Online sports betting in the USA is revolve around moneyline and point spread betting. Totals betting comes close behind, but that’s about it for most sports betting fans. There are more betting markets on offer, however.
Prop bets are among them. With Props betting, you don’t have to bet on the final outcome of a match, but on minor things.
You can bet on team stats like the number of team goals or the number of shots on goal. You can also bet on player performances. So let’s dig a bit deeper into prop betting.
What Are Prop Bets?
Prop bets are proposition bets that can interest you in all sorts of things. The rough categories are match props, team props, and player props. These bets are available for most US sports at the greatest online sportsbooks; even on soccer when it comes to major leagues.
Match Props – Match props allow you to bet on smaller parts of the entire match. This can be quarter betting or half betting. In the NBA, you can bet on which quarter will be the highest scoring.
Team Props – Team props care about the performances of the different teams. Usually, these are bets on how many points the team will score in the match. Or, even how many fouls it will accrue.
Player Props – Player props are bets on how the individual players perform in a match. It can be how many points they’ll score in the NBA or how many goals they’ll score in the NHL.
There are so many things you can bet on. Player props are arguably the most niche prop bets. It’s also where the biggest value is for professional sports bettors or sharps.
Pros of Prop Bets
The biggest advantage of prop bets; bookmakers don’t focus on them as much as on main betting markets.
This means that it’s easier to get value from prop bets. All the focus goes on setting the odds and lines right for the major markets, you see.
Fans of prop bets can slip in unnoticed and profit from sportsbooks’ mistakes. These happen often, but note that you need to be on for the early lines to take advantage.
That’s because there are now many prop bettors that are sharp and get on as soon as possible.
Additionally, prop bets are far more interesting to track. If you’re keen on watching a match. A prop bet will draw enables you to enjoy the action more. You’ll have all sorts of details to care of, instead of just the overall scoreline.
Cons of Prop Bets
Unlike match market bets, prop bets requires research analysis. You need to have knowledge about individual players, and team strategies.
This makes it harder for newbies to analyze prop bets. If you don’t know much about a sport, it’s much easier to learn general knowledge instead of such specialized knowledge.
Also, prop betting markets tend to come with lower betting limits than classic betting markets. This means that you sometimes won’t be able to risk as much money as you want. You’ll have to place bets across more sportsbooks or give up on the proposition.
Prop Bets Tips and Tricks
We’ve already said that prop betting requires plenty of research. So how exactly should you approach things?
Well, you need to study a team’s tactics, the role of their players, and so forth. If a player has a niggle, for example, the odds are good that he won’t play in the next match.
These smaller details are of a much bigger value for your research than the scorelines and general form books. To that end, we recommend you get access to live streams and video archives.
Another important thing is that you need to check the rules for the prop bets you want to place. That’s because different sportsbooks have different rules of settlement in case something out of the ordinary happens.
If the player doesn’t play for a single moment, the sportsbook will cancel your player performance bets. However, most sportsbooks will settle them as winning or losing as long as the player plays the match; regardless of how long he plays.
Professional prop bettors also know that player performance markets are often skewed for Overs. That’s because casual players go for overs most of the time they bet. For the same reason that overs bets are more in totals betting, though the difference is smaller there.
Casual bettors want to hope for their player to score or reach a target rather than root against him. It’s psychological and not the objectively right approach, but it’s what it is.
The sportsbooks know about this trend and they have adjusted them accordingly. Keep that in mind; the line you’re looking at might be overinflated.
Final Word
Prop bets are great niche bets that offer plenty of value. They aren’t for everyone, as you need to pay attention to different info than usual.
Your return on investment (ROI) can be far greater than in moneyline betting or point spread betting.
You’ll need to access as many online sportsbooks as possible. That’s because the markets, lines, and odds vary a lot.
Ideally, you’ll have access to at least five sportsbooks for the best possible score. If you don’t have that many accounts yet, check out our USA online sportsbook reviews to learn where to start!