Halftime Betting

With today's busy schedules, it can be hard to find the time to make your own picks, or even just read through some offered by a handicapping service, then find a bookmakers that offers a good line for the game you are interested in.

There are lots of sports betting web sites, and many online casino sites offer sports betting facilities too. While this is easier and more convenient than heading to a bricks and mortar bookies, there will still be occasions when you just don't quite make it to the bet placing page in time to get the best deal.

Picture the scene - the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears are about to face off. You've been studying the long-running rivalry, checking out the fitness of the team members, and you think that the Chicago Bears will win. The bookmakers you usually use were offering -4 points at -105, but now that kick-off is approaching the offer has changed to -4.5 points at -110. You may be willing to accept that extra half a point, although if you do that too often you could end up eating into your bankroll more than you had planned when you worked out your budget. The extra commission won't help your bankroll either.

You could look for another bookmaker still offering an acceptable line, although as kick-off approaches the line will probably move even more out of the bettors favour.

If you have time, watching the lines over the course of a few days will give you an idea of when to bet, but most people don't have the luxury of being able to check betting sites several times a day.

That's where halftime betting comes in. If you have the time to watch the match, then you have the time to follow the line as the game goes on. Betting on the second half means that you can follow the line movement over the course of several minutes, instead of several days.

Once you get used to the way different bookmakers behave, you may learn that some bookies will deviate from normal lines to take certain kinds of bets. You may notice that one particular bookmaker always takes longer to change their numbers, so if things start changing to be unfavourable to you at the other bookmakers, you know you have time to make a bet with them.

Halftime betting is fast paced, and you don't have much time to crunch numbers, so it is not something that suits everyone's style of betting. The good news, however, is that the bookmakers only have access to the same information that you do, so the playing field is a little more even, and you have the chance to get some more unusual odds.

If you find the thought of watching the entire lifetime of a line, and getting the chance to jump in on a big line movement exciting, then half time betting is for you. Even if you prefer the slower and more methodical pace of regular bets, don't dismiss the idea totally. Remember, it's a game of two halves!