Game Props Replace Game Results as Most Popular Sports Picks

Long Shot Props the Sports Pick Of Choice for PicksPal Players

Mountain View (PRWEB) October 19, 2005 -- Unlikely game props and long shot events have become the most popular choices for successful PicksPal players, edging out actual game results and outcomes as the top choice to climb the rankings of the free online sports pick game.

Homers in the first inning of baseball games, sudden deaths in golf, and player ejections in football are a few of the improbable props being picked and hit by PicksPal players. With odds ranging from 6:1 to 20:1, these long shots have been paying off with big points for those brave enough to risk it, up to 20,000 in some cases.

PicksPal.com players get 1,000 points at the beginning of each week, which they can use to pick games and props from Pro Football, College Football, Baseball, Hockey and others. The site uses real Vegas odds, spreads, and lines to determine how each pick pays off, and more often players are starting to hit those “Will the game go into overtime?” props at 20:1 odds (especially in big underdog situations in college football).

Head-to-head match-ups between sluggers, quarterbacks or running backs have also become popular. Props like “Which player will get more hits,” or “Which running back will score first” were last week’s favorite among players, and individual player achievements are also on the rise: “Will Peyton Manning throw 4 or more TD passes?” For players looking for stranger props, this week’s Monday Night Football broadcast even features odds on “How many times will John Madden say ‘Boom’ and ‘Bam,’” as well as “How many times on camera will we see Edgerrin James' Gold Tooth.”

The increasing popularity of these picks might be due to the fact that props have steeper and longer odds, with riskier but better results. Alternatively, the actual game outcomes carry more conservative odds. Since PicksPal challenges players to accumulate the most points, (with 1 million points being the ultimate challenge), players are finding it easier to build upon long shot after long shot, rather than smaller gains on safer odds.

How much does this style of play have to do with the fact that points are on the line instead of money? According to Vegas sportsbooks where players play for real money: a lot. Unique props are not usually offered day to day at most sportsbooks. Most of the emphasis is on the straight game results (with spreads) and over/under, with 2 to 12-game parlays coming in after that. In addition, most articles, advertisements, and handicappers’ advice deal strictly with results and “beating the spread,” while game props are usually ignored in these areas.

At PicksPal, players get the freedom of being able to easily make the choice between results with spreads, over/under, and props. So far, the PicksPal players have spoken: picking props is how to win and fun at the same time. The site claims they offer “The rush of Vegas without the risk,” and evidently, the rush is in the props.

About PicksPal:
Based in Mountain View, California, and created by Former CBS SportsLine.com, Sports.com and Ziff-Davis senior executive, Tom Jessiman, PicksPal.com launched in September 2005. PicksPal received its initial funding from Canaan Partners and counts Canaan general partner Maha Ibrahim and online marketing expert Kenneth Dotson as Board Members. PicksPal members compete in a weekly game, playing and earning social points by picking real events based on real odds. PicksPal members have the opportunity to risk their points on any of their favorite sports, including football, basketball, baseball, golf, boxing, cycling, motor sports and soccer. At the end of the week -- the member accumulating the most points wins.

PicksPal offers its members numerous ways to compete. By making free picks on such sports as Pro Football, College Football, Baseball and more, players can challenge their own knowledge or throw down the gauntlet against friends in 1-on-1 face-offs and even in league competitions. A Pick-O-Meter keeps track of the top ten competitors.

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