What Does Buying Points Mean in Sports Betting: A Comprehensive Guide
Buying points involves adjusting the point spread in your favor by paying an extra fee to the sportsbook. Essentially, this strategy involves decreasing the odds on a spread bet but increasing the probability of the bet being a winner.
For example, let’s say a bookmaker sets a spread for an NBA game -10 for the favored team and +10 for the underdog with odds of -110 for each side of the bet. Should you want to bet on the favorite, buying points allows you to move the line lower to say -9.5 or -9, -8.5, etc. Should you want to bet on the underdog buying points would increase the line to +10.5 or +11 for example
When you move the line the odds will become shorter so if you buy 1 point for either side of the bet, the odds may increase to -130. The more points you buy the lower your potential payout, however, the probability of the bet being a winner increases as it’s easier for teams to cover the spread.