Sports Betting 101: What is a Prop Bet?

What is a Prop Bet in Sports Betting? 

A proposition bet (prop bet) is a wager that is specifically tied to a player’s outcome (player prop) or a specific result within the game (game prop) and isn’t a traditional bet on a side (moneyline/spread) or the total of a game. Prop bets are usually derived from the total and spread and give you an opportunity to find a wager on a game if you don’t believe there is an edge on the side or total. 

Game Props 

Game prop bets don’t usually have anything to do with the end result of a game. They’re events that take place during the game and offer you a number of different ways to have action throughout the game. “Will There Be a Run in the first Inning?” is an example of a game prop in Major League Baseball. You’re betting “Yes” or “No” on if a run will be scored in the first inning. In the NFL and NBA, you can bet on which team will score first, or which team will reach 10 points first. Those are just a couple examples of game prop bets, there are game and player props on almost everything you can imagine. Sportsbooks now offer hundreds of game and player prop bets for the Super Bowl. You can bet on anything from the coin toss, to the Gatorade color, to the over/under on the amount of time it will take to sing the National Anthem. 

Player props are a great way to find an edge or action on a game where you think the spread or total is on market. You can find positive expected value on props when you have a good feel for how the game might flow/playout, otherwise known as the game script. Let’s look at the NFL for an example, say you’re on the fence about betting a fairly large underdog but you’re not sure they’re going to be able to stay within the number (cover the spread). You expect that team to be behind most of the game, which usually leads to more passing attempts and or yards. In that case, you can look to bet the over on the quarterback’s pass attempts or even yards, knowing his team will be playing catchup for most of the game. Or let’s say you think a team’s passing game is going to get shut down, forcing them to rely on their running game. You could bet the under on a quarterback’s touchdown passes thrown or under on his yardage, or even over on the running back’s total yards for the game. In Major League Baseball, one of the more popular player props is a pitcher’s strikeout prop. Sportsbooks offer an over/under on the number of punchouts a pitcher will accumulate during his outing. Prop bets give you a number of different ways to attack a game, just remember, you don’t want to expose yourself to too many plays that are heavily correlated. Meaning, you’d lose a number of different bets if your expected result doesn’t come to fruition. 

Of course, prop bets are a large part of same-game parlays, where you get to mix standard side and total bets, in addition to game and player prop bets. You can read more about same-game parlays here.

Since the bet limits are lower on prop bets, you’ll see a larger differential between the line sportsbooks are offering. It’s incredibly important to shop for the best number when you’re betting on props. FTN’s Prop Shop will quickly become one of your favorite tools. It only takes a second to find the best number being offered for your bet.