Understanding Sports Halftime Bets and Hedge Bets

Most sports bettors understand everything that is involved on betting on the outcomes of games before they even start.  However, some gamblers take advantage of profit maximizing opportunities such as betting during halftime.  Halftime bets can be very advantageous in certain situations, so if you’re interested in giving a try, you need an overview of the basics.

You are probably already familiar with point spreads and betting lines, which are the basis of sports wagering.  However, within the past few years, additional opportunities have come forth, including the option to wait until halftime to bet.  Some books also accept wagers on what will happen ONLY during the second half! It really isn’t all that hard to understand, you just need to know how to figure out the odds during various scenarios.

For an example, say that the Redskins are favored by 4 at a Redskins and Patriots game.  At halftime, they are winning 13-6.  At halftime, sports books make a new bet with a new spread that you can take advantage of if you want in on the second half of the game.  Usually, whenever the initially favored team is up by more than the original spread during halftime, the underdog will be favored going into the second half.

Another thing to keep in mind is the over/under bet.  This means that the online sports books will predict the overall number of points that both teams are going to acquire during the second half.  In this example, the overall points from the first half are 19 (13 and 6), so a sports book might say that 19 more points will be scored during the second half.  You can either bet over or under this number.

Obviously, you need to pay close attention to the first half of the game before betting at halftime.  You need to base your wager on all the variables that you observed.  If any players got injured during the first half, for instance, you need to factor that in to your prediction of what’s going to happen in the second half.  Usually, the standard betting ratio (11-10) applies for over/under wagers.

You need to make use of hedge bets, if you can.  This means you need to try and win BOTH wagers by taking a position at halftime that is contrary to your original wager.  This will limit your risk and help you maximize your profits.  You can do this when the outcome of the game is still uncertain, or try to cut down your losses if you don’t like the way the game is going by the time halftime rolls around.

Think of hedge betting as an insurance of sorts.  Sure, it’ll cost you some money, but it increases your chance of winning on both sides, or by not losing all that much.  It lowers your risks, and if you’re lucky, it just might win you a lot of money!  Needless to say, online sports books don’t like it when players make good hedge bets, and bettors obviously love them.  If you want to try this, just be careful, and only do so when you think you’re going to lose your first bet OR the outcome of the game is in question.