What Is a ‘Quarter Bet’ in Sports Betting?
A “Quarter Bet” is exactly what it sounds like: a wager on the outcome of one specific quarter (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) rather than the entire game.
It treats that single 15-minute period (or 12 minutes for NBA) as its own separate “mini-game.”
How It Works
The most critical rule to remember is that for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarter bets, the score “resets” to 0-0 at the start of that quarter.
Whatever happened in the previous quarters doesn’t matter. You are only betting on which team will perform better during that specific timeframe.
- Example: The Chiefs are winning the game 21-0.
- The Bet: You bet on the Raiders to win the 3rd Quarter.
- The Result: In the 3rd quarter, the Raiders score a field goal, and the Chiefs score nothing. The game score is now 21-3 (Chiefs still winning big), but you win your bet because the Raiders won that specific quarter 3-0.
The 3 Main Types of Quarter Bets
Just like a full game, you can usually bet a quarter in three ways:
- Quarter Moneyline: Who will score more points in that quarter?
- Quarter Spread: A “mini” point spread just for that quarter (e.g., Chiefs -0.5 for the 1st Quarter).
- Quarter Total: Will the combined points scored in that quarter be Over or Under a set number (e.g., Over 9.5 points)?
Why Do People Bet This?
It’s great for capitalizing on trends. If you know a team is a “slow starter” but usually plays great after halftime, you might skip the full game bet and just bet on them to win the 3rd Quarter.