One profitable way of being a sports bettor involves finding positive expected value plays when buying (or selling) points. This is sometimes better than betting the spread or total. In this guide, we discuss what buying points is, how it works, and if you should buy them.
What is Buying Points?
When you bet the spread or the total in, you are betting on who wins and loses. If you bet on a team that wins by more than the spread, you profit. Alternatively, betting on the team that wins by less than the spread, you lose.
People who bet the spread can also buy points. This means that if the team you bet on wins by more than the spread, you win by more than if you just bet the spread. It’s like using Slotastic bonus codes to gain extra funds to enhance the gaming experience.
Buying points means that you are willing to pay extra to move the line in your favor. This can be a good way to increase your winnings when you think a team will win by more than the line suggests.
When you buy points, you are increasing the spread by a half-point. Therefore, if the spread is 3, you will be betting on the team that you believe will win by 4 or more points.
If you bet on the team that is favored by 7, and they are victorious by 8 or higher points, you get what is called a push. But if you wager on the team that is favored by 7, and they win by 6 or fewer points, you lose your bet.
Buying points is also often referred to as buying half-points or buying down the spread. Buying half-points is a way to make a bad bet into a slightly better bet.
How Buying Points Works at Online Sportsbooks
You can also buy points off of the spread. The sportsbook will show you the betting line, which is the current point spread for the game, plus an option to buy or sell points.
Buying points off of the spread is different from buying points on the moneyline because, on the latter, you don’t affect the point spread. You are just wagering on which team wins, regardless of the margin of victory.
What It Means to Buy and Sell Points off the Spread
Bettors pay for the privilege of moving the line in their favor, but they can also sell points. Instead of betting that a team will win by more than the spread, you can bet that it will win by less than by selling points.
Buying and selling points off of the spread will change the bet to a win, loss, or push. You can’t bet on the margin of victory when you sell points, but you can still lose if the team you bet on wins with less than the spread.
Buying and selling points on the spread is a way to bet the opposite side of the bet you’re currently on and is available at many online sportsbooks.
Buying Points to Avoid a Push
You can buy points to avoid a push only when you’re betting on the spread or the total. Buying points to avoid a push is when you buy the team that is currently favored by the spread to increase it, so you’re guaranteed a win.
If the current spread for a game is 5 and you go with the favorite to emerge victors with 6 or higher points, you can buy points to avoid a push. You would move the line from 5 to 6. This ensures that you win your bet.
If you go with the team that is favored by 5 and they win by less than 6 points, then it’s a push. If you wager on the team that is favored by 5 and they win by 6 or more, then it’s counted as a loss.
How to Buy Points on NBA Games
To buy points, you will place a wager on the team you’re betting on. You can either bet on the spread or the moneyline for this wager.
The amount you bet will depend on the number of points you want to buy. If a team is currently -130 on the moneyline, but you want them at -125, you will need to buy 2 points. If you want to buy 1 point, you will need to place a wager equal to half of the original bet.
If a team is currently -130 on the moneyline, then to buy 1 point, you will need to place a wager of -65. If you want to buy 2 points, then you will need to place a wager of -130.
Buying points is different from parlaying. If you buy points and your bet wins, you will win by less than if you had just bet the spread. If you parlay, then your bet will win by more than if you just bet the spread.
The Bottom Line
Buying points for NBA matches might sound like rocket science, but it’s quite simple once you understand the basics. Buying high in basketball is very common and is referred to as buying a hot hand. You’re basically betting on a team or player that has been playing well and will continue to win.
