Half Time and Full Time Bets

Half time/full time bets focus on the outcome of the first half and the entire game as a part of the combined wager. The bet offers up to nine possible outcomes you can pick, depending on the sport, so it’s time you learned how to use it to your advantage. 

The following half time/full time betting guide will give you a complete overview of the wager, list the best sports betting sites that offer it, and more.  

What Are Half Time and Full Time Bets? 

A half time/full time bet is a wager that combines two single bets into one. As a bettor, you can wager on the match’s outcome at halftime and then at full-time. Full-time marks the end of regulation time at which point these betting markets close. The designations of halftime and full-time can vary depending on the sport. 

Normally, in a nine-inning baseball game, halftime refers to the initial five innings of a game. In hockey games, the betting market is known as period betting. It’s crucial to note that potential overtime won’t count toward the full-time selections for the purpose of bet settlement. 

The half time/full time market gives you nine potential outcomes to choose from. Let’s take the 2023 NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles as an example. Here are the nine half time/full time betting options for the fixture, all of which involve picking the winner at halftime and full-time irrespective of the point spread, goal difference, and other potential liabilities: 

• SF 49ers/PHI Eagles
• SF 49ers/SF 49ers
• SF 49ers/Tie
• Tie/PHI Eagles
• Tie/SF 49ers
• Tie/Tie
• PHI Eagles/PHI Eagles
• PHI Eagles/SF 49ers
• PHI Eagles/Tie

Interestingly enough, all betting lines will have a “+” in front of them, which is usually the case with this type of wager. The plus (+) sign and the betting lines indicate what you stand to win with a $100 bet. 

How to Calculate Half Time and Full Time Winnings

The long odds at online sportsbooks for the half time/full time bet indicate that it’s not easy to get them right, but you can win big if you do. We’ll illustrate how to calculate the winnings using the same hypothetical matchup from before. 

Say you want to bet a few bucks on the San Francisco 49ers leading both halves and ultimately winning against the Philadelphia Eagles. The line could appear as follows: 

• San Francisco 49ers/San Francisco 49ers (+200)

As we pointed out earlier, the number next to the plus sign tells you how much you can expect to win on a $100 wager. Assuming you did place a $100 bet and the 49ers dominated in both halves of the game, the sportsbook would pay you a total of $300, $200 of which was the profit. 

Bookies tend to shift bet lines to accommodate any changes in a team, such as player injuries or to counteract the public’s opinion. Either way, sportsbooks always win thanks to the vigorish (or the vig) included in every single bet. The vig is a cut that sportsbooks take, so even when you win, the books do too. 

For example, the standard lines of -110 appear on point spread wagers and tell you that you can expect 90.91% of the stake back on winners instead of the total 100%. That 9.09% difference is the cut the sportsbook takes. 

Calculating the vig on props, futures, and half time/full time wagers is more complicated than doing so for spreads, moneylines, or other two-way markets. If we go back to our 49ers and Eagles game, there are nine probabilities for the half time/full time market, with odds ranging from +200 to +4500. To save you the trouble of doing the math yourself, it’ll suffice to say that the overround came to 37.45%, so if you are looking to make money on this wager, you better be sure of it.  

Best California Sportsbooks for Half Time and Full Time Bets

One piece of advice you’ll get from experts is to take your time with that half time/full time line shopping. Each sportsbook will post its lines early on, so looking for the best sports betting odds in California is the only guarantee of getting the best value for money. Even the slimmest of margins can affect your payout ratio in the long run. 

Let’s consider the NFL matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals. Here are some of the odds on the Kansas City Chiefs winning both at halftime and the entire game at three different bookies:

Immediately, we notice a highly unusual discrepancy between the three sportsbooks. While the lines are similar at BetRivers and DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook offers twice as much. Without line shopping, you won’t be able to catch such line movements. 

Another great option for you to explore before sports betting in California gains a foothold is Fliff. This social sportsbook lets you test your prediction game and boost your skills before the real deal arrives.

Variations of Half Time and Full Time Bets

Half time/full time is also known as 1st half/2nd half bet, depending on the sportsbook. For instance, DraftKings uses the generic half time/full time designation while the bet goes under the name 1st half result/2nd half result at Caesars.

Regardless of the name or the sport in question, there are only nine potential combinations:

• Home team/home team
• Tie/home team
• Home team/tie
• Home team/away team
• Away team/away team
• Away team/tie
• Away team/home team
• Tie/away team
• Tie/tie

Remember that overtime doesn’t count toward bet settlement. 

Best Strategy for Half Time and Full Time Bets

There are no tricks that can help you win every half time/full time bet you place. The range of factors that influence match outcomes is simply too great. However, you can always rely on statistics to give you an insight into how certain games may unfold. 

For example, in the 39+ years that the NFL has been running on a 16-game schedule, teams leading at halftime had a win rate between 72.7% and 82.3%. Moreover, every team in the lead at halftime during Week 9 of the 2018 NFL season won that week’s game. 

Since the 1989 season, only 14 NFL regular season games have ended in a tie. Therefore, the chances of that outcome are roughly 0.2%, hence the potentially enormous payouts should you get that right. 

These odds and numbers differ from sport to sport. On average, a team in the NBA that leads during halftime wins 73.05% of the time. 

Apart from observing the traditional team stats, be sure to calculate the implied probability of each half time/full time betting option.

When the odds are negative, the implied probability is = Odds/(Odds + 100)*100. On the other hand, when the odds are positive, you can use the following formula: implied probability = 100/(Odds + 100)/100

Rely on the event that is most likely to maximize your odds of success. 

Sports That Offer Half Time and Full Time Bets

Half time/full time bets are a staple in soccer betting. All soccer competitions and fixtures at almost all online sportsbooks are likely to offer odds for the market. As for the major leagues, the NFL and college football take the lead when it comes to this specific market. 

Surprisingly enough, you won’t see the half time/full time options for NBA games at all sportsbooks. For example, DraftKings features the market, while Caesars Sportsbook and BetRivers don’t. 

In essence, you can find half time/full time bets in all sports where the game consists of two halves. 

How to Place a Half Time/Full Time Bet on a CA Online Sportsbook App

Here’s a complete step-by-step guide you need to follow to place a half time/full time bet at an online sportsbook. Sports betting isn’t legal in California, so please use this guide as an example. Alternately, you can try Fliff, a legal social sportsbook app.

1. Choose one of the sportsbooks from our list. 
2. Register an account by providing personal information such as name, address, email, phone number, and last four digits of your Social Security Number.
3. Deposit funds into your account. All the promo codes that you might need to trigger California sports betting bonuses will be listed on our page. 
4. Once you log in, you’ll see the list of the most popular sports and competitions at the heading of the sports betting page. Alternatively, you can find the complete list of sports on the left-hand side of the betting homepage. 
5. Choose a competition and the game you want to bet on. 
6. The half time/full time bets are usually under the periods, half, or team props sections, depending on the bookie. Since these markets aren’t the most popular ones, you’ll need to do a little searching.
7. Pick your half time/full time betting option, and it’ll be automatically added to the betslip. Select the amount you wish to bet. 

Half Time and Full Time Bets FAQs