Exotic Wager
By Kris Lazaro (11/15/2006)
Definition
An “exotic wager”, also know as a proposition bet (or prop bet), is a bet other than a single straight bet or parlay. These are bets that are ‘outside’ of the normal bets offered by a sportsbook.
Types of exotic wagers
There are a plethora of different bet types offered to the sports gamblers. Some include, but are not limited to team props, player props, futures bets, teasers, “if bets”, “reverse bets”, etc.
Are exotic wagers bad bets?
Exotic wagers are not bad bets, per se, but they are choc full of chalk. Some books have different lines, so it behooves the savvy gambler to shop around for the best line. More specifically, team and player props have the most ‘juiced-up’ lines when compared to the other different propositions. One needs to be knowledgeable when one considers proposition bets. In fact, if one dedicates enough time into researching specific players, and/or teams, one may be able to find ‘soft’ lines and bet accordingly.
What are team/player props?
Team and player props function mostly like over/under bets. For example, a typical player prop might look like this,
Kobe Bryant points + assists over 35.5 -140
under 35.5 +125
This type of betting usually requires some research, but one angle that can be used quite successfully in these types of bets is as follows: back the ‘over’ in player props, if such a player is a star/impact player and said player did a horrible performance in his/her previous game. This idea stems from the fact that most stars need to shine the game after a bad outing. Otherwise, if a game is projected to be a blow-out (on either side), blindly betting on the ‘under’ on most player props is generally a good bet (since coaches tend to bench their star players in blow-out games). Injuries, though rare, may also play a small part in considering the ‘under’.
Team prop bets are similar to player prop bets. These types of bets ask the bettor if team X will score ‘over’ or ‘under’ Y amount of points (mostly based on the overall game over/under).
Other types of prop bets.
Teasers, futures, “if bets”, and “reverse bets”, are also different types of prop bets. Teasers are bets where the player links up two or more sides/totals and gets points added to his/her favor, with differing vigorish depending on the number of sides/totals selected. Futures bets are those bets that ask will team Z win the championship. These types of bets are often bad ones, since anything can happen in a season (ie. injuries, trades, etc.) Lastly, “if bets” and “reverse bets” link up two sides/totals and requires the first selection to either win, push, cancel, or be no action for the second selection to have action (this is covered in another entry).
Summary
In conclusion, exotic bets are those bets that are not part of the regular betting handle of the sportsbooks. They include team/player props, teasers, futures, “if bets”, “reverse bets”, etc. The gambler must be knowledgeable, lest he/she makes bad bets on high vigorish lines. |