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Parlay & Multi-Bet Terms

Buying Points

Buying points means paying worse odds in exchange for a more favorable spread or total number on a single bet - moving a -7.5 favorite to -6.5, for example, in exchange for odds shifting from -110 to something like -120.

SportsBettingSite.org glossaryUpdated Sep 20263 min read
Buying Points sports betting glossary illustration

What Buying Points means

Buying points means paying worse odds in exchange for a more favorable spread or total number on a single bet - moving a -7.5 favorite to -6.5, for example, in exchange for odds shifting from -110 to something like -120. Unlike a teaser, buying points applies to one standalone bet rather than combining multiple legs together, and it's a common strategy specifically around key numbers like 3 and 7 in football, where a half-point of movement can meaningfully change a bet's true value.

Key points

  • Buying points means paying worse odds in exchange for a more favorable spread or total number on a single bet - moving a -7.5 favorite to -6.5, for example, in exchange for odds shifting from -110 to something like -120.
  • Unlike a teaser, buying points applies to one standalone bet rather than combining multiple legs together, and it's a common strategy specifically around key numbers like 3 and 7 in football, where a half-point of movement can meaningfully change a bet's true value.

Example and context

In practice

Buying points means paying worse odds in exchange for a more favorable spread or total number on a single bet - moving a -7.5 favorite to -6.5, for example, in exchange for odds shifting from -110 to something like -120.

Related glossary terms

These terms sit in the same part of the betting vocabulary and are useful to read next.

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