A proposition bet, more commonly referred to as a prop bet or side bet, is one of the most fun and exciting elements of sports betting and they usually have nothing do to with who ends up winning.
Essentially, a prop bet is a wager on an outcome to occur or not occur, within a given sporting event which is not affected by or connected to the final outcome. It can be anything from who wins the coin toss to which team scores the first goal.
Gamblers are drawn to prop bets of the extra action and because they often offer larger payouts. that means more opportunities to place wagers that could end up winning big.
How Does Prop Betting Work?
The basic premise of prop betting is that your wagers are not impacted by typical bet outcomes such as who will win, the point spread, or the total points scored. Props allow you to place wagers on outcomes within the game rather than on the game as a whole.
One of the main reasons why props are so enticing is because sportsbooks often set juicier lines to induce action and appeal to the masses. In many cases you can find much higher potential payouts in propositions than in general betting lines.
While the house often takes a larger cut of the action (also commonly referred to as vig, vigorish, juice, under-juice, rake, or take) on props, they also have a tendency to offer higher value than they should on certain outcomes. The reason for this oversight on their part is simply due to the higher volume of side bets offered as compared to the amount of time required by the sportsbook to research the probable outcome.
It’s also because overall props only account for a small amount of the sportsbook’s overall action. That means they don’t spend as much time making sure the lines are dead-on accurate.
That means some proposition bet lines are “looser” than the general betting lines which are more thoroughly scrutinized. Savvy gamblers who can identify these bets stand to win big.
Common Kinds of Props Bets
There are many different types of prop bets for sporting events. In fact, the possibilities are virtually limitless, especially when you discover what are called “exotic prop bets”.
For example, lines are set for the length of the National anthem at the Super Bowl or what colour the Gatorade will be. We predict that as sports gambling evolves, prop betting will continue to grow and develop so we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.
The following is a list of common prop bets we regularly see on most sites:
- Over/Under bets on a player’s in0game point totals
- When teams will score and who first
- Anything that can be posed as Yes/No – i.e. Will either team score 3 times unanswered
- Ways in which a team may score and how many
- Points one team will get per quarter, half, full time. Can also be combined for both teams or specific to just one plater.
- Future bets- these are long term bets on a given outcome. Usually based on how many games a team will win in a season or whether or not a team will win their division, conference or championship.
- Exotic “non-sports related” bets – i.e coin toss to start game Heads/Tails
Prop Betting Examples in Major Sports
What you need to know is how to read the wager offer and also the type of odds format listed.
Prop Betting in MLB
A starting pitcher in a baseball game will be given an Over/Under betting line for the total number of strikeouts they earn in a game.
The line could look something like:
- Dereck Rodriguez (Total Strikeouts)(must start)
- OVER 4.5 Strikeouts pays +110
- UNDER 4.5 Strikeouts pays -130
Prop Betting in NFL
Sometimes a prop bet is on an outcome that happens at a much later date. This is called a Futures Bet and looks something like this:
Picking whether or not a specific team will win the title before the season starts
The line could look like this:
- Warriors win 2018-19 NBA Championship?
- YES pays 1.516
- NO pays 2.550
Prop Betting in NHL
You can even bet on whether you think a player will take any penalties in a game. For example:
- Brad Marchand (Penalty minutes)(must play)
- OVER 1.5 minutes pays 1.855
- UNDER 1.5 minutes pays 2.455