What Is a Prop Bet? Types, Examples, and How to Find Value

What is a prop bet?

A prop bet is any bet that is not on the final outcome of a game. Instead of picking a winner or betting the spread, you are betting on something specific that happens during the game.

Some examples to make this concrete:

• Will Patrick Mahomes throw over or under 2.5 touchdown passes?
• Will LeBron James score more than 27.5 points?
• Will the game's first basket be a two-pointer or a three-pointer?

The "prop" in prop bet comes from "proposition." The sportsbook proposes a scenario, you decide whether it will happen (or hit the over/under on a number), and you place the bet. That is it.

Props can be about individual players, teams, or random game events. The range is massive. On a typical NFL Sunday, DraftKings might list 200+ prop markets for a single game. During the Super Bowl, that number climbs into the thousands, including novelty props like the length of the national anthem.

Why is it called a prop bet?

The term "proposition bet" goes back to old-school gambling culture. A proposition is just a formal word for a proposal or offer. One person proposes a bet on something ("I bet the quarterback throws for 300 yards"), and another person takes the other side.

Before sportsbooks started offering props as a standard product, proposition bets were mostly side bets between friends or at poker tables. Someone would propose a wager on anything: the next card dealt, how long a putt would take, whether it would rain before 3 PM.

Sportsbooks adopted the format in the 1980s and 1990s, starting with Super Bowl props. The concept was the same: instead of betting on who wins, you bet on specific things that happen along the way. The name stuck.

Types of prop bets

Props fall into four main categories. The lines between them blur sometimes, but this is how most sportsbooks organize them.

Player props

Player props are bets on individual player performance. These are by far the most popular type of prop bet, and they are where most of the betting volume goes.

Common player prop markets:

• Passing yards (over/under 265.5)
• Rushing yards (over/under 72.5)
• Receiving yards (over/under 55.5)
• Points scored (over/under 24.5)
• Rebounds (over/under 8.5)
• Assists (over/under 6.5)
• Strikeouts by a pitcher (over/under 5.5)
• Hits (over/under 1.5)
• Goals scored (over/under 0.5)
• Anytime touchdown scorer (yes/no)

Player props work like any over/under bet. The sportsbook sets a line (say, Jalen Hurts over/under 245.5 passing yards), and you bet whether the actual number will be higher or lower. Each side gets its own odds.

Example: Nikola Jokic over 9.5 rebounds at -120. You bet $120 to win $100 profit if Jokic grabs 10 or more rebounds. If he gets 9 or fewer, you lose the $120.

Team props

Team props work the same way as player props, but for the entire team rather than one player.

Common team prop markets:

• Team total points (over/under 24.5 in football)
• Team total runs (over/under 4.5 in baseball)
• Team to score first (yes/no)
• First team to reach 20 points (Team A or Team B)
• Total sacks by a defense (over/under 2.5)
• Total team three-pointers (over/under 11.5)

Team props are useful when you have an opinion about one side of a game but not the other. Maybe you think the Chiefs offense will put up points regardless of what the other team does. A team total over lets you bet that view without caring about the opposing offense.

Game props

Game props cover events that involve both teams or the game itself, but are not the final result.

Common game prop markets:

• First scoring play (touchdown, field goal, safety)
• Will the game go to overtime? (yes/no)
• Total combined sacks (over/under 4.5)
• Highest-scoring quarter (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)
• Will both teams score 100+ points? (NBA, yes/no)
• Race to 10 points (Team A or Team B)
• First half over/under

Game props tend to have less sharp attention than main markets, which means the lines can be softer. The downside is lower limits and wider spreads between the over and under prices.

Novelty and special props

Novelty props are bets on things that have nothing to do with the actual athletic competition. They show up mostly during the Super Bowl, March Madness, and other major events.

Some real examples from past Super Bowls:

• Length of the national anthem (over/under 120 seconds)
• Color of the Gatorade shower on the winning coach
• Will a player propose to a cheerleader during the broadcast?
• Coin toss result (heads or tails)
• First song played during the halftime show
• How many times will the broadcast show Taylor Swift?

Novelty props are entertainment bets. The vig is typically enormous (sometimes 20%+), the limits are tiny, and there is no real way to model them. They are fun but not something to build a strategy around.

One exception: the coin toss. It is genuinely 50/50, and some books price it at -105/-105, giving you a smaller house edge than most standard bets. It is still negative EV, but less so than most novelty props.

