Buying Points

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‣	What Buying Point Is
‣	Cost Of Buying Points
‣	Rules For Buying Points

You’ve probably heard the cliché that every point matters in sports betting. In fact, if you’ve placed enough bets in your life, you already know that bets can be determined by the slimmest of margins.

So to ensure that the advantage is always in your favor in such situations, there’s a couple of things that you can do.

You can always go for the best lines possible by line shopping, or you can alter the point spreads in your favor by buying points.

If you want to know how you can buy points from sportsbooks, read on.

What Does It Mean To Buy Points?

Many sportsbooks give you the option of improving the lines on point spreads by allowing you to purchase points. So instead of settling for a -3 point spread, you can buy half a point from the sportsbook to get the spread at -2.5.

Many bettors buy points for one obvious reason. If you buy a point and back the favorites, they’ll have significantly fewer points to cover.

On the other hand, if you buy a point and back the underdogs, their advantage increases.

So in both situations, you can see why buying points is beneficial.

Real-Life Example

Let’s say that you want to bet on a basketball game with the following spreads:

Los Angeles Lakers -4.5 (-110)

Milwaukee Bucks +4.5 (-110)

You want to pick the Lakers, but you’re hesitant on the -4.5 spread. There is another alternative; you can buy either half a point or a full point to increase your chances of winning.

Instead of going for -4.5, you can buy a full point and get the Lakers at -3.5. That way, if the Lakers win by four points, you end up winning your wager instead of losing.

The same applies to the Bucks. Since they are the underdogs, you can buy either half a point or a full point to give them a greater advantage. So if you buy a full point and get the Bucks at +5.5 and they end up losing the game by five points, you still end up winning your wager.

If you buy half a point and get the Bucks at +5, and they end up losing the game by 5 points, you get a push, which is better than the +4.5 spread, which would have lost your wager.

What Is The Cost Of Buying Points?

Whenever you buy points from a sportsbook, the tradeoff is usually in the odds that you’re getting. Since you’re buying points, you end up getting lower odds.

The general rule is that half a point will cost you 10 cents of juice, around a 10% increase.

This simply means that instead of getting a spread at -110, you’ll get it at -120 when you purchase half a point. So if you want a full point, you can get it at -130.

However, most sportsbooks won’t let you buy more than three points. Also, keep in mind that the more points you buy, the lower value.

Another thing to note is that some points cost more than others. For example, in the NFL, spreads are usually priced between 3-7 points since most games conclude within such margins.

You may find that in such scenarios, when you try to buy a half-point from a favorite with a -3 spread, you’ll get the -2.5 spread at odds of -135.

This is because bookies generally charge 25 cents when you try to buy half a point from a +3 or -3 NFL spread, or 15 cents for a -7 or +7 spread.

Always keep these prices in mind since they’ll help you decide whether buying points in such situations is worth it.

Should You Buy Points?

Buying points is a heated topic in the betting community. Some bettors will advise you to buy points whenever possible, while others will advise you to seek better alternatives.

So like most topics, there is no consensus, meaning that you’ll need to judge each situation yourself and form your own conclusion.

If you’re thinking of buying points, always weigh the risk vs. the reward. Of course, buying points increases the chances of landing a wager, but buying points isn’t for every situation.

For example, since buying points for -3/+3 spreads will significantly diminish your winnings, it may be best to go for the initial spreads in such situations.

You can also buy points when you want to avoid a potential push. So instead of picking a -4 spread, you can buy half a point and improve that to -3.5.

If the team ends up winning by 4 points, you get a win in one scenario and a push in another scenario.

Rules Of Buying Points

Always check the general rules of a sportsbook before you decide to buy a point. Most books have a limit of how many points you can buy, while others will give you many alternate lines to choose from.

Also, knowing the rules of a sportsbook will help you know how to buy a point. In most books, you buy points by going to the ‘alternate point spread’ option.

The price of buying points is different on most sportsbooks, so keep that in mind as well.

Pros & Cons of Buying Points

Buying points has one major pro: your wager’s chances of winning increase significantly. Since buying points puts you in a better position of winning, you are more likely to win a wager, especially if the bet turns out to be a close call.

You minimize the chances of losing your wager by gaining this minimal advantage.

On the other hand, when you buy points, you diminish your payouts. Since you’re getting decreased odds, your returns will be diminished as well.

If you consistently buy points, you may end up making less than you would have before, which will hurt your bankroll in the long run.

Alternative To Buying Points

Since buying points may not be the best option at all times, you can opt for an even better alternative: line shopping. Basically, this compares the lines of a game on different sportsbooks and then goes for the most valuable line.

The best thing about line shopping is that you don’t forfeit any potential profit since you’re getting the spreads at their original prices.

Final Take On Buying Points In Sports

Buying points has many advantages attached to it, but the main reason many bettors buy points is to gain an extra advantage.

Since bets are won and lost by the slimmest of margins, buying points puts you in a more favorable position to win your wager.

But before you buy points, always analyze whether it’s worth doing so. Alternatively, you can always stick to the original spread or do some line shopping of your own.

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