Purchasing the Half Point in NFL Betting
By Tom Wilkinson
One of the more fascinating sports betting statistical
studies recently done regarding sports betting on pro
football is that 60% of pro football games are decided by
point margins of just 10 different numbers with three-point
margins being the most common of all, (17%), with
seven-point margins a distant second at 6%. At first glance
a sports bettor about to make a sports betting wager
on a pro football game with a sports betting line of three
or seven points would seem to be inclined to purchase an
extra half a point from his sportsbook or sports gambling house. But before a sports bettor
surrenders an extra 10% juice to purchase that half a point
on the sports betting line he should do some deeper sports
betting research.
How often does that extra half a point actually help a
sports bettor and is it worth a sports bettor’s extra juice purchased to have that extra half a
point on the sports betting line in pro football wagering? A
recent study reveals that when the closing sports betting
line was six-points the favorite on the sports betting board
either won by less than six points or lost outright 82
times. 93 times the six-point favorite won and covered the
sports betting line. Five times the six-point favorite
pushed which would have made the half-point purchase by a
sports bettor worth it as a push would have become a
win against the sports betting line with that extra half a
point. The downside is when a sports bettor
purchases that extra half a point and the 10% juice that
comes with that purchase against the sports betting line. In
our six-point scenario here the half point purchases
produced an extra $500 for a sports bettor but that
same sports betting payer would have lost $820 laying the
extra juice for that half point against the sports betting
line which makes for an overall loss to the sports bettor’s bankroll by purchasing the half a point every time
on six-point pro football favorites against the sports
betting line.
There are some sports betting line numbers, however, that
have proven profitable for a sports bettor to
purchase. sports bettors purchasing underdogs and an
extra half a point from two ½, 3, and 9 ½ have profited
against sportsbooks and online sports betting sites through
the years as have sports bettors purchasing half
points on favorites of 2 ½, 3, 3 ½, and 10 ½ points. Many
sportsbooks in Vegas and some online sports betting sites no
longer allow purchases from a 3-point sports betting line.
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