For professional bettors or those looking to make some extra from the traditional forms of sportsbetting, prop bets can be a lucrative option to look into. If you’ve been in the sportsbetting industry for a while now, then you are probably well vast with the intricacies of prop betting. But if you haven’t, don’t worry: we’ll explain all the basics about prop betting and how to profit from the bets in the course of this article.
Identifying Profitable Prop Bets
Prop Bets in Sports Betting
A prop bet, also referred to as a proposition bet or exotic bet, is a wager placed on any special circumstance outside the usual sportsbetting norm. This can be anything from the expected color of shirt for a tennis player in a game to the length of a halftime performance in the Super Bowl, with the nature of the prop bets varying from simplistic and loveable to complicated and utterly detestable, depending on the sport and event in question. And just like casino games, we have smart bets and sucker bets in prop betting, so it’s important to have a formula for identifying profitable prop bets.
How to Identify Profitable Prop Bets
With several hundred lines to create and manage within a short time, like prop bets for the Super Bowl, bookmakers often don’t take too much time thinking through the propositions like they do for the usual bets. This creates a loophole that can be exploited by keen bettors.
The most basic advice for anyone interested in profitable prop bets is that you should be very good at doing research about the props you want to bet on. With thousands of sportsbooks releasing countless of props every other day, you have to plan a way in which you can explore these books and find the most profitable odds. And while you are at it, ensure that you research on issues such as injury reports and suspensions as such factors play a crucial role towards success in prop betting. Nothing’s time wasting and dumb as betting on LeBron James to score 30 points against Golden State when he is injured and slated to miss that game against the Warriors.
In regards to getting the best or most competitive odds, you may probably want to enroll in different sportsbooks, who have different lines on different sites. This way, your job of comparing the best odds is made easier, as you don’t have to jump from one site to another comparing different odds. Of course, certain prop bets are exclusive to certain sites, so you have to use your professional discretion to judge whether a line is good or not.
Another way of identifying profitable prop bets is by analyzing changing factors in a game and how bookmakers react to the change. Betting on these changes before a bookmaker realizes what hit them is what is commonly known as “derivatives.” For example, a prop may list that a game will have 4 touchdowns in a game. But just before the game starts, you learn that an important cornerback has been injured and will miss the game, opening an opportunity for the opposing wide receivers to potentially score more touchdowns. The line at your sportsbook may not move immediately and this is where savvy bettors come and pounce on the opportunity, betting big on the OVER 4 touchdowns. After a couple of bets, the book may take notice and move the odds or adjust the juice. But by then, it’s too late because a big payout is guaranteed for you.
Conclusion on Prop Bets
On a concluding note, it is worth stating that prop bets can be beaten, but that is only possible for betting professionals that invest time into learning the system and making timely wagers. Sportsbooks, as you’d expect, are usually quick to limit or lock out the players who beat them too often. It is a never-ending hunt-me-I-hunt-you game that necessitates concealing your true intentions, especially when you’ve mastered a weakness to beat your bookie. Can you ever be foolproof in your mechanics for profitable prop bets? Not really. But can you find more success in prop bets than in the traditional bets? Most definitely, and the best part is that is that you make tons of money while having fun figuring out all kinds of sportsbetting prop bets in the sports that you love.