In-Game Bets

Computer with hand full of money and sports balls

Who is ready to start really taking advantage of some opportunities to make some money in the sports betting world? If you have any interest in capitalizing on human mistakes and errors, bookmark this page or just read it all now. We are going to give you the secrets to beating the oddsmakers and it revolves around the massive potential behind in-game betting.

What is in-game betting and how do you do it? Relax and take a deep breath. Read this page carefully and you will find those answers and be looking to place some in-game wagers immediately.

Breaking Down In-Game Bets

In-game betting is when you make a bet on a game after the game has started. This can be on the ending result or better yet on an upcoming play in that game. Many online sportsbooks will have a person, team of people, or a computer that will constantly be configuring new lines based on how the game is going. So, if a team gets down a bunch of points and you have a hunch that they will come back, then you can get an incredibly lucrative line on that bet during the game.

Typically, in-game betting lines offered include moneylines, multiple spreads, half and quarter bets, and some prop bets. It all depends on the sport and how in-depth the sportsbook is choosing to go with their in-game options. Some sites may even offer live, in-game betting on what will happen in the next at-bat in a Major League Baseball game.

If you are convinced the next batter will strike out or hit a home run, then you can actually put your money where your mouth is and get rewarded handsomely if you are right.

College football buff? Expect to see a plethora of in-game bets on the major sites when Alabama is playing Georgia on live television on CBS. On that same token, don’t be surprised if you don’t see many choices on what will happen in the second half of the Appalachian State vs. Coastal Carolina game that is barely streamed on the campus network. Sites will offer their selection of in-game bets based on the popularity and interest level of each event. Think supply and demand.

In-game bets can be a lot of fun and can be a great way for you to make money. What we would caution you to be aware of is that it can be easy to get carried away with in-game betting and lose track of how much money you have on the line. Make sure that you’re staying on top of how much you have bet and that you’re not letting your emotions get you to bet outside of your comfort zone or more importantly your bankroll.

What we are saying is that the easy nature and “desire to outthink the linemakers” can get the best of you if you are not careful and smart about your bets. Don’t make it about trying to prove anyone right or wrong, make it about trying to win money.

How Do the Payouts Work with In-Game Bets?

Fortunately, there is nothing confusing about how the payouts work when you make live, in-game bets. Each bet you make will have odds and you just bet accordingly. One type of in-game bet is when you will have an option to bet the “over or the under.” Most of the time you would be betting at “-110.”

An example of an in-game bet would be this: over/under 104 points in the second half of the New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics basketball game. In this case, you choose either side and would most likely have bet $110 to win $100- just like a standard sports bet at an online casino.

An example of an in-game bet that provides a much more rewarding payout would be live betting the exact score of a tennis match. If you think Rafael Nadal is going to beat Roger Federer 6-4 in that 5th and decisive set, bet on the match ending that way. You will be laid a price according to what the linemakers think the exact odds are of that set ending “6-4” in favor of Nadal. Then, they offer it to their bettors.

If you are familiar with sports betting online already, the in-game bets will be an easy transition and something you will really be drawn towards. The way the payouts work are staring right in front of you when you have to decide whether or not to place the bets. Remember that these odds will change quickly and go away as the game moves along.

If you see a bet you like with an attractive payout, we suggest going for it.

Benefits of Making In-Game Bets

In today’s day and age, sports betting on the internet is an extremely competitive industry. If one site does something successfully, it is only a matter of time before other sites are playing “copycat” and doing the same thing. It comes down to wanting to provide as many betting opportunities to their customers as possible, all while making the experience as fun and real as can be.

What does this mean for you? This means that the top sites are going to have to offer live betting for the men and women who want to bet on their sites. Once the sites saw that in-game betting was a real phenomenon that wasn’t going away anytime soon, the casino operators hopped on board and started organizing the resources to make this a possibility.

Now, nearly everywhere you look you can find chances to place wagers on sporting contests once the game gets underway. What is so intriguing about the in-game betting is that you theoretically should have a much better chance at “beating the books.” Allow us to elaborate on that point.

Let us use a soccer game for an example. Before the game starts, you have the choice to bet on which team you think will win. The linemakers have had ample time to study the data and come up with a sharp line that makes it difficult to pick a side. It is tough to compete with individuals who spend countless hours and have access to the fastest supercomputers to help them project outcomes.

Now take a look at the prospects of betting during the game. It isn’t feasible for an oddsmaker to be as “spot on” with a prediction when he or she only has a matter of minutes to generate the line. The odds they set on the outcome of the second half are going to be based on the same information you were able to gather by watching the first half unfold.

The whole point of sports betting is to either bring entertainment to the game you are watching, to win money, or in many cases both. The way to win money is to find the bets that offer value, the ones that aren’t going to be priced as accurately as others. In many instances, it is going to be the in-game bets that are the wagers that offer the most upside.

No More Waiting

We live in a society where we like things fast, and we like things easy. Say you like to come home after work on Mondays and watch Monday Night Football on ESPN during the NFL season. If that is your only time to relax and bet on a game you can watch, you are going to have a lot of opportunities.

