Sports betting is profitable.
Yes, despite many taboos associated with it, sports betting is an avid hobby and profession for so many people in the United States – as in $150 billion wagered every year.
With the continued legalization of sports betting in the country, now is the opportune time to dive into making some big money with sports betting – by hitting the prop bets.
What is prop betting?
Prop betting or “props” or “proposition” is a popular type of wager that does not deal with the outcome of a game unlike the straight-up bets.
These bets deal with a specific outcome over the course of a game and can sometimes also be before or after the game itself.
There are a great number of prop bets all with their own category. As an example, here are some of the most popular types of prop bets you can expect to find:
- Yes or no: will the first score of the game be a touchdown?
- Either/or: which half will be higher scoring?
- Over/under: total three-pointers attempted in the game
- Method: what will the method of scoring be for the first points scored?
- Season-long: which NFL player will rush for the most yards?
- Awards: who will win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award?
- Finishes: which team will win the World Series?
These are just some of the most common types of prop bets you will find. It also depends on the sportsbook as some will offer more and some offer different types.
With legal online sports betting in USA, expect props to become even more popular.
But we’ll let you in on a small secret: prop betting could be the easiest way to make money in sports betting.
Prop betting: why and how it can be profitable
We weren’t lying when we said you can make a lot of money by mastering the art of prop betting.
But let’s pull back a little. Prop betting is not a get-rich-quick scheme nor is it entirely based on getting lucky.
Like sports betting in general, a lot of skill, diligence, and analysis is needed before diving into this.
Now, you can make big money with prop betting for a few good reasons:
More laidback bookmaking
Unlike the moneyline (straight-up) and point spreads, which are lined to an exact science, prop bets have a bit more leeway to them.
This is because bookmakers don’t spend as much time or resources lining the prop bets.
Several Vegas bookies have gone on record to claim that it’s common for sportsbooks to lose money on prop bets.
This is because any diligent player can analyze the prop bet better than the bookmaker and in turn, find amazing values that could lead to a profitable bet.
Prop bets usually have high odds
Although most prop bets have low betting limits, the return on investment (ROI) for the props make it worthwhile as they usually have high odds.
You’ll find prop bets lined with underdog odds or plus odds e. g. +250.
This indicates that for every $100 bet you make, you will return $250. As such, you don’t even need to win half of your bets when you’re betting on prop bets that are lined in this range.
All Licenses Owned.
If your average odds on prop betting is +300, that means you only need to win one out of every three bets to break even.
And if you’re doing better than that, you’re going to have prolific returns.
Prop bet lines may move slower
In betting, line movement indicates a change in the betting odds due to action (people betting).
When money line or point spread lines move, it is quick and immediate across every book.
However, it isn’t always true for some prop bets.
If players shop hard enough, they may find some discrepancies in the odds.
They may find some odds from a slow-to-update book that are still offered much higher than the newer ones that have been lowered.
Noticing these discrepancies are why it’s good to shop around from book to book to see which ones still have higher odds.
Finding the best prop bets for you to make
Finding the best prop bets involves discovering several sportsbooks and shopping around.
Think of it as price-matching (some books will also do this). You visit several stores or sites until you find the best lines.
There is no tried-and-true formula for making consistent money with prop betting.
But the nature of it makes it potentially more profitable than point spread or straight-up betting.
Have fun and set realistic expectations and the cash will come.