First Score Parlay Bets

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‣	NBA First Basket
‣	NHL First Goal
‣	NFL First Touchdown

Super Bowl XLI in 2007 featured the Indianapolis Colts against the Chicago Bears.

The game is best remembered by many as the game Devin Hester returned the opening kick-off for a touchdown despite the Colts winning 27-19 and Peyton Manning being crowned a Super Bowl Champion for the first time in his career.

The first (and last) time that was ever done in a Super Bowl.

On December 21, 1991, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the opening face-off against the Buffalo Sabres. Leaf’s defenceman Michel Petit promptly gave the puck away to Alexander Mogilny, who beat goalie Jeff Reese only 5 seconds into the game.

Mogilny became the third player in league history to score 5 seconds into the start of a game.

All of this is to say, although the average sporting event can take somewhere between two to three hours to play out, there is lots of excitement to be found at the beginning of a game, just as there is at the end of a game.

This is especially true if you have found some enticing odds and made a prop bet on the first player to score in whatever sporting event you are watching.

What Is An NBA First Basket Prop Bets

Maybe the most popular prop bets in the NBA right now is the first player to score prop. This is exactly what it sounds like.

Sportsbooks provide odds on players from both teams. Bettors choose the player or players they believe have a good chance of scoring the game’s first point and it’s just that easy.

Bet NBA First Basket Props

FanDuel Sportsbook is the most popular betting site in the United States due to its user-friendly app and robust betting markets.

The site features the Same Game Parlays, where you can combine several bet types for higher payouts. There are also useful promos that you can target, such as odds boosts.

FanDuel features competitive betting odds therefore it’s a great choice for the first score parlay bets.

First Basket Prop Bet Strategy

The first thing we need to do is admit that this type of betting is going to return more losing tickets than winning tickets. Each team has five starters, so there are 10 players total who have a chance to score the game’s first point.

Even if we look at the game’s greatest scorers of all time, I’m sure Michael Jordan scored a lot of first baskets, but I’m also sure that Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, or pretty much anyone but Dennis Rodman from those late Bulls dynasty teams did as well.

More often than not, MJ finished the game with the most points, but that doesn’t mean he started the game with the first hoop.

That said, we aren’t dealing with short odds for this type of bet. So we don’t need to win at a 52% pace in order to be profitable. In fact, the odds for this type of bet can be very enticing.

One of the most popular stats for people to research for an NBA first basket prop bet is to try and determine which team will win the opening tip-off.

As this bet continues to gain in popularity, this stat is becoming one of the more sought-after pieces of information.

In 2021-22, Steven Adams won 13 consecutive opening tips during the months of November and December for the Memphis Grizzlies. That is a lot of opportunities for his teammate Ja Morant, to score the game’s opening basket.

Currently, Ja Morant is +1600 to win the NBA MVP award. However, in a recent Memphis Grizzlies vs Philadelphia 76ers game, the rising star was +600 odds to score the opening basket. +600 seems like a reasonable number until Steven Adams wins the tip for Memphis.

Then those +600 odds probably feel really good to a bettor with a Ja Morant to score the first ticket in their hand.

NBA First Basket High-Level Prop Bet Strategy

It’s one thing to have a good idea of which team is going to win the opening tip and gain possession to start the game, which is an obvious advantage for a first basket prop bet. However, there are those that take the research even further.

Picture your team winning the opening tip and you watch the point guard slowly start to bring the ball up the floor?

What play are they going to call in their set offense? Is there a mismatch on the floor that they are going to try and take advantage of? Are they a pick-and-roll team or an outside shooting 3-point team?

All of this information could give a bettor a slight edge over the house if they have done their homework.

That said, bettors also have to remember with this type of bet that you could watch Steven Adams win the opening tip, you could watch Memphis run a set play that has Ja Morant come around a screen and take an open 15-foot jump shot, and you could watch that ball hit back rim and bounce out.

Bettors must remember for this type of prop that this is a very fun bet to play, but can also be tough to cash with regularity.

Have patience, do your homework, and hope to get the right bounces.

What Is An NHL First To Score Bet

Like the NBA prop bet above, an NHL first player to score bet is exactly what it sounds like.

Unlike the NBA bet above, the NHL first to score prop bet is going to provide a lot of players to choose from, not just the starting 10.

We can be almost certain that one of the starting 10 players are going to score the first point in a basketball game, but the same cannot be said for a hockey game.

A goal can definitely come early or in a tight-checking playoff game, it might not come until the second or third period.

There is no need to research the starting lineups for an NHL game before making this type of bet.

