What Are Alternate Lines In Sports Betting?

Our Sports Gambling 101 series continues with a look at alternate betting lines. What are alternate lines and how can bettors use them to their advantage?

Sports Gambling 101: What are Alternate Lines? /

As our Sports Gambling 101 glossary of terms illustrates, betting odds are posted in many different styles and prices. Beyond standard point spread and game total options, bettors also have access to alternate lines on a variety of sports.

Once bookmakers post their list of opening odds, they add alternate lines as prop betting options. Depending on the sport, alternate lines can be several points higher or lower than the standard odds.

Here's a generic example: Team A is set as -2.5 point favorites with -110 odds and Team B is +2.5 with -110 odds. Alternate odds could be Team A -3.5 with +110 odds and Team B with +3.5 with -125 odds. This can go on in either direction with the odds increasing on one side and decreasing on the other. For instance, Team A -7.5 with +175 odds and Team B +7.5 with -200 odds.

Again, that's just a generic example to explain how alternate lines work and how they're different than standard odds.

Which Sports Offer Alternate Line Betting?

Most sports offer alternate lines, but depending on the sport those lines and odds vary widely.

In football and basketball, it's similar to the example above. A standard line is set, usually with equal odds on both sides of the spread. Here is the standard spread for a Lakers-Bucks game.

Standard Line / FanDue

The alternate lines allow you to move the spread with the odds changing based on which side you want to bet. In this case, if you think the Lakers can win outright or lose by three points or less, you can bet the Lakers +3.5 at +138 odds.

Alternate Line / FanDuel

Alternate line betting differs in lower-scoring games like the NHL and the MLB. Because these sports typically have a 1.5-point spread on either side for every game, which is called a puck line in hockey and run line in baseball, bookmakers offer fewer alternatives.

In the example below, the Hurricanes are -1.5 on the puckline with +106 odds against the Red Wings at +1.5 and -130.

Puck Line / FaDuel

The alternate puck line for this game only goes up to 4.5 goals where, as you can see in the example below, the odds expand exponentially.

Alternate Puck Line / FanDue

Types of Alternate Lines

So far, we've focused on standard spread and total alternate lines. But the world of alternate line betting extends far beyond that. Here are some of the alternate line markets offered by sportsbooks.

Alt Lines

This is what we've discussed. It's an alternate spread from the standard offer where you can give or take more points and the odds change accordingly.

Alt Totals

Similar to alt lines, you can give or take points on the Total, also known as the OVER/UNDER, with the odds moving based on which way you move the line.

Alt Player Props

Alternate player props are sometimes offered by sportsbooks on a variety of betting markets. Usually this is done for sports where statistics are bigger numbers.

The NFL is a perfect example. Sportsbooks will sometimes offer alternate lines for passing yards, receiving yards, rushing yards and other markets. The NBA is another good example, where sportsbooks will often offer alt points, alt rebounds, alt assists, etc.

In both scenarios, there's a standard line set. Then, sportsbooks provide alternate lines where the odds change based on which way you bet.

Below you can see a standard player point betting market.

Player Points / DraftKing

Now here's an alt points market on the same game.

Alt Points / Draftings

As you can see, the odds changed on the market as I lowered all of the total points scored. If you increased the total points scored, the odds would go up.

Positive and Negatives of Alternate Lines

Opinions on alternate lines vary from player to player. Some bettors are willing to pay extra juice for more favorable lines, while others never stray far from the standard (-110) commission price.

Moving off a hook is a popular football betting scenario, as bettors can buy one point to move a -3.5 (-110) line down to -2.5 (-125) odds. While the juice rises, buying one point cashes a winning ticket if the game is decided by a field goal.

Alternate lines are also popular with parlay bettors. That is due to the rich payouts that are possible with winning parlay tickets.

If a bettor wagers on three games with -3.5 (-110) odds, they receive a $596 return on $100 wagers if all three teams win by at least four points. On the same bet, with -2.5 (-125) lines, the return drops to $483, but the teams only need to win by three points. The chances of winning are better with the -2.5 odds.

Betting on alternate lines boils down to two choices. Players receive more favorable lines by purchasing points but need to pay added juice to do so. Bettors who sell points face steeper odds but the juice becomes more favorable. The latter option is often preferable in basketball, as bettors can push a -5 (-110) line to -10 (+300) on a strong favorite.

When properly used, alternate lines can help bettors boost their bankroll. However, using alternate lines can also be dangerous to bettors as they feed into the idea that something is guaranteed, which is never is in betting.

For instance, if you think Team A -3.5 (-110) is a good bet, but you want to seemingly-ensure the bet hits, you may be tempted to move the line to Team A -1.5 (-140) or even Team A +1.5 (-250). If you thought Team A -3.5 was a good bet, odds are you REALLY love Team A +1.5. Perhaps that even leads you to bet bigger on this market because the odds are worse but you like the bet more.

This is a mistake. Nothing is certain in betting. Even if you get a bigger line, that doesn't mean your bet will hit. Don't allow alt lines to make you overconfident.

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