Half Time Betting Explained

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Updated on: October 3rd, 2024

half time betting explainedHalf time betting has become increasingly popular at online sports betting sites in recent years with the growth of live betting. Many expert handicappers believe that your chance of winning on half time odds is much better than with regular moneyline, point spreads and total lines.

Essentially, their reasoning behind this line of thinking is that you get to watch the game and get a better feel for what is happening. For example, two soccer teams may be at 0-0 half time, but the weaker team has shown that they are capable of winning the game. And, so there’s an opportunity to make some money.

However, you need to be careful with making too many half time predictions. Unfortunately, far too many people get sucked into the allure of halftime lines (especially in football betting), and then make too many bets. All this ever really leads to is a bust bankroll quicker than you would like.

If you would like to find out how halftime bets work, make sure to stick around. Below we have a look at all you need to know about these bets, including:

  • What halftime wagers are,
  • The types of halftime bets available,
  • The best half time betting strategy.

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half time bets

What is a Half Time Bet?

As the name pretty much implies, half time bets are bets placed at the rest interval of a game in a sport like football, basketball or soccer. In fact, when you place a half time, everything prior to the second half is immaterial.

A lot of beginner bettors get confused with this concept. So, we’ll try to explain it with an example. Let’s say you place a half time bet on a football game featuring the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

Going into half time, the Giants are trailing 28-14. But before the break whistle blew, the Giants played very well and scored two touchdowns on two consecutive drives. At half time, you could place a bet on the Giants to win the rest of the game.

Following the break, the Giants score two touchdowns, but the Cowboys scored one too. So, the final score of the game is 35-28 in favor of the Cowboys. However, your half time bet still pays out. The reason is that when you make a half time or quarter bet, the stats are reset to zero.

So, in our example, the result for the second half of play was 14-7 to the Giants, which is why the bet paid out. Who was leading at halftime and who won the overall NFL game is irrelevant in relation to half time bets football.
half time betting

Types of Half Time Bets

Theoretically, a half time or quarter bet is actually a prop bet. Technically, you are actually betting on an event within the game and not the full game overall. However, with regards to half time bets, you can practically place any sort of bet you can place on a regular fulltime game.

Here is a list of all the types of bets you can place at half time:

  • Moneylines
  • Spreads
  • Totals
  • Props

half time betting tips

Half Time Betting Tips

So, half time betting can be profitable. But you need to be smart about placing these bets or you might just go bust. To help refrain that from happening, here is a list of our top half time betting tips:

  • Look for games where one team may have a significant lead going into halftime against another competitive team. Chances are that in the second half, they are going to play more defensively, allowing for better odds on the underdog.
  • In sports like baseball and hockey, where a player such as the pitcher or goaltender has a significant impact on the outcome, it is important to pay attention to the team’s full list of players. Some teams may have a great list of starting pitchers but a terrible bullpen. This means their opponents are more likely to get the win in the second half.
  • Research the teams and/or players involved in the game. Some players or teams are better under pressure so they make for better halftime bets.

Questions to Ask Yourself at Half Time

Outside of these general tips, here are some questions you need to ask yourself when placing half time bets on a game:

  1. Did any injuries occur in the first half?
  2. Were there any penalties and/or turnovers which altered the score and/or total?
  3. Does one team seem to have more momentum?
  4. Was the first half extraordinarily bad or great for one team?
  5. Did the teams stick to their original gameplay plans?
  6. If not, have one or both teams started modifying to match the opponent’s (new) game play plan?
  7. Is the weather affecting the game?

These questions should also help you make better half time bets. Overall, when you ask and answer them, you should get a better understanding of whether you should be placing that bet.

Half Time Betting – FAQs