is it better to bet at HT?

[nosibalasinoypi]

for example the spread before the game starts is

team A +4.5
team B -4.5

Then at HT team A is leading by 10pts so team B was given a +8.5 at the half.

books calcute the spread before the game starts right? so isnt it an advantage to us bettors if
favorites are given + points when trailing at HT?

[blankoblanco]

for example the spread before the game starts is

team A +4.5
team B -4.5

Then at HT team A is leading by 10pts so team B was given a +8.5 at the half.

books calcute the spread before the game starts right? so isnt it an advantage to us bettors if
favorites are given + points when trailing at HT?

it's not that simple. you get "better spreads" than you would have for the game each time the favorite falls well behind and you bet their side. but the equal reverse of that is that you don't get a better spread to bet each time the favorite is ahead and are favored by more at halftime -- and these are the exact times where it would have yielded the most profit to bet the game line to begin with. the bets on the favorite you miss out making are precisely the ones that would have hit the most often. if the books have sharp halftime lines, it's really just the same 50/50ish proposition it ever was

the reason to bet at HT is if you watch the game and are better than the books at predicting the 2nd half based on what you saw. but there's no inherent advantage in it the way you're looking at it. if there was, winning at sports betting would be easy