What is a Prop Bet? Definition, Examples & More

It can be lots of fun betting on the overall results of games, but if you’ve been wagering for awhile, you might want to dig a bit more into specific aspects of the game.

Maybe you’re not sure who wins, but there’s a player you think will have a great game or perhaps an awful one. You could be a soccer fan who is very confident that you’re about to witness a thriller in which both teams will score.

If either of these situations sounds interesting to you, or you think something similar might, prop bets could be a great way for you to play at the best sports betting sites. A prop bet, short for proposition bet, is a wager on one specific outcome within a game, rather than the actual outcome of the game itself.

This could involve the statistical output of a player, or a condition that one or both teams involved must satisfy, but the general rule is that the settlement of these proposition bets concerns something other than the final score itself.

In this article, we’ll go over plenty of examples of prop bets, talk about where you can place them, and even get into some strategies that can help you have more success with props.

Prop betting is a really exciting way to get even more involved with wagering on a particular game. This is especially true in its most popular form: player props.

These wagers allow you to hone in on a player’s performance, so you can support your favorite players, and perhaps even more fun, bet against the opposition facing off with your favorite team.

These markets can also be really interesting as you learn more about them because you’ll notice some serious odds movement. This is especially the case in football where there are usually a couple of days between the opening and closing lines.

Props are often totals of some sort, for which you have to pick the over or under. For instance, a player’s points total in a basketball game, an MLB pitcher’s strikeouts total for a start, or how many passes a receiver will catch in football.

There are also some props with more options. First touchdown or basket scorer are some popular ones. There’s also yes or no markets, like anytime touchdown scorer.

Whether you’re interested in player props, game props, or anything in between, you’re likely looking at something that could be a great leg in a same game parlay, another increasingly popular way to play.

The good news is that you can place prop bets at just about every major online sportsbook. When you click on the game that interests you, you’ll be able to find both player and team prop bet options.

This can be a really fun way to engage even further with a game, and make every play meaningful, so it’s no surprise that plenty of bettors have begun betting props very frequently.

There are a handful of main types which you’ll encounter with varying frequency as you dig more into your prop betting journey. Let’s talk about the key categories you’ll be choosing between when you bet props.

A game prop is a pick on a game-wide event, such whether the first inning will feature a run in baseball, which team will score first in soccer, or how many total touchdowns will be scored in an NFL game.

These bets are a bit broader than some of the other props we’ll discuss, but they still allow you to focus on a specific portion of the game, rather than the overall result.

Team props are somewhat similar to game props, but they are determined by the performance of one particular team. Some prop bet examples in this category would be a team’s scoring total for the game or half, or how many sacks a football defense will record.

This is a great way to play when you know a lot about one team, or are very confident in one particular unit that will be taking the field.

Player prop bets are probably the broadest and most popular prop markets. These prop bets focus on the game-long performance of just one single player, making them an extremely fun and engaging way to play.

Betting on three-pointers made by a basketball player, a soccer goal scorer, a defensive end to record a sack, or a hockey player to light the lamp with a goal can be one of the most exciting ways to play.

There’s lots of money to be made as well. These bets are so granular that you can find a lot of value if there’s a particularly favorable or unfavorable matchup for a player.

Exotic props are ones that have nearly nothing, or absolutely nothing, to do with the sporting event itself. Sometimes these wagers center around sports, with plenty of such bets available on Super Bowl Sunday, like the length of a national anthem or the color of Gatorade thrown on the Super Bowl winning coach.

However, others are completely unrelated, like bets on political elections or entertainment awards shows.

Just about every online sportsbook will offer prop betting in some capacity, but a few operators stand out from the pack. Let’s talk about some of the very best options for you to place some prop bets.

After getting started in the Daily Fantasy Sports space, FanDuel is still a leader in another area that centers around individual player performances: prop bets.

This sportsbook is one of the most widely available across the United States, and has impressed plenty of users across the country with its easy-to-use interface, wide variety of betting markets, and intuitive and quick payout system.