Prop bet examples by sport

Seeing concrete examples helps more than abstract explanations. Here is what prop betting actually looks like across the three biggest US sports.

NFL prop bets

The NFL is where prop betting really took off. A typical Sunday game has hundreds of available props.

Player prop example:

Josh Allen over/under 2.5 passing touchdowns (-115/+100)

• The over is priced at -115, meaning you risk $115 to win $100
• The under is priced at +100, meaning you risk $100 to win $100
• The odds are slightly favoring the under, which tells you the sportsbook thinks 2 or fewer is slightly more likely

Team prop example:

San Francisco 49ers team total over/under 24.5 (-110/-110)

• Standard -110 juice on both sides
• You are betting on just the 49ers' scoring output, regardless of what the other team does

Game prop example:

First touchdown scorer: Derrick Henry (+650)

• A $100 bet pays $650 profit if Derrick Henry scores the game's first touchdown
• This is a popular prop format because the odds look attractive, but keep in mind there might be 15-20 skill players who could score first, so +650 may or may not represent actual value

NFL props tip: Rushing props are among the most inefficient NFL prop markets. Sportsbooks lean heavily on season averages, but rushing is game-script dependent. If a team is projected to be winning big, their running back's workload will likely be higher than the season average suggests. That is an edge you can exploit.

NBA prop bets

NBA games generate a high volume of props because scoring is frequent and individual stats are more predictable game to game.

Player prop example:

Luka Doncic over/under 31.5 points (-110/-110)

• Luka averages about 33 points per game, so this line might look like easy money on the over
• But sportsbooks know his average too. The question is whether this specific game (opponent, pace, rest days, home/away) skews higher or lower

Assists + rebounds combo:

Tyrese Haliburton over/under 16.5 assists + rebounds (-115/-105)

• Combo props (points + rebounds + assists, or assists + rebounds) are increasingly popular
• They add the player's stats together and set one line

Three-pointers made:

Stephen Curry over/under 4.5 three-pointers made (-105/-115)

• This is a volatile market. Curry might hit 2 threes one night and 8 the next
• High variance props like this are interesting because sportsbooks struggle to price them precisely

NBA props tip: Back-to-back games matter more than most bettors realize. Players' stats drop measurably on the second night of a back-to-back, but sportsbooks do not always adjust lines enough. If a star player's prop line looks the same whether he is rested or on a back-to-back, the under has extra value on tired legs.

MLB prop bets

Baseball props center on pitcher performance and hitting stats.

Pitcher prop example:

Gerrit Cole over/under 6.5 strikeouts (-130/+110)

• The over is juiced at -130, meaning you risk $130 to win $100
• Cole averages around 7 strikeouts per start, but the line accounts for that. The question is whether the opposing lineup strikes out at an above or below average rate

Hitter prop example:

Shohei Ohtani over/under 1.5 total bases (-140/+120)

• Total bases count singles as 1, doubles as 2, triples as 3, home runs as 4
• Over 1.5 means Ohtani needs at least a double, two singles, or a home run
• The heavy juice on the over (-140) tells you the book expects him to clear this line most games

First home run:

Aaron Judge to hit a home run (+240)

• A $100 bet pays $240 profit if Judge homers
• Judge hits home runs roughly every 3-4 games, so +240 implies a probability that might be close to his actual rate

MLB props tip: Pitcher strikeout props against lineups that strike out at extreme rates are one of the softest markets in baseball. If a team strikes out 27% of the time and is facing a pitcher who averages 8 K/9, the over on strikeouts is often mispriced. The same works in reverse for low-strikeout lineups against contact pitchers.

How prop bet odds work

Prop bet odds work identically to any other sports bet. The three common formats are American, decimal, and fractional.

American odds (most common in the US):

• Negative number (-130): how much you risk to win $100 profit. At -130, you bet $130 to win $100.
• Positive number (+200): how much you win on a $100 bet. At +200, you bet $100 to win $200 profit.

Decimal odds (common internationally):

• Multiply your stake by the decimal number. At 2.50 odds, a $100 bet returns $250 total ($150 profit + $100 stake).

Reading a prop bet line:

Ja Morant Points: Over 24.5 (-115) | Under 24.5 (-105)

• If you take the over at -115, you risk $115 to win $100
• If you take the under at -105, you risk $105 to win $100
• The gap between -115 and -105 is the vig (the sportsbook's margin)

If both sides were -110, the vig would be about 4.5%. When one side is -115 and the other is -105, the total vig is similar but shifted toward the over, meaning the book expects more action on that side.

