What is Halftime Betting?

Halftime betting is one of recent innovations in sports wagering, which allows bettors to place their wager only on the second half of a football or a basketball game. This, of course, is not done for any other reason than profit. In such manner bookmakers try to attract more bettors and charge more vigorish. However, for a good bettor, this new opportunity can be very profitable. Although the bettor has very little time to make a prognosis, so does the bookmaker, and often the line of halftime betting is roughly based on the result of the first half. If the bettor knows that this result is not representative for the entire game, he can take advantage of this and beat the bookmaker. We describe what halftime betting is, how it works, and how a gambler can take advantage of it.

Why Should You Prefer Halftime Betting?

Halftime betting has additional advantages. In certain situations, when you have bet on the underdog, and they lead after the first half, you can bet on the favorite, eliminate the risk of losing money and get a chance to double the profit. For example, if the initial bet was Team A +10, and after the first half Team A leads by 4 points, and the line becomes Team B -7, you can bet on Team B (the favorite of the game), and if it wins by less than 10 points and more than 3 points, you win both bets. If it loses or wins the entire game by less than 3 points, you win your initial bet. If it wins by more than 10, you win your halftime bet. The worst situation is a push. In such case you do not win any money, but still have to pay the vigorish.

Speed Reduction:

Another great advantage of halftime betting is the reduction of the spread. If you did not wager on the game described below and you think that the favorite will win, but you are not sure about 10 points spread, after the first half, the spread in favor of Team B will be 3 points only. If you still think Team B will win, you can have a better chance betting on it.

The opposite case is also possible. If the favorite overcomes the spread after the first half, you can bet on the underdog reducing the current spread, which is far more possible than ending with less then the initial one.

Since it was introduced a couple of years ago, halftime betting has become very popular, and many gamblers profit from this kind of bet.