One of the general strategies of online sports betting is odds shopping. However, there’s another way to find odds with good value. Search for sportsbooks that offer a promotion called an odds boost.
Odds boosts are just as they sound. For certain events, sportsbooks could give you increased odds at the same price. But why would they go out their way to provide you with added value? Are odds boosts worth taking? We explain below.
Best Maryland sportsbooks with boosted odds
What is an odds boost?
An odds boost is a sports betting promotion that allows you to take better-than-usual odds on certain events. This promotion is set by various online sportsbooks looking to gain traction in a betting market.
For example, if the regular odds for a given bet are +120, the sportsbook might give you a chance to take that same bet at the odds of +150. In theory, you should want to bet on this, especially if you can’t find better sports lines elsewhere.
Odds boosts can be on every sporting event but are typically available on the most popular games and tournaments. These include for NFL odds, golf odds, Grand Slam tournament odds, or betting on marquee MMA fights.
How do boosted odds work on a bet?
All odds come with a certain built-in house edge, which is also called the “vig” or vigorish. Sportsbooks do this to ensure that cumulative bets taken on a certain market almost always result in a profit. With an odds boost, the vigorish is removed, either partially or entirely, which adjusts the odds in your favor.
You can find boosted odds on various markets: Main bet types from moneylines, point spreads, and over/unders to all sorts of teams and player props and even futures betting.
From the sportsbooks’ standpoint, boosting the odds should not be considered a good business model. However, when a sportsbook rolls out an odds boost promotion, it invites bettors who would otherwise be disinterested in making bets on its website. Essentially, the book is attracting new customers and keeping the existing ones engaged. In short, odds boosts pay off to the sportsbooks in the long run.
That’s why odds boosts are a standard promotion on almost every major Maryland sports betting site, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. They may not be for every event, but you will likely find boosted odds on selected markets for popular games and matches.
How to boost your odds at the sportsbook
To make the most of your odds boost, you’ll need to find a sportsbook known for offering this type of promotion regularly. Luckily, most online sportsbooks do, at least on specific sporting events.
The information about the odds boost promotion will usually be in plain sight, and the betting website will provide instructions on utilizing the boost. In most cases, it will be as simple as selecting the market and clicking the option to boost the odds.
You should regularly visit MD betting sites to know when this offer becomes available. Sportsbooks post boosted odds a day or two before the big event. Also, don’t forget to check our sportsbook reviews for updated offers using the DraftKings Maryland promo code or the FanDuel Maryland promo code.
Odds boost offers for major sports markets
Here are some examples of enhanced odds offers for major league sports and how these price boost promotions work.
Odds boosts for NFL betting
Football is the most bet-upon sport, especially during the NFL season and playoffs. Sportsbooks are constantly competing to attract NFL bettors to their sites. Hence, odds boosts for betting on NFL games are quite common. You are almost guaranteed to find this promotion when it comes time to bet on the Super Bowl.
Let’s say the original odds for a certain player to score a touchdown during the Super Bowl sit at -135. The sportsbook can boost the odds to -110 to attract more bettors to this wager. That means you need to wager $25 less to get the same profit, whereas a $100 bet on this market comes with an increased profit potential of $17.
Odds boosts for NBA betting
While less popular than the NFL, NBA betting markets are still active on Maryland sportsbooks. You won’t find boosted odds for every NBA game, but come playoff time, these promotions will likely start appearing on your favorite betting site.
Boosted NBA betting odds are common for player and team props. Let’s say the odds of Nikola Jokic scoring 26 or more points for the Denver Nuggets were first set at +130. Now, the sportsbook offers them at +150. The same $100 bet on this market will now come with a $20 increase in profit.
Odds boosts for MLB betting
Of all the major leagues, betting on MLB presents the most opportunities. It’s because the season is very long, and the teams play almost every day. During playoff time, baseball bettors flock to their favorite sites searching for value bets and odds boost promotions. You might run into this kind of offer at BetMGM Sportsbook Maryland or Caesars Sportsbook Maryland:
The San Francisco Giants (-115) are playing the Texas Rangers (-105). It will be a big game, and the sportsbooks expect a lot of interest. To incentivize more action, they boost the MLB betting odds to -105 for the Giants and +100 for the Rangers. You have better odds on both sides of the moneyline, and the house edge has shrunk to a minimum.
Odds boosts vs. parlays and teasers
Odds boosts represent just one way of increasing your profit potential. If you can’t find such a promotion, you could opt for a riskier wager, such as betting a parlay or betting a teaser. These are multi-leg betting options where the goal is to correctly make all the selections on your betting ticket.
It’s difficult to say whether odds boosts are better than parlays and teasers, as they require different approaches to sports betting.
For instance, with odds boosts, you will be looking for value by negating the house edge and landing better odds on the same type of wager. On the other hand, with parlays, you’ll simply be balancing risk and reward. The more selections, the lower the probability of predicting them all correctly. Teasers can be a safer way to play parlays. You can choose the lines and adjust them.
The thing is, if you’re looking for value, you won’t find it that often when betting on parlays and teasers. With each new selection you put on your ticket, the house edge will increase. In essence, the bigger the parlay, the worse the wager. With odds boosts, getting value is almost guaranteed, which ultimately makes it a better bet.
The only downside to odds boosts is that they may come with certain restrictions that won’t allow you to make a massive profit.
How to tell whether an odds boost is worth it
To estimate the quality of an odds boost promotion, first, examine its value. Sportsbooks are rarely generous enough to negate their house edge completely, so the most you can hope for is a minimized vig.
If the odds have been boosted only slightly or if the sportsbook showed poor odds in its original offer, the promotion won’t mean much. In that case, avoid it unless you initially wanted to bet on that market.
Also, certain odds boosts may come in the form of multi-event props. These bets lower the house edge and result in increased variance and make the outcome more difficult to predict.
Betting limits are another red flag of sorts. Betting through an odds boost may not come with the same rules as making regular bets. Since you’ll be getting much better odds, the sportsbook might limit the amount of money you can win from such a bet, denying you the opportunity to land a large profit.
Of course, these limitations vary from one sportsbook to another. We advise you not to look just at the odds but also to skim through the wagering conditions to determine the true value of this promotion.