- What is a Half Point Betting Calculator?
- Main Reason to Use a Half Point Calculator
- Half Point Betting Fully Illustrated
- Introducing Our Free Half Point Calculator
- The Top Three Benefits of Using Our Half Point Calculator
- What Bookmakers Allow for Half Point Betting?
- Our Top Tips When Using Our Half Point Betting Calculator
- What Other Calculators Do We Offer?
- Discover the Best Half Point Odds with Our Calculator Today
- Half Point Betting Calculator FAQs
What is a Half Point Betting Calculator?
The half point system in betting means buying a half point to add to your spread. This way, it is virtually impossible for a game to end in a push (draw), even if the teams do actually end in one. Simply by inputting the number of your spread and the moneyline odds, our half point calculator can figure out the spread half points and also the fave price, which means the favourite odds that you will want to wager on with your chosen approach.
Main Reason to Use a Half Point Calculator
This sports betting half point calculator gives you a clear overview of the best odds to wager on for four different spread options. This makes it easy to help you decide if the sportsbook you are on is the most competitive option for your half point bet approach.
Half Point Betting Fully Illustrated
Half point betting is a type of spread betting that reduces the risk of the match virtually ending in a push or draw. If two teams are closely matched, for example, you can buy a half point to your spread to make sure that one team wins rather than draws. Half point betting can also be used if there’s a huge discrepancy between teams. If a team that completely outclasses the other plays, you can virtually even the playing field by using negative points of a handicap on the favourite team to win or giving the underdog a leg up with a positive spread (like 2.5).
Half Point Betting Examples
As mentioned, half point betting is used in two ways—one, to eliminate a push, and two, to balance the odds. Let’s see how this plays out in a real scenario and with our sports betting half point calculator.
Context 1: Eliminating a Push
If one team needs to always be 0.5 points ahead of the other team, but goals or scores are only whole numbers, then that means one team will always have an edge. For example, say a game ends 1-1. The team that has a point spread of 0.5 would win because virtually the game would have ended 1.5-1.
Context 2: Balance the Odds
Say there’s a game between the team in the number one spot and one at the bottom of the table. By adding a handicap with the half point spread strategy to the favourite, your underdog has more opportunity to win virtually. For example, say you add a handicap of -3.5 to the favoured team. If the result ends in the favourite team winning 3 – 1, then the virtual score will actually be -0.5 – 1, so your bet on your underdog team will win.
Whatever the context, we can put it into practice with our half point sports betting calculator.
Say we’re betting on a moneyline result that has +160 odds. When we enter those details into the calculator, we get the fave price for each spread option. We know that the fave price for a 0.5 spread is +160. Now, if we were interested in a higher 1.5 spread, that price would be +144.14. We will, therefore, need to look for a sportsbook that is as close to those odds as possible to get the most out of our bet.
Why Half Point Betting is a Common Bet Strategy
Half point betting offers many key benefits, which makes it so popular:
- Virtually eliminates the chance of a draw.
- Makes it possible to win on an underdog bet by handicapping the favourite to win.
- Allows you to spread point bets more precisely.
It’s an ideal option for those looking to create a sure outcome in games where the teams are either closely matched up or games with obvious power imbalances.
Does Half Point Betting Work on All Sports?
Half-point betting works best on American sports, simply because it’s more popular in the USA than anywhere else. A similar system that you may find to be more popular at an international level is Asian handicapping, though do keep in mind this option includes whole points (1, 2, 3) as well as half-points. Depending on where you are located, your operator may call it Asian Handicap instead. For half-point betting itself, these sports are going to be your best bet:
Half point betting is a common option in American football to eliminate the push or draw result. It’s quite popular in particular because of the scoring system. For example, there are key numbers in this sport’s scoring (3, 7 and 10) that end up with the game being determined by a field goal or a touchdown. When match-ups are that close, half-point systems can remove that push and give you the ability to make more precise handicap bet decisions.
Basketball is another key sport where you would see half point betting a common betting practice amongst fans. In this sport, the key numbers in the scoring system are 1, 3, 5 and 7. This means that, when games are close, the match will end with a points difference between that 1 to 7 mark. By adding a half point to the mix, the push result is removed, giving you a win/lose outcome. In this case, it’s ideal to put a half point spread of +/- 1.5, 3.5, 5.5 or 7.5.
Ice hockey leagues like the NHL also see a lot of half points betting. Now, ice hockey is considered a low-scoring game. It’s perfectly reasonable for a game to end 1-0. As such, you’ll find that the best spread for this sport is in the 0.5 or -0.5 margin. Not only can you balance the wagering options by putting a handicap or spread on one of the teams, but you can do this on multiple match results (half-time result, puck line, full-time result).
