Prop Betting Explained - What is a Proposition Bet?

Prop bets are easy to understand and add a twist to most sporting events as you can bet on in-game events not tied to the outcome. 

Prop bets are popular throughout the year and are posted for every major sport, but the pinnacle for prop betting is the Super Bowl. It’s the most popular day of the year for prop bets, which range from the typical to the exotic.

But you don’t have to wait for the Super Bowl to get involved in prop betting. See below for more on props, including the pros, cons, and prop bet examples from all the major sports. 

What is a prop bet? 

A prop bet is a “side bet” with a sportsbook on a specific event or statistical accomplishment within the game. These rarely have anything to do with the outcome of a game itself.

For example, you might bet on:

• LeBron James scoring over 20 points in a single game
• Dallas Cowboys gaining over 300 receiving yards in a game

Pros and cons of prop bets

Every bet has positives and negatives, and prop bets are no different.

Pros

• The lines don’t usually move as fast as other bet types: Prop bet odds are developed based on game lines and totals at sportsbooks, but prop bet lines tend to adjust more slowly. Let’s say you’re keeping an eye on the New York Jets vs. the Buffalo Bills, and you see the total shift due to an incoming winter storm. While many bettors will scramble to get their bet in on the ‘under’ before the lines move too much, it’s a good idea to scope out the prop bets for individual players. The main lines are shifting, but most of the best sports betting sites don’t have the personnel to keep tabs on every possible player, so you could find value in an ‘under’ on a quarterback’s passing yards because the lines haven’t caught up yet. 
• There’s greater variety: The three main bet types—moneylines, point spreads, and totals—are constant in every major sport, but they don’t offer a lot in the way of variety. Prop bets do. They can add interest to a game that may seem one-sided in the major markets. Larger sporting events, especially the Super Bowl, offer a massive variety of bets, ranging from the typical to the exotic and everything in between. 
• They are usually very easy to understand: Prop bets tend to ask a question of the bettor. Will a specific player hit a home run? Will Team X have over/under 3.5 field goals in a game? Will Team Y give up a powerplay goal? Whatever the question, prop bets are fairly easy to understand for the newcomer.

Cons

• Props are difficult to research: Prop bets are so specific you’d think it would be easier to research them than other bet types, but the reality is that sports are extremely volatile. You can never truly predict how an athlete or a team will perform. This makes it very hard to nail down smart prop bets. For example, you could bet on a certain player to score ‘over’ a point threshold, but you lose because that player had an off-night, even though they might have easily won that bet in other recent games. 
• Prop bets can tie up your bankroll: We wouldn’t recommend using prop bets as your main bet type when building your strategy. Use most of your budget on more stable bet types, such as moneylines, spreads, or totals. Focus only a small percentage of your bankroll on props. 
• Exotic props are a guessing game: When large events like the Super Bowl roll around, you’ll be inundated with exotic and entertaining prop bets. These are almost impossible to research, and pure guessing isn’t good for anyone’s bankroll or betting strategy. 

Prop bet examples for major sports 

Every major sport with odds at the best sports betting apps will have prop bets. Below, we give examples of prop bets you might find when betting on major American sports. 

NBA prop bets

The NBA offers a wide range of prop bets. They vary from player to team bets and lean heavily on the statistical side of the game. Some NBA prop examples include:

• How many points a player will score
• Number of assists or three-pointers a player will have
• Which player will score the first basket of a game

You can also bet on team props, such as whether a team will lead at the end of a certain quarter or an over/under bet on the total number of points the team will score in the game.

See more: NBA prop bets 

NFL prop bets

The National Football League is the king of sports betting, and NFL betting sites have no qualms about showcasing every kind of possible bet type for it.

Bettors will find many prop bet opportunities, especially for the Super Bowl. During the regular season, one of the most popular prop bet options includes the “anytime touchdown scorer” bet, where you can wager on a player to score a TD at any point in the game. Other prop bets can be focused on the team or even both teams.

See more: Super Bowl prop bets

MLB prop bets

MLB betting sites are no exception when it comes to offering prop bets. Like the other sports, MLB has prop bets focused primarily on individual players and statistical achievements like home runs, RBI, and strikeouts.

You might bet on an over/under for strikeouts for a starting pitcher in a game or even the number of bases a hitter will reach. 

NHL prop bets

NHL betting sites have all of the props you’d expect from one of the major North American sports leagues, such as player assists or a certain player scoring a goal in a contest.

You will also find bets for shots on goal, team goals in a game, and which team will score first. 

MLS prop bets

The demand for Major League Soccer betting has increased as the sport's popularity continues growing nationwide. Prop bets are just one of the many bet types growing at sportsbooks to keep up with the demand.

As expected, these prop bets often focus on individual players and their accomplishments, such as scoring a goal or collecting an assist in a game. Soccer betting sites also have props such as how many cards the two teams playing will combine to draw or a team’s total number of corner kicks.

How to read prop bet odds 

Prop bets at US sportsbooks use the same odds as other major bet types like moneylines, point spreads, and totals. These odds, known as American odds, use negative and positive numbers to show you how much money you stand to win.

Positive odds show how much you stand to win for every $100 you wager. Let's say you wager on a quarterback to have over 2.5 touchdowns in a game at +145 odds, and he throws three in the game. If you wagered $100, you would be paid $245, your initial wager of $100 returned to you, plus $145 in winnings. 

Negative odds tell you how much you need to wager to win $100. For example, if you bet a player will score less than 15.5 points in a basketball game at -135 odds, you would need to bet $135 to win $100.

Remember that you don’t have to wager that high or that low. Your payout will be calculated proportionally to your wager size when you finalize your bet slip. 

What is an exotic prop bet? 

An exotic prop bet is a non-traditional prop bet that is not focused on scenarios during a game. Instead, they can be as out of the ordinary as the sportsbook wants. 

In the US, the most exotic bets are available during the Super Bowl, which is the most prominent sports betting day of the year and offers up hundreds of prop bets to interested bettors.

These bets can range from the number of songs sung during the halftime show to the result of the coin toss to the color of the sports drink dumped on the winning coach at the end of the game. 

For the most part, you won’t come across too many exotic prop bets when using US sportsbooks, as many are just not legal bets. However, the largest sporting events, such as the Super Bowl or March Madness, will find sportsbooks offering up a wider range of prop bets. That’s usually when you’ll find more exotic props.

Sportsbook rules for prop bets

Before placing any kind of bet, we highly recommend you read the sportsbook’s terms and conditions. There, you will find all the rules for the various bets you will make. 

While most sportsbooks’ rules are similar, there are always small variations in how they handle certain situations that could impact your bets. 

One rule that is typically used by most sportsbooks involves player props. If you bet on a player and they don’t play in the game, most sportsbooks void the bet and refund your wager. But if that player is involved in the game even for a single play, then the bet stands. 

We recommend reading through the T&Cs before placing any wagers so you’re not caught by surprise if an unexpected event should happen.