Bet NHL First To Score Props

Caesars Sportsbook has become a giant in the sports betting industry.

Caesars has some of the best welcome bonuses, VIP rewards programs around, and parlay options.

Enjoy a sleek aesthetic and accessible platform when placing your first to score bets.

NHL First To Score Bet Strategy

My own personal play for these types of bets is to key in on talented goal scorers.

Let’s look at the Toronto Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews is one of the best goal scorers in the NHL currently.

Through his first 38 games of the 2021-22 season, Matthews scored 28 goals. During those 38 games there was only one stretch where he went four consecutive games without a goal. In the fifth game of that streak, he scored 3-times.

Matthews was paying somewhere close to +700 to score first in that fifth game and there are those who believe that is the time to strike with a first goal bet.

Find a gifted player going through a mini-slump and jump on him to break that slump.

There are also others who believe waiting until that slump is over and then riding that player for multiple games after they have snapped their scoreless streak is the play to make.

Goal scorers can definitely be streaky and goals can come in bunches. If Matthews scored three one night, the theory suggests betting on him again the next game.

Whether you are betting on players to come out of a slump or betting on players during a hot streak, there is always homework to be done and research to do before placing this potentially profitable bet.

Last To Score In NHL

Hockey also provides another unique prop bet for bettors, and that is the last player to score a goal bet.

This is similar to first to score, except obviously you are looking to predict who the last player to score will be.

This is considered an even more difficult bet to win and odds can be even more lucrative than the first to score prop.

When you get into close games, goalies getting pulled for an extra attacker and coaches putting out their best defensive forwards in order to prevent a goal can add a lot more variables to the equation.

BetMGM Sportsbook has a detailed live-betting platform with live streaming on select events, which is fantastic for such a fast-paced bet type like parlays on first to score since you can sweat your bet in real-time.

There are numerous odds boosts that give you more value on your wagers at BetMGM.

What Is An NFL First To Score A TD Bet

For the 2021-22 NFL Super Bowl, you can see oddsmakers have provided bettors with some alluring odds for players to score the first touch down.

Player	First To Score	Anytime Scorer
Cooper Kupp	+450	-200
Joe Mixon	+700	-110
Cam Akers	+750	-110
Ja’Marr Chase	+800	+100
Odell Beckham Jr	+1000	+130
Tee Higgins	+1200	+175

Bet NFL First To TD Props

PointsBet Sportsbook has gained interest in the sports betting world due to its innovative platform that features a distinct bet type.

Known as “PointsBetting,” which allows the user to win more if their team has a greater margin, but lose more if the opposite is true.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward style of betting that adds more excitement to the betting experience.

NFL First To Score Strategy

There are really two trains of thought for this bet. Heading into the Super Bowl, Cooper Kupp had scored a touchdown in five consecutive games and he scored touchdowns in 11 of the 17 Rams games played this year.

It makes a lot of sense to think that Kupp has a very good chance to score another one in the Super Bowl, so why not take the chance that he will be the first to score one?

At +450 odds, it will certainly be a fun bet to ride out for anyone with a Kupp ticket?

The other thought process is to grab a couple of the players with some more enticing odds. In this case, let’s look at Odell Beckham Jr and Tee Higgins. Both Beckham Jr and Higgins are considered elite receivers even though they aren’t necessarily even the best receiver on their team.

But that might work in a bettor’s favor for this specific prop bet. Obviously, the Bengals are going to focus on Kupp.

They might not be able to stop him, but they are going to put a lot of resources towards trying to. Does that free up Beckham Jr for more opportunities?

The same applies to Tee Higgins for the Bengals as well.

The question that a bettor now has to answer is: Would you rather place a one-unit bet on Cooper Kupp at +450 or would you rather bet half a unit on Beckham and Higgins at +1000 and +1200 respectively?

Anytime Score

Like the NHL, the NFL betting markets also offer an anytime touchdown prop bet and those odds are also listed in the above table as well.

A bettor will notice that because Cooper Kupp is much more likely to score a touchdown at some point in the game, as opposed to being the first player to score a touchdown, his odds are significantly reduced.

The same obviously applies to Beckham Jr and Higgins. Although they can still be found at plus (+) money, their odds to score anytime are significantly reduced compared to their first to score odds.

Our last piece of advice applies to the NBA, NHL, NFL, and all sports you are betting on. In order to maximize your potential return, a savvy gambler will always shop around to find the very best odds.

When we are dealing with odds that are +1000 or +1200 and even higher, there can be a large discrepancy between oddsmakers. There is no sense leaving money on the table for these bets.

Shop around, price compare, and play the odds that work best for your strategy.

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