What is a reverse bet example?

These are very similar to each other, only the winning conditions are a little different. Here is an example of a reverse win bet:

  • I am betting that Team A will win first and then Team B will win.
  • I am also betting that Team B will win first and then Team A will win.

So you are placing two bets but “winning” is the condition in both. If the match of one of these teams will result in a tie, for example, there is no “win”, so you lose the bet. That’s why it is called a win reverse bet: You are placing two if bets in reverse order and winning is the only condition – according to win reverse bet rules, there cannot be any other outcomes.

In action reverse bets, you are still placing two if bets in reverse order, but winning is not the only condition anymore. Here is an example of an action reverse bets:

  • I am betting that team A will win, tie, or gets canceled first and then Team B will win.
  • I am betting that team B will win, tie, or gets canceled first and then Team A will win.

Basically, any “action” is enough to win the bet: Winning is not the only possible outcome. If the match of Team A gets canceled but the match of Team B wins, you still win. Action reverse bets are generally used for NFL football betting (check out NFL‘s official website) and as a college football betting strategy. You can still place an NFL win reverse bet, of course, but ties and cancellations are more common in American football, so bettors prefer action reverse bets most on NFL betting sites. Don’t forget to also check our article “Is the NFL rigged?” where we explain why NFL may fix or not games.

What is a reverse bet example?
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes #15 hands the ball off to wide receiver Tyreek Hill #10 on a reverse play. Chris Unger/Getty Images/AFP

Gone are the days when sports bettors were content to bet a side or a total. Now we have proposition wagers, futures, and a vast betting menu that used to only be available on special events like the Super Bowl.

And more to the point, there are exotic wagers that can be made which include reverse bets.

And while they are not new, more and more punters are incorporating them into their sports betting routine.

Let’s explore reverse bets and see if they are right for you!

If Bets Explained

An action reverse, or reverse bet, is simply a series of “if bets”. If something good happens in one wager it triggers the next wager. The reverse is true as well, which is why it is called a reverse bet.

LEARN MORE: Gambling 101 | Understanding Teaser Bets

Let’s use a real-life example from Week 11 of the 2021 NFL season when we had the following two games of hypothetical interest:

  • Detroit Lions vs. Cleveland Browns -14
  • Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks -5

In this scenario, we will side with the underdogs but want to limit our risk and exposure by combining two “if bets” on these games instead of two flat bets which would cost us more money if both bets lose. If the goal is to win a total of $200 let’s look at the flat bet compared to the reverse bet.

Flat Bet Scenarios

Scenario 1: Both Bets Win

  • Detroit +14 covers the spread: +$100
  • Arizona +5 covers the spread: +$100

Result: +$200

Scenario 2: Bets Split

  • Detroit +14 covers the spread: +$100
  • Arizona +5 fails to cover the spread: -$110

Result: -$10

Scenario 3: Both Bets Lose

  • Detroit +14 fails to cover the spread: -$110
  • Arizona +5 fails to cover the spread: -$110

Result: -$220

LEARN MORE: Gambling 101 | Understanding Parlay Bets

Reverse Bet Scenarios

Scenario 1: Both Bets Win

  • Detroit +14 covers the spread: +$50 which triggers Arizona +5 covers the spread: +$50
  • Arizona +5 covers the spread: +$50 which triggers Detroit +14 covers the spread: +$50

Result: +$200

Scenario 2: Bets Split

  • Detroit +14 covers the spread: +$50 which triggers Arizona +5 fails to cover the spread: -$55
  • Arizona +5 fails to cover the spread: -$55 which DOES NOT trigger Detroit +14 covers the spread: NO BET

Result: -$60

Scenario 3: Both Bets Lose

  • Detroit +14 fails to cover the spread: -$55 which DOES NOT trigger Arizona +5 fails to cover the spread: NO BET
  • Arizona +5 fails to cover the spread: -$55 which DOES NOT trigger Detroit +14 fails to cover the spread

Result: -$110

What Did We Learn?

