Live Betting Guide: How to Make Live In-Game Sports Bets
Some days and nights you just don’t have a good “feel” for how a matchup is going to go. Perhaps, the favorite lost a key player to injury or the underdog has covered the spread three games in a row and you’re not sure if that’ll continue. Rather than place a bet before the game, live betting allows sports bettors the opportunity to “feel out” the start of an event and place wagers during the action. This guide will explain how live betting lines work, provide real examples in a number of sports, share tips and strategies, and give the pros and cons of live betting lines.
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What is Live Betting?
Unlike typical moneyline, point spread and point total wagers placed before a sporting event begins, live betting is any wager placed after the game begins, but before it ends. These in-game bets can also be moneyline, spreads, and over-unders, but odds are constantly updating depending what is occurring in real-time. The fast-paced betting action is attractive to experienced bettors who can find value on odds boards, while also paying attention to the flow and trends of the game.
If pre-game odds looked something like this:
| Teams | Point Spread |
|---|---|
| Raiders | +7 |
| Chiefs | -7 |
And Las Vegas jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, live odds could look something like this:
| Teams | Live Point Spread |
|---|---|
| Raiders | -2.5 |
| Chiefs | +2.5 |
Now, if the Chiefs engineered a long drive inside the red zone and/or scored a touchdown, the live odds would continuously update in real-time.
Live Betting Lines: Examples by Sport
NFL Live Betting
Few things in life are as exhilarating as live wagering on an NFL contest. In addition to the options like moneyline, spread, and total oddsmakers often offer up live odds on what the next play will be, if the offense will turn the ball over on the next drive and what the end result of a drive will be: touchdown, punt, or turnover?
Some sportsbooks online also offer live in-game player odds where you can wager on if a running back will rush for X-number of yards or if the star quarterback will pass for Y-number of touchdowns.
MLB Live Betting
Sometimes an ace starting pitcher has an off-night on the mound and that moneyline wager you had on his team to win is toast before the third inning. Live betting MLB baseball affords players an opportunity to adapt to the game’s current conditions. So, if you see an opportunity to hedge your bet and live odds on the board provide solid value, you can take a swing. You can also live bet run totals in-game, which can be attractive if you know one or both bullpens carry high earned run averages and want to take a shot at the OVER hitting late in the game.
