In sports betting, the buying points allow you to adjust a spread or a total bet to your advantage. By purchasing a half point, you can shift the line in your favor, increasing the chances of winning. For example, moving the Chiefs spread from -7 to -6.5 turns a push into a win.
However, all this flexibility comes with a cost that reduces your payouts, and the odds are worsened varying by the sportsbook along with the fact that you need to bet more to win the same amount. In this example, buying a half-point might shift the odds from -110 to -125, requiring a $125 bet to win $100.
Understanding the workings of point buying at an online sportsbook
Online sportsbooks offer the flexibility to buy points on your bet slip, allowing you to adjust the spread or total to your advantage. However, the convenience comes with a cost, as I mentioned above.
You have two options to choose from: either buy points or sell points. Buy points will increase your chances of winning by moving the line in your favor, but by accepting worse odds than before, sell points will boost your odds by moving the line against you, but this will reduce your chance to win. Some sportsbooks add point buying directly into the bet slip, while others offer an alternate spreads section.
Understanding the working of buying and selling points on the spread
Spreads are a popular place for bettors to buy or sell points, and NFL games are no exception. Let us consider an example:
Green Bay Packers: +7.5 (-110)
Dallas Cowboys: -7.5(-110)
You want to bet on the Cowboys, but the -7.5 spread makes you nervous. To reduce the risk, you decide to buy a half point, moving the spread to -7. However, this adjustment comes at a cost, as the odds shift to (-120).
The other options that the sportsbook offers are:
- -7.5 (-110)
- -7 (-120)
- -6.5 (-130)
- -6(-140)
- -5.5 (-150)
- -5 (-160)
Notice how the odds increase by -10 with each half-point increment, representing an additional 10 cents. Taking the Cowboys at -7 with odds of -120 means a $120 bet would get you a $100 profit. In contrast, taking the Cowboys at -7.5 with odds of -110 would require a $110 bet to win $100. Now you can see how buying half a point from -7.5 to -7 increased the bet amount by $10. From $110 to $120, to win the same $100.
How to buy points in sports betting
The step-by-step on how to buy points in sports betting through sportsbooks is mentioned below.
Step 1: Log in to your sportsbook account. If you already don’t have a Sportsbook account, then create a new one.
Step 2: To create a new account, go to the sign-up option and fill up the form with your details along with your email ID. Create a new user ID and a secure password.
Step 3: Now it is time to select the bet you are interested in betting on. After selecting the bet, you need to look for alternate spreads and totals of the bet that you wish to place.
Step 4: You can also directly make a selection and add buy or sell points to the bet slip of the sportsbook in some cases. So choose how many points you want to buy or sell and set the points to your bet slip.
Step 5: After adding the buy or sell points to the bet slip, set the bet amount. After choosing the alternate line, input the dollar amount you wish to bet on it. Once you have entered the amount, you will see the potential winning if the bet is successful. Take a moment to analyze it and rethink your selection.
Step 6: After rethinking your selection and confirming the bet, you can see the status of your bet in the “my bets” or similar section of your sportsbook account.
Conclusion
By reading this article, now you know what a buying and selling point means in sports, how the buying of points works in sportsbooks, and how it works in spreads, along with step-by-step instructions on how to buy points in sportsbooks.
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