Why Are Player Props So Popular

Player props have a lot of purposes, and are gaining popularity.

Key Points

– Props bets have become extremely popular over the last few years for a number of reasons.

– Bettors can find props bets at most sportsbooks.

One of the big trends in sports betting is props betting. Sportsbooks are in a bit of a ‘keep up with the Joneses’ situation where they have all of these prop bets on their boards.

If one sportsbook offers a bunch of props, others must follow to have a chance at gaining more customers. Why are player props so popular?

There are a number of reasons and it begins with plain old entertainment value.

Nothing makes a sporting event more fun to watch than to have bet on a game, team, or player prop bet. 

Take an NFL game as an example. You wagered on Joe Burrow to throw for 275-plus yards in a game against the Browns. Watching the Bengals-Browns game becomes infinitely more fun as you cheer each time Burrow drops back to pass. 

The enjoyment reaches a peak when, in the third quarter, Burrow completes a simple 10-yard out route. The catch puts Burrow’s total Over 275. You have won the bet and can now sit back, enjoy the rest of the game, and await your payout.

Prop bets keep sporting events fun and exciting. Prop bets used to be for events like the Super Bowl. Not anymore. Now, you can find them for every single game on the betting board.

You may not like a side or even a game total in an NBA or NFL game. That’s okay because you can still wager on the game. 

Find a prop bet that makes sense. The Lakers are a huge 10.5-point favorite over the Kings who are without their best player. You don’t like the spread and the moneyline, of course, doesn’t make sense. You don’t like the total either.

However, LeBron James averages 8.5 assists per game. He’s had at least eight in each of his last five games. You see that his assist total is set at 7.5 at even odds. That’s a bet worth making and will make the game more fun to watch.

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There are some prop bets that offer outstanding payouts. Take for example, the MLB player prop market for home runs. 

Let’s say you have a player like Aaron Judge or Mike Trout who has been extremely hot and hitting the ball well. Maybe they have had several home runs over the course of a few weeks.

You find an advantageous pitching matchup and lock in the bet. It would not be a surprise to find Judge Over 0.5 Home Runs at +550 or Trout Over 0.5 Home Runs at +640. A simple $10 bet on Judge would pay $55 and on Trout would pay $64. 

Bettors can find great payouts on plenty of prop bets. 

Sportsbooks jam prop bets down the throats of sports bettors. They are used constantly as marketing tools to draw prospective bettors to a certain sportsbook.

They are in the public eye so often that props just can’t help but be popular. Too often, bettors will flock to a certain sportsbook just because it has prop bets that other books don’t have.

When these other books begin offering those prop bets, bettors come back. Bettors just want the opportunity to bet on game, player, and team props. As a result, most sportsbooks have them. If they don’t, they sacrifice business.

Sportsbooks do not put in the same amount of time and effort into prop bets. Most of their action is on the major markets. That’s where they spend the bulk of their time making those markets more efficient. Betting early lines will a lot of times get you a much better return.

The algorithms in the props markets aren’t quite as refined. There is more of an advantage for bettors to capitalize on a prop than on a point spread bet. Plus, the limits on props bets aren’t as high, so sportsbooks aren’t as worried about losing.

Think about it this way. If Patrick Mahomes suddenly suffers an injury in practice and is listed as questionable on the injury report, the major markets react immediately and accordingly. 

If Ezekiel Elliott gets ruled out of a game during the week, bettors will have a short window where they will be able to jump on Tony Pollard’s Rushing Yards prop before the market reacts. Advantage props bettors.