For a deeper explanation of odds formats and conversion, read our guide on how to read betting odds.

Use the expected value calculator to check whether any prop bet has positive expected value before placing it.

Prop bets vs parlays: what's the difference?

This is a common point of confusion, so let me clear it up: props and parlays are completely different things, but you can combine them.

A prop bet is a type of wager. It defines what you are betting on (a specific event within a game).

A parlay is a bet structure. It defines how your bets are combined (multiple bets linked together, all must win).

You can parlay props together. In fact, that is exactly what a same-game parlay (SGP) is: multiple prop bets from the same game combined into one wager. "Josh Allen over 250 passing yards AND Stefon Diggs over 75 receiving yards AND Bills to win" is a three-leg SGP made entirely of props.

The key differences:

A single prop bet on Luka Doncic over 31.5 points is one bet with one outcome. A parlay combining that prop with two others requires all three to hit. The parlay pays more, but the probability of winning drops with each leg you add.

For the full math on why parlays compound the house edge, read our parlay betting guide. Use the parlay calculator to check exact payouts before placing any multi-leg bet.

Are prop bets profitable?

They can be. And honestly, for bettors using data-driven approaches, props are probably the most profitable market available right now.

That sounds like a bold claim, so here is the reasoning.

Why props have the most +EV opportunities

1. Sportsbooks spread themselves thin.

A single NFL game might have 300+ prop markets. Compare that to 3-4 main markets (spread, moneyline, total, first half). Sportsbooks have sophisticated models for spreads and totals, built over decades with sharp money constantly correcting them. Their prop models are less mature.

When a book posts 300 lines for one game, some of those lines will be off. It is mathematically inevitable. The question is whether you can identify which ones.

2. Less sharp money correcting the lines.

On a main market like the NFL spread, professional bettors pour in money within minutes of the line opening. That money moves the line toward the "true" price quickly. Props get less sharp action because limits are lower and the markets are fragmented. This means mispriced lines stay mispriced longer.

3. The pricing sources are weaker.

Most sportsbooks do not build their own prop models from scratch. They license odds from third-party providers, adjust them slightly, and post them. If the underlying model has a flaw (say, it does not account for a backup running back being promoted to starter), that flaw gets copied across every book using the same feed.

4. Correlation is hard to price.

Player stats within a game are correlated. If the game goes to overtime, everyone's stats go up. If one team is blowing out the other, the losing team's quarterback throws more (chasing the deficit) while the winning team runs more. Sportsbooks struggle to price these correlations perfectly, which creates edges for bettors who think about game flow.

Finding +EV props with Bet Hero:

Bet Hero scans prop markets across 400+ sportsbooks and compares them against sharp lines to find mispriced odds. When a retail book like DraftKings or FanDuel posts a player prop at +110, but the sharp market says the fair price is -105, that is a value bet. The difference between the retail price and the sharp price is your edge.

Props generate more value bet alerts than any other market type on our platform, which lines up with everything above: more markets, less sharp correction, weaker pricing models.

For a detailed strategy guide on how to exploit prop market inefficiencies, read prop betting strategy: finding edge on player props.

How to place a prop bet (DraftKings, FanDuel)

If you have never placed a prop bet before, the process is straightforward on any major sportsbook. Here is how it works on DraftKings and FanDuel, since those are the two biggest in the US.

On DraftKings:

1. Open the app or website and navigate to the sport you want
2. Select a game from the schedule
3. Look for tabs labeled "Player Props," "Game Props," or "Team Props" (these appear below the main spread/moneyline/total markets)
4. Browse the available props or search for a specific player
5. Tap the over or under (or yes/no) to add it to your bet slip
6. Enter your stake and confirm the bet

On FanDuel:

1. Same general flow: sport, game, then look for the "Player Props" or "More Wagers" tab
2. FanDuel groups props by category (touchdowns, passing, rushing, etc.)
3. Tap your selection, enter your wager, and place the bet

Tips for your first prop bet:

• Start with an over/under player prop on a stat you understand well. Passing yards, points scored, or strikeouts are all simple.
• Compare the line to the player's recent averages. If the line is 24.5 points and the player has scored 28, 31, 22, 26, and 30 in his last five games, you have some context for whether the over or under makes sense.
• Check the odds on multiple books before placing. The same prop can be priced differently across sportsbooks. DraftKings might have the over at -120 while FanDuel has it at -110. That difference is free money.
• Use an expected value calculator to estimate whether the bet is worth making.

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