In this prop betting guide, you will discover some strategies to use when placing your prop bets, including how to read the betting lines and the types of props available for the most popular sports.

Prop bets have become one of the most popular forms of sports betting over the past few years because of the unique experience it offers bettors.

Below, you will find out more about prop betting, including what a prop bet is and some useful strategies to consider.

First off, let’s discuss what a prop bet actually is. A prop bet is a bet on a specific player performance or in-game stat that is not reliant on the game’s final score.

At the best online sportsbooks, you will generally find the following kinds of prop bets: Player props, team props and game props.

So, rather than betting on who will win between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, you can participate in these kinds of prop bets:

A prop bet will usually boil down to an over/under or a yes/no, like in the examples above. In the player prop, your job is to predict whether LeBron James will finish the game with more or less than 24.5 points.

Why is prop betting so popular? One of the main reasons for its popularity is that prop betting adds more layers to the sports betting experience. Sports betting is no longer limited to game outcomes. Prop betting allows you to wager on smaller aspects within games, bringing customization into the industry. To learn more about placing your standard game bets, check out our dedicated betting guide section.

Prop betting odds are set up the same way as traditional sports betting odds. The favored outcome is signified by a minus (-) sign, while the underdog outcome generally features a plus (+) sign.

You will commonly see prop bet odds that are close to being even, as is seen below:

However, sometimes, you will come across prop bets that feature shorter or longer odds. For instance:

Shorter odds mean the particular outcome could go either way. Longer odds are present when the outcome is less likely to occur.

Take the example from above for instance. Lakers center Anthony Davis, despite being a fantastic player, would be viewed as a long shot to score 45 points or more in his game (whoever the opponent is). The odds here reflect that.

Prop betting is available for most sports. Let’s take a look at how prop betting works in some of the biggest sports:

NFL betting makes up for 35% of all sports betting across America, according to the American Gaming Association, and prop bets play a big role.

The NFL prop betting market is so extensive, you can bet on almost anything you can think of. A few examples of some NFL prop bets are:

Touchdown props are arguably the most popular NFL prop bets in 2024, as you can bet on individual players to score the game’s first touchdown, last touchdown or a touchdown at any point during the game.

Prop betting is extremely popular among NBA bettors. Each game contains a long list of prop betting opportunities, including:

Individual player statistical performances are popular in NBA prop betting, and it’s the most plentiful form of prop bet in this market.

Baseball is still considered America’s pastime, and MLB prop betting is very popular amongst baseball bettors:

You can place player props on both batters and pitchers with the best MLB betting sites.

NHL prop betting is also very popular among hockey bettors. You can place player props on both positional players and goalies, such as these:

Are there betting strategies that you can use to guarantee wins? No, but there are some strategies you could implement to give yourself a chance at winning more often. 

Below, you will find a few different strategies and tips you can use when placing prop bets:

Research can always elevate your odds of winning more bets. In prop betting, you should always try to stay up-to-date on injuries and recent player/team performances.

Furthermore, research is a broad term, but what it boils down to in this case is don’t bet blindly — why waste your money? If you are interested in placing prop bets within a specific game, do a little bit of homework on the participating players/teams.

Shopping around at different sportsbooks for the most favorable prop bet odds is critical.

Why not get the best bang for your buck? Signing up for more than one sportsbook is good for many reasons, one being that you can take advantage of multiple sign-up bonuses.

You should decide which prop bet(s) you want to wager on and look at odds at various sportsbooks. Find the best odds and bet with that sportsbook. If you want to bet on how many points Stephen Curry will have in a given game, you could see one line and odds combination at DraftKings Sportsbook, and a slightly different one at Caesars Sportsbook. The differences are usually small, but they could give you an edge.

Examining particular matchups is important for player, team, and game props. If a team is ranked highly in team 3-point defense, maybe stay away from taking the other team’s players to make a certain amount of 3s.