If we compare the two approaches, we can evaluate the three different scenarios.

Scenario 1: Both Bets Win

As we can see the result was +$200 in both the flat bet and reverse bet scenarios. It’s all good from the bettor’s perspective and the only one unhappy is the bookie.

Edge: None

Scenario 2: Bets Split

Here we see that the decided advantage is the flat bet vs. the action reverse bet. In the case of the flat bet, we lost only the vig of $10 compared to the $60 we lost in the reverse bet scenario.

Edge: Flat Bet

LEARN MORE: What is Smart Money Action in Sports Betting?

Scenario 3: Both Bets Lose

And this is the reason why some prefer the reverse bet as it limits your losses if the worst happens and all your bets go south.

We can see that if both $100 flat bets lost it would be a total of -$220 lost (-$110 + -$110) but if both reverse bets lost it would be a loss of only $60 which is approximately 73 percent less than we would have lost had we bet both teams flat.

Edge: Reverse Bet

Sports Betting: Reverse Bets

By Loot, Sports Handicapper, Lootmeister.com

In all team sports, you can make “reverse bets.” It may seem a little confusing at first, but with a little time, you will have this down-pat. Reverse bets are a spin-off of "if wagers". In “if” wagers, you bet a certain amount with two teams on your ticket. If the first team wins, an equal amount is placed on the second game. But if the first game comes up short, you will not have action on the other game. A “reverse” allows you to make the equivalent of two “if bets.”

If you make one “if” bet and the result of the first game is a loss, the bet is over. So maybe you make a $110 “if” bet. The first team loses and your wager is a loser. You lost $110. Rather than making an “if” bet, make a “reverse. It’s two separate “if” bets. Rather than betting $110 on an “if” bet, make a reverse for $55 x 2.

In an “if” bet, you would take, for example, the Baltimore Ravens at -7 and over 43 in the Jaguars-Panthers game. If the first bet wins, you will have action on the next game. But if the first one loses, your bet is over. A reverse is basically two separate “if” bets. You would execute a reverse with the same teams, just in opposite order for $55. Just tell the bookie you want to make a reverse and give them the two teams you want to bet, and the sequence of the games is no longer an issue. In an “if” bet, we are tied to the arbitrary nature of which bet we first list. With reverses, that’s no longer an issue and it can save you a lot of heartache.

TIP: A GOOD online sportsbook offering reverse betting is Sportbet.

Betting a $55 reverse instead of a $110 “if” bet makes it so you don’t have to worry about going 1-1 and losing your entire bet. Betting a reverse costs the same as an “if” bet. When making a reverse for $55, you are basically making two bets so it ends up costing the same $110. Let’s look at the different scenarios.

Example: You make a reverse on Baltimore -7 and over 43 in the Jaguars-Panthers game.

Possibility Number 1: You win both games. The Ravens cover the spread and the Jaguars-Panthers game goes over 43 points. Both reverses win the maximum amount. In a reverse for $55, you are basically betting 4 times to win $50. You would win $200 if both legs are a success.

Possibility Number 2: Pittsburgh covers the spread, however the Jaguars-Panthers game goes under 43. You won one leg and lost the other. You have a reverse, one with Pittsburgh first and one with the Jaguars-Panthers over 43 listed first. The one with the Ravens listed first wins, while the second part of the reverse loses. So you lose the first $55 bet and win $50, minus a $5 vig on the second leg of the reverse bet. In a regular “if” bet, the success of your wager would depend on which team you listed first-- which can be a bitter pill to swallow.

Possibility Number 3: Both games lose. Naturally, you lose the entire bet, but you could have probably figured that out for yourself.

