How Do Half Points Work In Sports Betting
Wager on the NBA and other professional Basketball Leagues with Oregon Lottery Scoreboard. Legal online sports betting in Oregon. Experience live betting, NBA game lines, NBA betting odds, Basketball point spreads, over/under, parlay and much more. If you are prone to addiction, sports betting will probably get the best of you at some point and you will. Point spreads often end in half points - eg.
Book mark this article, this could be the following way you're making the big bucks, betting on sports. Sports betting is probably the largest way that you can. When you're trying to find a way to beat the sportsbooks, you'll probably do some backtesting. This post explains what that is and how it works. View our latest Sports Betting 101: Strategy Tips & Advice – Alitur sports betting articles featuring free expert picks and strategy tips. We offer suggested picks for against the spread, over.
A parlay bet is one of the most popular forms of sports wagering. With parlays, bettors can bet on two or more point spreads, OVER/UNDERs or moneylines, earning a higher payout if all their picks win than they would have betting on each one individually.
How do Parlays Work?
A parlay is a wager that combines multiple bets on one ticket. Usually, you would pool straight-up bets with spreads and totals. However, you can have multiple versions of the same bet as long as it’s on different games. If even one bet in your parlay is a loss, your entire parlay loses. You can make NFL parlays or combine different bets from various sports. For example, you could make a straight-up bet on a baseball game, coupled with a basketball point spread.
Understanding Parlay Odds
At your sportsbook of choice, parlays may be called accumulators, combo bets or multi wagers. Let’s say you’re looking at three separate football games. The odds for a three-team parlay would look something like this:
| Teams | Type of Bet | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Saints vs Rams | Spread | New Orleans -3.5 / Los Angeles +3.5 |
| Patriots vs Jets | Moneyline | New England -180 / New York +160 |
| Chiefs vs Ravens | Totals | OVER 47.5 / UNDER 47.5 |
Now, you would decide which side of each bet to take. For the first bet, let’s pretend that you’re taking the Saints to cover since they have a history of working well against the spread (ATS). For the second bet, you figure the Pats are going to annihilate the Jets so you pick Tom Brady’s crew to win the game straight up. Finally, for the third bet you believe the total number of points scored will be at least 48 so you take the OVER.
As you can see from the above example, the odds for each game would appear the same as they would if you were betting individually. However, the odds for the entire parlay would be +600 (6-1) since you have a 50-50 chance of winning each bet (3 bets x 2 = 6).
If you were to bet $100 on the entire parlay bet, you’d get a payout of $700 – your original $100 comes back along with your winnings of $600. You can use our Odds Calculator to see how much you’d win based on the odds and amount bet. We also have a Parlay Calculator where you can input up to 100 bets. We do, however, recommend keeping your parlays to 10 and under since most betting sites will not allow you to make more than a 10-team parlay.
What happens if One of Your Bets PUSHES?
A PUSH occurs when the spread or totals bet you make hits the exact number set by oddsmakers. Using the same example from above, let’s pretend the totals number was 47 instead of 47.5. If the collective score for both teams was 47 on the nose, you would get your money back since neither the OVER nor UNDER won or lost. This bet would be removed from your parlay as if it never happened. You would still need to win the other bets on your parlay card in order to receive a payout. But, it’s nice to know that sportsbooks will take the PUSH off your ticket.
Teaser Bets vs Parlays
Teasers are common bets, especially in football. Oftentimes, these bets are confused for parlays, however, they are not the same. Teasers are wagers in which you can move the point spread in your favor. The only similarity these bets have to parlays is that you can select a minimum of two teams (up to 15) to tease.
Parlay Betting Tips
Sportsbooks love parlays because they force bettors to be perfect, which can be hard to do. But, that doesn’t mean you should avoid parlays altogether. Before placing your bet, handicap each game you want to include in your parlay picks. Winning a parlay can be tricky if you don’t do your due diligence. However, we at Odds Shark offer the necessary handicapping tools to ensure you have everything at your disposal to make smart bets.
Besides researching each bet, keep an eye on your bankroll. Although parlays do offer a larger payout, you still want to ensure you have enough in the tank to keep betting. When you make your deposit, it’s important to remember that if you lose even one bet on your card, it’s basically like all the bets in your parlay lose. Moreover, if you have spreads and totals on your card, you’re looking at more than just teams winning, so be mindful of team reports and betting trends.
Finally, most sportsbooks will not let you make parlay cards that feature different sides of the same game, whether it’s MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL or NCAA college sports. Though it would be nice to be able to take odds on both sides of the same bet, it is not a typical betting practice. This is why any team parlay would have to contain a spread and moneyline or total instead of two of the same type of bets. Even if the sportsbook would allow this, you’d be wasting your money since your bets would simply cancel each other out.
Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes
See All Guides
Most sporting events have a perceived favorite, so applying a spread to the game is the bookmakers’ way of creating an even playing field. This is most often seen when betting on the NFL. When you bet “against the spread,” it’s not enough for the favorite to win the game; now, they have to win by more than a specified amount (the spread) in order for them to “cover the spread.”
As we explained with moneyline betting, a negative number (-) indicates the favorite and a positive number (+) indicates the underdog.
ATS (Against the Spread) Betting: Case Study
As you can see, New England is the favorite in this game by 7.5 points, since they have the negative number. You will often see half-points attached to the spread to avoid “pushes,” or ties for the newbies. As we covered in our how to read odds guide, games with half-point spreads are said to contain a “hook.”
In this circumstance, favored New England is said to be “laying” 7.5 points. This means you subtract 7.5 points from their total score when the game concludes. If they still have more points than the Chiefs, then they “covered.” Therefore, the Patriots will have to win the game by at least 8 points for you to win your bet.
While New England is “laying” 7.5 points, Kansas City is “getting” 7.5 points. This means you add 7.5 points to their total score when the game concludes. If, after doing so, they have more points than the Patriots, then they “covered.” So, in order to win your bet, the Chiefs just cannot lose the game by 8 points or more. For example, if the Chiefs only lose by 3 points, you would win if you bet on Kansas City.
Here are a couple of mock outcomes, with the team who covered the spread in bold.
- Kansas City 21 – New England 24
- Kansas City 17 – New England 25
- Kansas City 3 – New England 41
- Kansas City 30 – New England 27
What Can Change the Spread?
The spreads in football games are subject to change based on where the money is going and weekly injury reports. If Tom Brady is hit by the Madden Curse before the season even starts and is unable to suit up, you’ll see the spread decrease, likely landing around New England -3.5.
Calculating Payouts Against the Spread
Now you may have noticed in the chart above that there is a three-digit number next to each spread, which looks an awful lot like a moneyline. It is, in essence. Those negative numbers (-110 in this case) indicate how much you have to bet in order to win $100. (Sportsbooks still take their cut when you’re betting against the spread.)
Generally, you will see “even bets,” meaning the payout is the same no matter who you bet on. But that’s not always the case, as you’ll see in the chart for our next example.
If the result of this game is Seattle 21 – Green Bay 28, would you win if you bet on Seattle to cover?
(NO! They lost by more than three points.)
Do Other Sports Have Spread Betting Options?
Betting against the spread on the NFL is undoubtedly the most popular form of spread betting, but there are other options.
You will also see point spreads in hockey, baseball, and soccer. They are referred to in different terms, but they refer to the same principle of operation as the spread.
In hockey, the spread is called apuck line; in baseball, it is a run line; and in soccer, it is a goal line.
Puck lines and run lines are almost always fixed at 1.5.
Learn the Basics of Sports Betting
Want to learn more about the basics of betting on sports? Educate yourself with sports betting 101.