A winning margin bet is a single bet and some bettors consider it as an attractive alternative to predicting the score because it offers additional winning possibilities.
A winning margin bet involves predicting how many points or goals a team will win by. For example, if you bet on Inter Miami to beat New York City by +2 and the score is 4-2, you win!
There’s a little more to winning margin bets than that. Stick around as I give you an insider’s look at this bet type and share some strategy.
Winning Margin Bet Explained
Unlike a correct score wager, where you need to get the exact score correct, winning margin bets are much easier to win. The sportsbook groups point margins into bands.
So let’s say you think the Dallas Cowboys are going to win a tight game against the New York Giants, then you would pick the Cowboys 1-6 points winning margin. If Dallas wins by at least 1 point and a maximum of 6 points, your bet pays out.
Alternatively, if you think the Kansas City Chiefs are going to destroy the Los Angeles Chargers, you might select the Chiefs to win by 20+. If the final score is 28-7, you win!
How to Place a Winning Margin Bet
While winning margin bets are a little risky, they’re easy to place. All you need to do is:
- Sign in to your sportsbook account
- Select a game, for example, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders
- Find the winning margin market
- Pick a team and points band, for example, Philadelphia Eagles 1-6 points winning margin
- Enter your stake, for example, $100
- Hit the place bet button
Then just tune into the game and pray your team gets the win and the scoreline falls into your predicted winning margin band. If your bet won, you’ll automatically receive your winnings after the game is over.
Tips & Tricks to Help You Win Your Winning Margin Bet
Here are some strategies to turn you into a winning margin bet maestro:
- Compare head-to-head record – Look at the last 10 times the teams played each other and analyze the results and score lines. Ideally, you want to find a match up where one team regularly wins and by a particular score. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers almost always beat the Los Angeles Clippers by 6-12 points.
- Factor in home-field advantage – Teams often get a boost from the screaming hometown fans. This can result in them scoring a few more points than usual and their opponents having an off-night.
- Bet on end-of-season games being blowouts – When you get to the end of the NBA season, look for games where one team is fighting for a better playoff spot, where the other team is tanking and looking for a better draft pick. The team with no chance of making the playoffs is likely to lose big.
- Analyze the impact of injuries – If an NBA team loses a superstar suddenly, its point production can drop by 10 or more. In a perfect scenario, look for games where a team only has one superstar, and he’s been pulled from the line-up. Then bet on the opposing team to win by +8 points.
- Hedge your winning margin bet – It doesn’t matter how good your analysis is, this style of wager is hard to win. You can reduce risk by making a moneyline or spread bet alongside your winning margin wager.
Pros & Cons of Winning Margin Bets
Like most betting strategies and bet types, winning margin bets come with their own pros and cons. Let’s take a look at some important things to consider before deciding if a winning margin bet is for you.
Pros
- Winning margin bets provide better odds than other markets
- You are not particularly bothered who wins, which is nice.
- You can earn some big money with a small stake.
- Low margins are fairly simple to get right.
- You don’t need to predict the winner of a game.
- They are great for acca bets, which are really, really fun.
Cons
- Higher margins come with excellent odds but are very difficult to predict.
- Winning margin bets require some prior research and analysis as you pore through various stats.
As you can see, there are plenty of things going for winning margin bets, not least you don’t have to predict the winner of any game, which is an almighty task in itself a lot of the time.
Are Winning Margin Bets Worth It?
Winning margin bets are a great way to get higher odds compared to a standard moneyline bet. However, they do come with additional risk because not only do you need to predict the winner but also the range of points the team will win by.
Winning margin bets are a safer alternative to correct score wagers, which are incredibly hard to win, but you still need to reduce your typical stake. These bets also have higher juice than moneyline and spread bets, which can eat into your long-term profitability.
I recommend you start by sticking to moneyline and spread bets and then, when you find a game that you’re convinced will be close or a blowout, also make a small winning margin bet.
So, let’s say you’re convinced the Boston Celtics will crush the Detroit Pistons. Make a $100 moneyline bet on the Celtics and also bet $20 on them to win by 11+ points.
Winning margin bets are simple to grasp but hard to master. Try out some of the strategies I shared above, and let me know how you went!
