In the last decade, the sports betting scene has exploded. Unlike the dark ages of fearing broken legs and tracking down your town bookie to collect, you can now find a casino almost anywhere that will be glad to take your action. With this new wave of popularity comes new, innovative ways to bet. If you have a history of missing on moneylines like Shaq missed on the free-throw line, maybe proposition bets are best suited for you.

What is a Proposition Bet?

A proposition bet in simple terms is “wagering on an event that's not related to the outcome of the game". Traditionally, bettors are choosing one side of the spread, moneyline, or total points. However, if you want to add more excitement to your life, switch from missionary once in a while. And then continue reading to learn more about the two most popular types of proposition bets.

General Props

There are countless amounts of props available, but how do you know which ones are worth risking your cash on? For bettors that would just like to get their feet wet in prop bets, they might stick with a basic game prop.

As an example of one of these, in an NFL game, you might be betting on the overall number of touchdowns scored, the total number of field goals made, or even the most degenerate bet of all, the coin flip.

For an NBA game, you are likely to see prop bets such as the highest-scoring half or the number of three-pointers scored. (Word of advice, if it’s Portland or Houston, take the over on this prop. It seems like Harden and Lillard only shoot from distance nowadays.)

Individual Player Props

If you can’t get enough of these prop bets and crave something even more specific, individual player props are for you. Player props are wagers not based on events of the game but on the final statistics of individual player’s performances.

For example, in the NFL, not only can you bet on how many touchdowns will be scored but also who will score them and when. It’s not limited to just touchdown props either. You can wager on the individual passing, receiving, and rushing yards for certain players. Personally, I tend to focus on player props when I want to stay away from certain matchups. A prime example would be when the Saints and the Broncos both rolled out either a TE or WR to play as QB. Yikes.

How to Bet Props

Luck vs. Skill

The fun thing about these proposition bets is that some require skill and others are just straight-up luck.

There are a lot of props out there you can leverage using knowledge and historical trends. Say a player constantly gets between 40-50 receiving yards per game. If you notice the line is set a little low, you could place a wager more confidently because of this.

On the flip side, sometimes you might want to crack a beer, place the wager, and let lady luck do her thing. If for some reason you wanted to bet on the first team to call a timeout or to get the first penalty, there’s a prop for that.

Varying Odds

On most player props, the odds are usually around even at (-110) because the prop has the same chance to hit on both sides of the bet. However, you can also find some long-shot odds that pay an absurd amount. Sure, Jimmy Graham’s old ass is not going to score 4 touchdowns in a game anymore. But where else can you get +25000 odds on a single bet that’s not a parlay?

Prop Builder

Proposition bets have grown in popularity so much that some bookies even offer the ability to create your own props. You think Mitch Trubisky’s going to throw for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns? Highly doubt it, but with these prop builders, you can still take a shot.

The Downside of Player Props

This extra wrinkle in sports betting is a great way to add to your gambling repertoire. But make no mistake, there is still risk involved. A downside and unique flaw to prop betting is when a player gets injured. This is the absolute worst-case scenario for your player prop bet. Most player prop bets are valid and have action if the player plays just one snap or just one minute. This means that if you have a prop bet on over Alex Smith rushing yards and his leg gets ripped off mid-game, you’re SOL.

A lot of the lines that these player props have set for them are exploitable. Take back-up players, for example. If there is an injury situation and the starter goes down before the game, as long as the backup player is eligible for props, this could create great value on the current lines set for them. Of course, you’ll have to act fast because it seems like these bookies know everything before the general public does. For more information on how to bet mid-game or on live betting in general, check out our live betting guide.

For those special bets like the coin flip I mentioned earlier, you’ll have to wait for marquee events like the Super Bowl or World Series. It’s too bad they only come around once a year because they are a lot of fun. In the meantime visit www.theoddsfactory.com to stay updated on all things sports-related!