PROPS

Sports Betting Prop Bets

All sportsbooks offer prop bets. Also known as propositions, exotics, and fun bets, they are omnipresent. Props are wagers on specific outcomes happening during a game or season. They are not moneyline, spread, totals, parlays, teasers, pleasers, double chance, or no draw bets.

Some examples of props include team futures, how many TD passes will be thrown in a game, the over/under on homeruns in a game, who will be the league MVP, etc. The question that surrounds the prop concerns its worth as a bet. Are props worthwhile sports wagers or are they simply sucker bets?

Why Are Prop Bets Tough to Hit?

Most proposition wagers are very difficult to hit. It’s true that you can bet on whether heads or tails will come up on the Super Bowl coin flip. It’s a simple bet with only two choices.  Although it’s a 50-50 proposition, the outcome is pure chance. There’s no way to analyze it or apply any strategy.

Then there are highly complex props. Consider the prop that focuses on who will score the first points in the Super Bowl. You can have up to 24 different choices for that one wager and each player or position has various odds assigned to it. All of those choices greatly complicate the prop, making it a very difficult wager to hit. In comparison, such a proposition makes moneyline, spread, totals, and even a  three-game parlay look simple.

In order to cash in on a prop, it’s rarely an either, or proposition. It’s a situation where you must choose the right answer from a very long menu. And the right answer is not something that you can determine through careful analysis.

Props Tied to Stats

However, there are some exotics that you can number crunch, such as how many yards will a quarterback pass for in a certain game or how many strikeouts a pitcher will make in a game. If these are Over/under bets with two choices, they’re easier to hit than other props. However, if you’re offered three or more choices, the prop becomes much tougher to get right. Stay away from it.

Should You Play Props?

If you do play prop bets, do so occasionally and with extra cash. Don’t waste your bankroll on such wagers. If you’ve hit a big bet or a string of wagers, take 10 percent of those winnings and place them on some props. They are, after all, called “fun bets.” So, make them fun. Remember, these are bets that you will lose most of the time. Props are like side bets at casinos—they favor the bookmaker by a wide margin and not the bettor.