Halftime Wagering Part 1 - Hedging Your Bet:

Halftime wagering is done exactly how it sounds...at halftime. If you want an exact definition of halftime wagering, it is a bet that is made after the first half is played. In other words, a halftime wager is a bet made at halftime of a sporting event and is solely based on the action that occurs only in the second half of that event. The halftime wager has become much bigger in the betting world in the past 5 years or so. There are several different ways bettors use the halftime wager, but for the most part, they use it more as a hedge bet. No matter how you want to bet a halftime bet, it is just another fun way to bet.

A quick example of a halftime bet:

Lets say you have a bet on the Dolphins and Bills game. The Dolphins were favored by 3 and are up 14-7 at halftime. At halftime a new bet comes out with a new spread. Most of the cases in which a team that is favored at the beginning of the game is up by more than the original spread, the underdog will most likely be favored in the second half. With this example, the Bills being 3 point underdogs at the beginning of the game and find themselves down by 7 at halftime are most likely going to be favored in the second half by at least 3.

Another example of this bet deals with the over/under. Lets still use the Dolphins/Bills game. The original over under of the game was 46. With it being a total of 21 points in the first half, the likelihood of the over/under of the second half to be more than 21 is a great possibility. Most likely, the over/under in the second half will be somewhere around 24 to 26.

HEDGING/WINNING BOTH SIDES

One of the biggest reasons for the halftime bet for a bettor is to hedge their bet. The thing with betting is, winning is great, losing sucks and a push is ok! Breaking even is a lot better than losing! With a halftime wager, you could possibly take that losing part out if the right bet is made.

Example:

Let's stick with the Dolphins/Bills game. Lets say the Dolphins were favored by 3.5 and are up at halftime 24-7. The halftime bet comes out and the Bills are favored by 4. Your original bet was the Dolphins. Well, right now they look pretty good in covering the bet right? But you want to hedge your bet just to be on the safe side. So if you were to hedge your bet, you would bet on the Bills in the second half -4. Here are the possible scenarios that could play out:

1) The Bills go all out in the second half and win the game 28-27. Well, your original bet of the Dolphins -3.5 is down the drain BUT you did take the Bills in the second half so that bet covered. OUTCOME: HEDGE BET= PUSH

2) The Bills come out in the second half and get smoked and lose the game 41-10. You win your original bet of the Dolphins -3.5 BUT lose the second half bet of the Bills -4. OUTCOME: HEDGE=PUSH

3) The Bills come out in the second half and make a valiant effort but get beat 27-21. You win your original bet of the Dolphins -3.5 AND your second half bet of the Bills -4 because the Bills outscored the Dolphins in the second half 14-3. OUTCOME: HEDGE=DOUBLE YOUR MONEY.

To me, this is the best way to bet a halftime bet. Pushing beats losing any day of the week!

The halftime wager is just another way to bet on a sporting event. It keeps you intrigued with the second half of even a blowout game! Just realize this when it comes to halftime wagering: You don't get days, weeks, etc. to analyze the bet like you would with a regular spread on a game. You get about 10 minutes to figure it out and go from there. Choose wisely!

Leo Mendelsohn

Thehooks

http://www.thehooksfootballpicks.com

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