Halftime Middles
The popularity of Internet sports betting has changed the way many sports gamblers operate. No longer confined to the working hours of a local bookie, bettors can place wagers at any time, from early in the morning to seconds before the tip-off of a University of Hawaii game, which typically begin at midnight on the East Coast.
Nearly every online sportsbook also gives bettors the opportunity to place bets at halftime, coming up with a new point spread and over/under for strictly the second half of play. While this can yield decent wagering opportunities for bettors, the majority of sports gamblers fail to use halftime lines to their benefit, and it ends up costing them money in the long run. The main culprit tends to be when going for middles.
As an example, we'll use the Fresno State at Hawaii game of Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. At tip-off, Hawaii was a 3-point favorite.
Everything went Hawaii's way in the first half and the Warriors grabbed a comfortable 34-10 halftime lead. At halftime, the sportsbooks released the halftime line of Fresno St. -3.
Bettors who took Hawaii were looking good, but instead of being happy with what appeared to be an easy winner, some decided to try for the second-half middle and made a wager on the Bulldogs -3. The logic being that if Hawaii ended up winning by four to 20 points, bettors would win both the original bet on Hawaii, as well as the second-half wager of Fresno State -3.
If Hawaii extended their lead, bettors would still win their original bet and lose the second-half wager, while if Fresno State pulled off the miracle comeback, bettors would lose their original Hawaii bet, but win the Fresno State bet made at halftime.
What ended up happening was that Hawaii ended up with a 35-33 second-half scoring advantage, so those bettors who were trying to hit the middle and win both bets, ended up losing the second-half bet on Fresno State.
While those who took Fresno State may try to rationalize their decision by thinking that their losses were basically offset by the win on Hawaii, they fail to realize that what they really did is eat into their profits on the Hawaii bet.
Treat Each Bet Individually
The key concept for bettors to realize is that second-half bets need to be treated, and thought of, as a separate wager, and the bet they have on the entire game has no relation to the halftime wager.
If a bettor has what looks to be a winning wager at the half, there's really no reason to do anything that puts those likely winnings at risk.
Bettors will also look to hit halftime middles on totals, especially if they wagered on the under of a low-scoring game at halftime. By wagering on the second-half over, they can try to win both bets, while thinking the worst they can is win one bet and lose the other. Instead, they should be happy to be in a good position as far as winning the original under wager.
There are times that halftime wagers offer good value for bettors, but as a general rule, bettors should be content with a wager that looks promising at the half.