Before in-game betting, you would bet on who would win the game and could bet on the over or under. Then you would wait a full week until the next Monday Night Football game was on to make more bets.

Important:Thanks to live-betting, you don’t have to wait until the following game to place bets anymore!

You can spice up the action by betting on what will happen in each quarter and in some cases the very next play! If you are someone who loves betting sports and loves the constant exhilaration of chasing the win, then in-game betting is going to be right up your alley.

In Game Betting Strategies

This is the really fun part. It is finally time to use your own two eyes to help you make predictions about what will happen next. You want to make money betting during the games and we want to help you figure out how to do that.

One thing we like to take advantage of is when we see too much of an “overreaction.” Here is an example. Say you are betting the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Lakers basketball game. The game tipped off with the Warriors -14 points. If they are -7.5 in the first half, that means that the Warriors are projected to win the second half of the game by 6.5 points.

If the Warriors are down by 10 at halftime, the Warriors might be -12 in the second half. If the Warriors are up by 20 points at the midway point, the second-half line may be adjusted to only Warriors -1. Don’t forget that when the oddsmakers actually had the time to research and study the projected outcome, the Warriors were -6.5 for the second half.

Note:When you notice these large discrepancies, that is your time to pounce.

Another strategy to employ when betting the action as it goes in a sporting contest is to “middle your bet.”

Middling Your Bet

This is a fun opportunity that will sometimes present itself when things go right. Renowned sports bettor Billy Walters famously “middled” Super Bowl XLVI in 2010 and made a fortune in the process. So, what does middling even mean?

Imagine betting both sides of a game, in this case the Super Bowl, and coming out on the winning end on both bets? If you seemed confused as to how that would occur, allow us to explain.

Let’s use that Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers game as our example. Let us say you bet the Warriors -14 before the game starts. You may watch the first half and realize that the Lakers were so pathetic that they should come out like “gangbusters” and want to bet on them in the second half. Perhaps the Warriors are up by 30 at halftime and you expect their starters to rest for the entire fourth quarter. So, you bet the Lakers +4 in the second half.

Let’s say the Lakers actually win the second half, but still lost the game by 20 points. Guess what? You just “middled” the game and won both sides. If you know when to effectively implement this into your repertoire, you can start piling up the cash.

Understand the Flow of a Game

This can be tied into not overreacting to certain things that happen throughout a game or match. Understanding the flow of a game can really help you become aware of trends and pieces of information to follow.

For ExampleSay a starting pitcher is throwing a tremendous game and only has 75 pitches through the first 6 innings and the score is 0-0. If his team comes out and scores 12 runs in the top of the 7th inning and that pitcher is forced to sit in the dugout for 25+ minutes, you better believe that his manager is probably going to “pull the plug” and send in a reliever.

On the flip side, if a pitcher had 98 pitches through 6 innings and the game is still knotted at 0-0 after the top of the 7th, chances are the manager will send his ace back out for the bottom half of the inning and try and squeeze out some more production.

This is just an example of how understanding what is likely to happen next can help you beat the in-game lines that are basically set on the spot.

If you are watching a football game and both defenses are struggling to stop the opposing offense and the teams are driving up and down the field with ease, you may want to account for that and bet the over in the second half. Any information you can accurately gather based on how a game is going can help you formulate opinions on how things will pan out.

The Takeaway

If you made it to the concluding section, chances are you are ready to fire up some in-game bets. The first part is understanding what they are and where they are available. Keep in mind that the more popular a sporting event is, the larger number of in-game bets you will find.

The payouts are straightforward, as they work similarly to the other bets you are used to making. Be aware that certain in-game bets only have a short window of time to place the bet. Don’t wait for the price to fluctuate if you think you spotted something in real-time. Get out in front of your betting competition and place your in-game bets aggressively as they pop up.

There are plenty of benefits to making bets during the game as opposed to just before it starts. First and foremost, the oddsmakers are using the same information to generate the odds as you. That is a combination of what is happening in real-time and what was anticipated beforehand.

Do you ever see something during a game or match and think you have a hunch what will happen on the next play or how the next quarter will play out? Live betting allows you to make some money based on your assumptions.

We talked about some strategies to follow when taking advantage of the coolest way to bet on games. Paying close attention to what is going on and simply not overreacting like the majority of the public can put you well ahead of the curve when it comes to “significant factors to consider.”

Be smart and have fun. That is why in-game bets were created and that’s why they are offered.

Jim Beviglia
Get in touch with Jim
About Jim Beviglia
Jim Beviglia has been a gambling writer at LegitGamblingSites.com since 2018. During that time, he’s written just about every type of article related to gambling, including reviews of betting sites, guides to popular casino games, betting tips on both casino and sports betting, sports and casino blog posts, and game picks. In addition to online gambling, one of Jim’s other major interests is music. He has been doing freelance work for various music sites and magazines for two decades. Among his outlets past and present are American Songwriter, VinylMePlease, Treble, and The Bluegrass Situation. Jim has also written five books on music that were published by Rowman & Littlefield.