting, especially individual performance bets.
Remember that specific charts that websites produce that show how many yards a specific player will have in any yard don’t necessarily relate to his game usage. This makes it a bit more complicated as this means that even though usage is an efficient method for player production, this doesn’t mean that he will always play to your expectations.
Predict the Game Script
Like how you should predict a player’s performance, you should also try to predict how a game will turn out. Generally, you will want to envision how the game ends. For example, a team will have the lead in the early phases of the game, which means the trailing team needs to slowly gain towards the leading team. This means that the quarterback will be doubling his efforts, as well as the receiver.
Learn the Betting Trends
There is a lot to learn when you watch how the professional bettors bet on prop bets. Interestingly, the most common scenario that would most likely happen is that the pros will go against the public most of the time. That means they would have to bet on “No” and “Under” mostly. With the public’s money weighing more on one side, the opposite side will have more winnings, resulting in big cash.
Takeaway
Prop betting, even though how mundane the bets are, can be as complicated as straight bets. That’s you need to learn more on how to bet wisely on prop bets to win big. This also means that you should do your research to gain an edge over the other bettors. Not only that, even if you’re a beginner who knows next to nothing about football or sports betting, you can still participate by wagering on bets that are available at FanDuel.