Or, say an NFL team is ranked top five in touchdown receptions allowed, this might lead you to not bet on touchdown props in that game.

The bottom line is you should look into the in-game matchups to make more educated prop bets.

This strategy goes without saying, but it’s the most important one of them all, please gamble responsibly. Betting on sports should always remain fun. You should set a strict budget, and never bet more than you can afford to lose.

All kinds of sports bets come with varying levels of probability to win, and that holds for prop bets. Are prop bets more valuable than other kinds of bets?

They just might be. Because sportsbooks vary so much in the lines they set for prop bets, someone with expert analysis in player props may be able to find an edge over the sportsbooks, who generally are much sharper when it comes to traditional moneyline, spread and totals bets.

A player injury is the biggest risk to a prop bet. It’s important to remember that every kind of sports bet can lose and prop betting is no different.

Yes, you can parlay prop bets. In doing so, you can give your wager longer odds, which will yield greater payouts if you win.

The majority of the industry’s leading online sportsbooks allow you to parlay prop bets across different games, leagues and even sports. Take the following two-leg prop bet parlay as an example:

You can combine the pair of aforementioned prop bets, which are from two different games. When combined, the odds for both of these bets to hit is +1430. That means a $10 bet would net you $143 in profit if it hits. As with all parlays, you would need both prop bets to hit to successfully win this parlay. If McCaffrey fails to score, the parlay is ruled a loss.

Alternatively, you can even combine prop bets within the same game, known as a same game parlay. For example:

Both Betts and Freeman are members of the Los Angeles Dodgers who are facing the San Diego Padres in this hypothetical situation. You can include both of them in a prop bet parlay to elevate your potential payout. While betting on each of these props individually have solid chances to win (especially the Betts prop), when you need both bets to win, the chances of them hitting is lower.

If you placed $5 each at FanDuel on Betts to record a hit and Freeman to get at least two hits, you would win $10.56 total if both hit. If you parlay these bets, you would win around $23 if both hit (depending on the exact odds given by the sportsbook for the same game parlay). While the latter seems more lucrative, you need both bets to be successful, which is much less likely.

See our parlays guide for more information on how parlays work.

There are some instances in which conflicting prop bet stakes disallow you from combining them on the same bet slip. See below:

This prop bet parlay cannot be placed because if Judge were to hit a home run, he would also be recording a hit.

Luckily, a sportsbook will let you know immediately whether or not your prop bet parlay stakes can be combined on the same bet slip or not.

In the following section, you will discover answers to a few more frequently asked prop betting questions:

The goal of an oddsmaker is to set a betting line that will experience betting action on both sides. That is why you often see prop betting lines with close to even odds.

The following prop bet example shows what a normal line looks like:

Burrow is pegged at -110 odds to go either over or under 265.5 passing yards. Sportsbooks see it as almost equally likely for him to throw less than 265.5 yards, as it is for him to throw over that mark. Betting action will occur on both sides.

Below you will see an example of a prop betting line that would not show up at a reputable sportsbook:

An NFL quarterback like Joe Burrow eclipses 125.5 passing yards just about every week, so it wouldn’t make sense to have -110 odds on that prop bet. It would be closer to something closer to -1250 odds because it’s so likely to happen.

Various events could cause a prop betting line to move. Most of the time, line movement is caused by action in the betting market.

Injuries can also play a part in prop line movement. If a star running back appears on the injury report midweek, that could cause his rushing yards total to decrease or the odds to become longer on a rushing yard over/under prop.

For outdoor sports like football, weather can cause prop betting lines to shift. Inclement weather normally means less passing and more running, which could affect quarterback passing props.

Sportsbooks always make money in the long run, otherwise they wouldn’t sustain business. When it comes to prop bets, they are very careful when setting the betting lines, so that they get as close to equal action on both sides as possible.

This gives them a solid return on investment regardless of how the prop bet plays out. Moreover, setting lines at -110 on both sides of the outcome gives them a slight edge no matter what.