How to Buy Points

Buying points is a great way to give yourself an edge, as a matter of fact, it’s one of, if not the best edge that you can give yourself in sports gambling. In the case of buying points, we are specifically talking about football and basketball. Both of these sports are great ones to bet on and of course, football is by far and away the most popular sport to bet on in the United States. Basketball is extremely popular as well including the NBA and college. 

Rule of thumb when betting on football or basketball: Never lay the hook!

More often than not, when you see the lines and odds for either football or basketball, you will see the spread end in a half point. Example; Eagles vs. Bills (Eagles -9.5. Bills +9.5) (-110). The Eagles are favored to win the game by 10 points. Of course, it’s not possible for the score of either team to land on a half point, so what this number is saying is this… the oddsmakers like 9 points for sure, but they like it just enough more to place the line at 9.5, meaning that if you are to bet the Eagles, they must win by 10 in order for you to win the bet. 

Check out: How Sportsbook Bonuses Work

What does “hooked” mean?

Getting hooked is gambling lingo for when you place a bet that ends in a half point, such as the example of the Bills and Eagles. The line is -9.5 and +9.5. If you were to take the Eagles and they win the game by 9 points, you have just been hooked, you lost. If you bet on the Bills at +9.5 and they lose the game by 10 points, you have just been hooked. 

There is literally nothing worse in gambling than to get hooked! It happens often, players get hooked all of the time and there is a valid reason for this. The oddsmakers and line movers are really this good! Look, it’s absolutely no secret that the oddsmakers in both Las Vegas and the offshore bookies are really good at what they do. They have to be, or they would all go broke very quickly. More often than not, both football and basketball games come down right to the point or at least within a point or two of the set odds. There are exceptions to every rule of course but odds are, the vast majority of games come within a point or two of what the line was when you bet it. 

The above example of the Bills and Eagles game is the best example of when to buy points. Remember, never lay the hook (half point). Never under any circumstance lay the half point! We want to reiterate this point once again. It is better to bet on the Browns vs. Patriots at +13 and have a halftime score of Patriots 35-10. You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are done in this game, it’s over, there is no more sweating, and you can look for another game to bet on! 

Learn: How to Bet Football

The absolute worst scenario is if you had bet the Patriots vs. Colts, you took the Colts at +3.5. It’s a tight game all the way to the wire and with 3 seconds left, the score is Patriots 28-27. The Patriots have the ball and have driven all the way to the Colts 25 yard line—4th down, 3 seconds on the clock—all you need is for the game to end, you are covering, you have won the bet, you are hoping for a blocked field goal, a bad snap, a false start, you need anything it takes to end the game. But no! The Patriots calmly come out of the huddle, kick the winning field goal and win the game by a final score of 31-27. Winning by 4 points; you have just been hooked! Horrible! The worst gambling feeling in the world and it happens all of the time. Had you bought a half point, and given yourself 4 points instead of 3.5, you would have pushed and got your money back. The same goes for the Bills-Eagles game.

Many folks get caught up in the money side of buying points. It does cost money to buy points. Usually, most sportsbooks offer the buying or selling of points at .10 cents per half of a point. So, for example, if you see a line like this:

Broncos vs. Cowboys

Broncos + 3.5 Cowboys -3.5 (-110)

You like the Cowboys, but you are not ready to give up 4 points. Maybe you see them winning on the last possession and you think this game could be a dogfight to the very end. REMEMBER; Giving up 3 points is a push, if the Cowboys win this game by 3 points exactly, you have pushed, and you will get your money back. THAT IS IF YOU BUY THE HALF POINT ON THE COWBOYS AND BRING THE LINE TO -3, instead of -3.5. 

Because you are buying the half point, it will cost you .10 cents, bringing the juice to (-120). If you were to buy a full point, this would bring the juice to (-130). Most all of the major and definitely, the better online sportsbooks offer the option to buy points. Buying points works the same way in basketball as it does in football. Be sure to ask your favorite bookie about buying points and remember; NEVER LAY THE HOOK!