Introducing Our Free Half Point Calculator
Now that you know a bit more about half point betting, it’s time to use our half point betting calculator. All you need is the American odds for your bet and the spread you want to start with. Our calculator will then instantly generate the fave price, otherwise known as the best odds, for the nearby spread options. This way, you know the best odds to look for, making it easier to find the best sportsbook for your bet. So, what are you waiting for? Try out our free calculator today:
The Top Three Benefits of Using Our Half Point Calculator
There are so many benefits that you can enjoy when you use our calculator over trying to do manual calculations. These benefits are universal and are enjoyed no matter what sport you are betting on with the half point method:
Benefit 1: Saves Time Calculating
The big reason to use any calculator is that it saves you time calculating. This is especially true with this calculator since it gives you four results instantly, allowing you to speed up the research stage of your bet strategy.
Benefit 2: Easy Odds Comparison
This calculator generates the fave price or best odds for each of four different spreads at once, allowing you to quickly compare sportsbooks to find the best place to wager.
Benefit 3: Endlessly Adjustable
There are no limits to using our calculator, so you can update the odds and spread choice as often as you need to find that sweet spot for your own wager.
What Bookmakers Allow for Half Point Betting?
Not every sportsbook is going to let you buy the points needed for the half point betting strategy. The good news is that many of the best betting sites do, because they want to be the go-to sportsbook for all betting markets. Even then, it’s not a guarantee, so have a look at our top five recommended providers for half point betting:
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Our Top Tips When Using Our Half Point Betting Calculator
Knowing all you can gain when you use our half point sports betting calculator is step one. Step two is actually using our calculator. If you find yourself struggling to come to grips with the tool, don’t worry. We’ve put together our top tips to help you get the most out of our free calculator:
This calculator is mainly used for American sports and accepts American odds. If you prefer to use a different odds format, then remember to convert those odds to American before inputting them into our calculator.
The best way to use the information generated by this calculator is to take the fave price odds and compare them against different sportsbooks. The sportsbook that offers the closest odds should be your go-to for that bet.
Only spreads with a .5 on the end (0.5, 1.5, 2.5) will eliminate the chance of a push, so if you want to bet on a two-way event, then know your spread must be an increment with .5. To help, use our spread betting calculator to understand how the spread impacts the fair lines and probability of winning.
What Other Calculators Do We Offer?
We offer a whole host of sports betting calculators to choose from on top of our free half point calculator. From our odds calculator to our Asian handicap calculator, here are our top other free calculators that you can use as often as you need in your quest to develop your own unique betting strategy:
Discover the Best Half Point Odds with Our Calculator Today
Our half point betting calculator is so easy to use and can help you find the best odds for your half point betting approach, whether you’re aiming to eliminate the draw of a closely matched up event or looking to balance the odds between the game’s opponents so that you can still bet on the underdog and potentially win your bet. It’s endlessly updatable as well, allowing you to shift the figures to find the results that best suit your strategy. Just remember to use our tips to get the most out of our calculator and to try it out for yourself today.
Use These Top Bonuses When Calculating Your Half Point Strategy
We’ve reviewed plenty of betting bonuses for you and can tell you that you can absolutely use bonuses with this half point calculator. In this case, you’d want to use the boosted odds to help you get the best possible odds. To do this, just take the fave price odds with the odds boost and see if any other sportsbook offers comparable odds. Interested? Get started with our top five recommendations:
Half Point Betting Calculator FAQs
🌎 Is half point betting the same as an Asian handicap?
They are very similar but not exactly the same. Asian handicap includes whole and quarter points, for example. It’s also more common outside of the USA, while half point is more commonly used with American sports.
🏁 Is it impossible for the bet to end in a draw if I use half point betting?
So long as you make sure you use half points and not accidentally whole points, you can remove the push (draw outcome) from the equation.
👀 What can I do if I don’t know the American odds?
You can use our odds calculator to convert the odds from the format you are using into American odds or change the format directly on your sportsbook by going to the preferences section.
🤔 What do the positive (+) and negative (-) American odds mean?
Positive odds (either indicated with a +, or just a whole number like 150) are on the underdog, and negative odds are on the favourite to win. Knowing who is the favourite and who is the underdog is key in figuring out what half-point handicap or boost to add to which team.
🏈 What leagues can I use this half point calculator with?
This calculator works best with rigid line sports, meaning it works best with the NFL as well as other leagues like the NBA or NHL.