Like its top competitor, DraftKings also originated as a daily fantasy platform, and has been a real trailblazer in the expansion of United States online sports betting.

Unsurprisingly, this wildly popular platform offers plenty of player, game, and team prop bet options, as well as exotic props whenever applicable.

This site is particularly well-known for offering some very popular football props, but there’s value on the board all year long. Finding your bets is extremely easy with the user-friendly DraftKings platform, and you should have no issues with their renowned bet slip building system either.

Caesars is one of the oldest and biggest brands when it comes to the world of in-person gambling venues, but they’ve done a tremendous job in terms of adapting to the online betting world and launching their mobile platform.

The prop bet prices offered by Caesars are very competitive, and you should be able to find the props you want on just about every major sport.

The Caesars site and app are both known for being among the most visually appealing in the industry, making the betting experience with this brand a very pleasant one.

Of course, looks aren’t close to everything, and the technology backing the desktop and mobile platforms is absolutely top-notch, as you’d expect from a brand with the track record of Caesars.

BetMGM is another brand that you’ll be familiar with if you’ve frequented locations like Las Vegas or Atlantic City, but make no mistake- their online product is one of the very best in the industry.

Like most sportsbooks, they offer plenty of prop bets, although the offers could vary depending on the popularity of the sport in which you’re interested.

BetMGM has one of the industry’s best loyalty programs, and it offers plenty of boosts and promotions for existing users. With so much value on the board, it’s not hard to see why BetMGM has become one of the most popular online sportsbooks on the market, even with so many options available.

Prop bet types and availability will greatly vary based on the sport, league, and even your location, so let’s talk about what you might be able to find for some of the most popular competitions in sports.

As is the case with most sports betting markets, the NFL is probably the biggest one when it comes to prop bets. It’s perhaps the only major American sport with a relatively consistent exotic prop market, with action on things like the coin toss often available.

That being said, the main attraction is of course props directly related to football. Betting on things like rushing, receiving or passing yards are very common in the player props area, but first and anytime touchdown scorer props have become extremely popular as well, even as legs of same game parlays.

Game props like first or second half lines are a good way to find some NFL value, and football’s team totals are one of the more intriguing team prop markets anywhere in sports. With so many different statistics and angles in every single football game, it’s no wonder that the NFL prop market is one of the most robust in sports.

There’s one kind of prop bet that is particularly popular when it comes to MLB: the No Run First Inning prop, known commonly as the NRFI. This bet pits a fresh starting pitcher against the top of the lineup, making it an exciting way to get the game started.

Similarly, the opposite wager, Yes Runs First Inning (YRFI) is popular if you’d like to invest in offense instead.

Of course, these aren’t the only baseball props available.

In fact, the way baseball is divided into distinct events makes for some of the most interesting available live props markets in all of sports. You can bet on the outcome of individual at bats, or even individual pitches if you so choose, a level of granularity not often seen anywhere else.

It could be argued that there’s some measure of randomness associated with the first basket prop in the NBA, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most exciting props in all of sports.

That being said, it’s far from the only major prop type in basketball, a game in which stats are accumulated at a rate matched by just about no other sport.

You can bet on points, rebounds, or assists for a player, as well as a total of the three, or more granular things like steals, three pointers, or free throws made. As a league with so many stats to describe an individual performance, the NBA is a haven for the prop bettor.

Due to regulations in certain states and levels of data available, college football prop bets aren’t quite as available as NFL props, especially in terms of player props.

That being said, you can usually find game props like first or second half lines, and especially for big games, there are some major player props available, like passing totals or touchdown scorers.

College basketball has about as much abundance of stats as the NBA, but like college football, it’s a bit harder to find props. When available, the prop types are more or less the same as what you’ll find in the NBA, but it’s less of a guarantee that you’ll be able to find them for any certain game.

