Sports Betting Propositions

All sportsbooks offer proposition bets or “props” as they are commonly known. Props are omnipresent at sportsbooks and include futures, MVP choices and special game circumstances. The question that plagues the prop concerns its worth as a bet. Are props really worthwhile sports wagers or are the simply sucker bets? Let’s consider the proposition wager and if you should bet on them.

What is a Prop?

A prop, which is considered an exotic, is a bet focusing on a special circumstance in a game, series or season. Moneyline, point spread, over/unders, parlays and teasers are not props. Proposition wagers are not placed on which team will win a game.

Examples of props include futures, special circumstance wagers such as who will score the first points in the Super Bowl, and even wagers on events such as who will win American Idol. Props will often offer big payouts but that’s because they are all guesswork.

Why Are Props Tough to Hit?

Most proposition wagers are very difficult to hit. It’s true that you can bet on whether heads or tails will come up on the Super Bowl coin flip. That’s a 50-50 proposition. But most other wagers aren’t that simple.

Consider the prop that focuses on who will score the first points in the Super Bowl. You can have up to 24 different choices for that one wager and each player or position has various odds assigned to it. That means a prop is in no way as simple as one of the basic bets or even a three game parlay.

In order to cash in on a prop it’s rarely an either or proposition. It’s a situation where you must choose the right answer from a very long menu. And the right answer is not something that you can get through careful analysis.

Should You Play Props?

If you do play props do so occasionally. These are bets that you will lose most of the time. Props are like side bets at casinos—they favor the person taking the bet and not the bettor and they favor the bookmaker by a wide margin.