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Prop Betting 101: Understanding Prop Bets and Where to Bet Them
Written by: Daniel Collins
Last Updated:
Read Time: 5 minutes
In recent years, prop bets have become an increasingly popular way to bet on sports.
But what are prop bets? Below, we break down what they are, provide examples of types of prop bets, and recommend the best betting sites for prop bets.
What is a Prop Bet?
A proposition bet (prop for short) is a bet that is not made on the outcome of the game. Instead, it is a proposition of one part of the game or connecting two outcomes.
These bets can be as simple as “Yes” or “No” options such as:
- Will the Kansas City Chiefs score more than three touchdowns in their game?
- Will the Chiefs score three consecutive touchdowns during this game?
As you can imagine, there are hundreds of potential prop bets that can be placed during one game, whether it is an NFL game, an NBA game, or even an MLB game.
What Are Player Prop Bets?
For a lot of NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games, a variety of team and game props are available at sports betting sites like BetOnline.
But when many bettors think of prop bets, they are thinking of player prop bets.
What are player prop bets?
For some bettors, betting on LeBron to score over 30+ points or Tyreek Hill to have over 100+ receiving yards is more exciting to some bettors than a team to win the game.
The player prop market is growing more and more every day and gives so many more options to players than ever before.
Finding advantageous matchups for a particular player and crunching the numbers of his/her past performances is another great way to find value.
For example, let’s say that LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers are taking on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs tonight in an NBA matchup.
For this matchup, LeBron’s points line has been set at 27.5 points.
Thanks to your research, which may include using sports betting research tools like Outlier.bet and BetAlytics, you see that LeBron has gone over 28 points in eight straight road games when the spread has been five or fewer points.
In this matchup, the Lakers are playing in San Antonio, and they are favored by only three points.
Here, all the numbers point to LeBron having a high likelihood of scoring 28 points yet again tonight, so taking over 27.5 points is the best bet.
Why Should You Make Prop Bets?
Props are present in all the major sports. That includes the WNBA, whose popularity is at an all-time high.
You can bet on props in basketball, baseball, football, hockey, and soccer and not just basic props.
You can bet on points, rebounds, assists, and more in basketball, strikeouts, total bases, RBI, and more in baseball, passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards, and even defensive and special teams props in football, and shots on goal, points, or goalie saves in hockey.
The opportunities in the world of prop betting are endless, and there is a lot of money to be made daily by betting on props.
We cover lots of prop bets in our daily pieces, so be sure to check out where we are finding the best prop betting value.
The Super Bowl – A Prop Betting Paradise
Props are fun to bet on in any game, but they are especially enticing for massive events, like the Super Bowl.
If you have attended a Super Bowl party, you may have entered a small pool where you had to pick the answers to a series of questions about the game.
This sheet of questions are all prop bets.
The prop bets you can make are not limited to the events inside the lines. Here are some of the more interesting ones available at many sportsbooks for the big game.
- What will be the outcome of the coin toss?
- How long will the national anthem be?
- What color will the Gatorade tossed on the winning coach be?
- How many shots of the commissioner will there be on the Super Bowl broadcast?
- What will be the jersey number of the first touchdown scorer?
Super Bowl prop betting is insanely popular. In fact, the first prop bet was made for Super Bowl XX between the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots. Almost four decades later, there are many more prop bets listed for this game than any other sporting event.
This isn’t entirely shocking when you consider the sheer number of people who watch and bet on the Super Bowl.
Best Betting Sites for Prop Bets
With how popular prop betting is, you can find props of all kinds at most reputable sports betting sites.
The options may vary from sportsbook to sportsbook, but you don’t have to look hard to find prop odds for the day’s top matchups.
Here are some of the betting sites we recommend for making prop bets:
You might be familiar with all of these sites, but if you aren’t, check out our sportsbook reviews to learn more about them.
Other Sports Betting Information
Did you find this guide helpful? Along with the daily sports betting news and views we offer, we also provide many guides that break down the basics of sports betting. That includes how to bet on specific sports, leagues, and events, types of bets, betting strategies and terms, and more.
Here are some of the other betting guides you can find at Betting News:
- NFL Betting Guide
- NBA Betting Guide
- MLB Betting Guide
- NHL Betting Guide
- College Football Betting Guide
- College Basketball Betting Guide
- WNBA Betting Guide
- NASCAR Betting Guide
- Super Bowl Betting Guide
- Over/Under Betting Explained
- When Should You Hedge Your Bets?
- How to Read Sports Betting Odds
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In addition to the content you can find on the site, we are also very active on social media.
That includes our daily Twitch streams, where we discuss the day’s top matchups and much more.
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