Question about 1st half lines

Heel_Yes · Feb 2, 2009

I am not really a newbie...been betting for years, but do have a question.

Take the NBA for example...game line will be 9.5 and the 1st half line will be 6?

How can the 1st half line be 6 and the game is only 9.5...shouldn't the 1st half line by half of the game line?

It would seem like the 1st half line should be 5 not 6...

oldmanTED · Feb 2, 2009

Heel_Yes said:
I am not really a newbie...been betting for years, but do have a question.

Take the NBA for example...game line will be 9.5 and the 1st half line will be 6?

How can the 1st half line be 6 and the game is only 9.5...shouldn't the 1st half line by half of the game line?

It would seem like the 1st half line should be 5 not 6...

Actually, this is the norm in hoops. The first half is rarely around half of the game line. It usually is around half plus a point, sometimes more. Honestly, I am not sure of the linesmaker's reasoning for this but if you check regularly, you'll notice it is pretty consistent.

Snookslayer · Feb 3, 2009

When selecting UNDER bets in the NBA, I prefer to make them halftime bets. The line is often a point or two above half of the full total and you don't have to worry about overtimes or cheap fouls pushing it over. The drawback is that the NBA averages slightly more points in the first two quarters.