Golf is very different from any of the markets we’ve discussed thus far, as it is of course an individual sport. Prop bets, anything not based on winning, can be tournament-wide, such as whether or not anyone will record a hole in one, and whether a player will make the cut, or stay under par.

As is the case with any type of betting, it’s best to go in with a plan, rather than firing away bets based on emotion. Let’s talk about some of the practices that could help you have the most possible success placing prop bets.

Prop betting is all about finding specific angles within a game, so matchup analysis is absolutely vital. Perhaps one team fades in the fourth quarter every week. That could be an opportunity for a first half spread or moneyline.

This is key not just for team and game props, but player props as well. Maybe a wide receiver who is usually quite prolific will be shadowed by a top cornerback, giving you an opportunity to bet his unders. A right-handed pitcher facing a string of lefties could give up more runs than usual, so overs would be in play.

Buying low or selling high is also a major concept in this area.

For example, if an NBA player just scored 45 points in a game, his point scoring prop might be a bit elevated the next game. But if he’s playing a much better defense than he did the last time out, or even a better individual defender for his position, you could be looking at a great opportunity to bet his under.

With markets as granular as prop bets, especially player props, the odds can vary tremendously between different sportsbooks. Something like an anytime touchdown prop could be +100 at one sportsbook and +250 at another. This is a somewhat dramatic but extremely realistic example.

For this reason, having access to multiple sportsbooks is absolutely vital if you’re serious about getting the most possible value out of your prop betting.

Part of the reason betting on props is so fun is that this is a high-variance market. A player who didn’t catch a pass last week could go for 240 yards this week, or vice versa.

For this reason, it’s important to be aware of risk, and always manage your funds carefully. Prop bets aren’t often an area to make massive investments, and as with all types of betting, always be sure to play responsibly and never bet more than you can afford to lose.

This trend has gotten a bit better in recent years, but prop odds usually aren’t available as early as full game odds, especially player props.

This is because these markets are so overly sensitive to news like player injuries, so it’s safer for sportsbooks to release them as close as possible to the start of the game.

For the NFL, you can usually expect odds for player props to come out a couple of days before kickoff. For other sports like baseball and basketball, player props are usually a game day release, while something like a NRFI could be available the night before after each team’s previous game ends.

It’s true conceptually that a prop bet can be settled before a game ends. A points total that goes over is never going back under, and an anytime touchdown scorer can hit on the very first play of the game.

However, in many cases, you still won’t receive the payout until the game ends. If you have a prop that succeeds and your payout hasn’t come yet, don’t be alarmed. You’ll likely see the funds when winnings on other wagers on that game, like moneylines and spreads, are distributed as well.

We hope that you’ve learned plenty from the above sections, and feel more ready to get started placing some prop bet wagers.

But if you have a few more questions before you start to bet props, read on. We’ve compiled some of the most frequently asked questions about popular prop bets and answered them for your convenience.

Props are at the heart of many same game parlays, although they are less common additions to multi-game parlays Pulling together props from different games isn’t always possible, but the rules will vary between sportsbooks, and of course depending on the specific props.

You absolutely can. This is one of the most fun ways to bet on props, and at times, one of the most profitable, as you can see edges playing out in real time.

The odds will vary based on the type of prop bet. Things like over/under bets for various totals will usually have odds of -110 or -115 on both sides. Meanwhile, any-sided markets like first touchdown scorers will usually have plus-odds for all options.

Prop is short for proposition, and this term refers to a bet that is settled based on anything other than the actual outcome of the sporting event in question. This can range from a player’s performance to a coin toss. Really just about any single-game bet other than a moneyline, total, or spread can be considered a prop.

Yes, you can use a bonus on prop betting. Most bonus bets distributed as part of new user offers can be used to make any bet across the sportsbook, so in these cases, you could certainly bet on props.

Some promotions for existing users actually will include specific parameters that require you to invest in prop bets, such as odds boosts and other specials released for individual games or leagues.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.