The only time there is a difference in the dynamic of a reverse and an “if” wager is when you go 1-1 on your wagers. With an “if” bet, you lose the entire $110 if the first listed bet loses. If the first team wins and the second team does not, you lose only $10. If Team A is a loser, you will lose $55 on one of the reverses right away. If only team B wins, then one part of your reverse bet will have further action. You will earn $50 after wagering $55 for a loss of the $5 vig. With the $55 you lost on the first leg of your reverse, that equals out to a grand loss of $60. So the reverse wager doesn’t save us money or enhance our profit potential when we win each side of the bet. It just basically allows us to not have to sweat so much about which team we listed first on the bet.

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Sports Wagering: 1st Half Betting

By Loot, Sports Handicapper, Lootmeister.com

A lot of people don’t even look at 1st half betting. Perhaps they should. There are some cases where you can get a more accurate read of the first half than on an entire game. In cases like that, first-half betting might be a sound alternative to normal straight bets. Obviously, these bets can only be made on sports with halves, so that means basketball and football. Baseball can also be bet in a first-half wager.

In 1st half wagering, only the first half is at play. The final score is of no consequence. In pro hoops, and pro and college football, that means the first 2 quarters. In college hoops, it’s the first half, being that there no quarters. In either case, the first 50% of the game is all that matters. We’ve all heard the expression “a tale of two halves” before and if we can detect what the tale of a half will be, this is a good bet to explore.

There are a lot of situations where you might suspect a team will start quickly and represent a better bet earlier in the game. Maybe you notice that a mediocre NBA team has a pattern of playing the top teams close for the first half before fading badly in the second half. Perhaps there is a college football team that customarily blows out inferior teams, but only after kicking their game into gear in the second half. So their opponent might represent a good first-half value.

TIP: Not all online sportsbooks carry first half lines, however, you can find a line for every single game of every sport at Sportbet.

The examples are endless. What if a college football team is a gigantic favorite over another team, but you know the coach pulls key starters when the game is out of hand? It would stand to reason that the huge favorite would be better to bet on in the first half. Or maybe there’s an NBA team on the tail-end of a draining road trip and you think they will perform well in the first half before the fatigue sets in. You might like betting a baseball team in the first half thinking that’s when the starter is at his freshest.

The above examples, while possible catalysts for placing a 1st half wager, are not terribly original pieces of insight. Knowing things like a certain aging running back is far more effective in the first half, before his tired legs catch up with him later is something the book also knows. Only really good information can be used to outsmart the bookie for the most part. Maybe you have a Doppler radar machine in your house and know the first half weather is going to be dreadful, so you take the under in the first half. By in large, it’s not easy to outmaneuver the bookie.

You will also be betting along with the public at large when going off elementary observations, like that Alabama is going to lay on the points against Western Carolina in the first half. So if Alabama is a 50-point favorite, don’t think the first half line will be Alabama -25, as it will be closer to 30. The bookie is fully aware that big favorites start the game by crushing their opponent before going into coast-mode. And with so many people looking to bet on that, the bookie needn’t set a very tantalizing line. That could suck the value right out of it.

The book simply doesn’t cut the full number in half in order to come up with the 1st half line. The book will also sometimes give more juice to certain sides of a first-half wager, which sucks even more value out of it. The number 3 is a huge watermark in the creation of first-half lines in football. The bookies dance expertly around that number. In other words, if a team is a 5-point favorite, don’t expect to get a juicy -2.5 line for the first half. The bookie knows favorites very often enter halftime up by a field goal and they will keep themselves protected.

When looking for 1st half plays, search for tidbits of information that lie a little outside the public’s radar. There are little subtle things that can be found within games that can give you an edge, but you’ll need to be sharp. And it won’t always be obvious. Maybe a quarterback is just a touch off-key in the first half. Or a point guard makes a few more miscues in the first half. Perhaps a secondary is a little sharper in the first half. It won’t always jump out at you. But if you can scoop up a little pile of info-nuggets, there will be some good first-half spots for you to exploit.

If you liked this article, you may also enjoy our piece on halftime betting.

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