Whether you are sports betting live or online, chances are you have been offered to buy half points by the sportsbook you are placing your wagers with. Before even considering purchasing these half points, you should stop to consider, if half points are so useful, why are they being offered? Comparable to MLB betting systems, half points are considered to be a quick grab scheme for sportsbooks to make a profit off of their customers. Today we will be looking at buying half points.

Buying half points essentially means that you are giving the sportsbook money to move the point spread to one specific side of the line. For example, in football, some bettors will buy half points, at $13 for every $10, to move the line to either two and a half or three and a half points, depending on if you are taking the underdog or favorite.

While buying half points makes your overall bet more enticing, it also forces you to do a little bit of extra work. In essence, if you can win roughly 50 percent of your bets on any given Sunday, you should be able to make a profit. However, by adding the advantage, due to buying half points, you now have to win 52 to 55 percent of your bets just to break even, let alone making a profit. Meaning to say, the appeal of buying half points is actually nullified as the risk has increased.

Although we do not believe buying half points is good, it can occasionally have an advantage. For instance, if you are taking an underdog that was originally set at seven and a half points, and you move the line to seven points, you can give yourself an opportunity to cover.