How PropBeacon works: shorthand guide

Type a bet in plain English, in almost any word order, and PropBeacon works out the player, the stat, the direction and the line.

The basic format

<player> <over|under><line> <market>

Shortcuts

If a name matches more than one player (two Josh Allens, say) you get a one-click picker. You can also paste several bets at once, one per line or separated by semicolons.

Drive bets (football)

Bet on how one team's drive ends: <team> <which drive> <outcome>.

• Which drive: next (the default), current, 3rd drive, drive 3, opening. Drives are counted per team.
• Outcome: td, fg, score (a touchdown or field goal), punt, turnover, int, fumble, downs, missed fg, safety. Put no right before it to bet against it.
• Team: an abbreviation, nickname, city or full name. Ambiguous ones like la bring up a picker.

Spread bets

Bet on a team to cover the point spread: <team> <+ or -><spread>. The sign is the spread from that team's side: minus for the favorite, plus for the underdog. It works in every league, including baseball's run line and hockey's puck line (usually 1.5).

• The card: the big number is the current margin (+7 means that team is up by 7), and the ring is a cover meter that sits at half when the team is exactly on the number.
• Time-aware labels: a cushion that is safe with two minutes left can vanish with a quarter to go. The label (CRUISING, COVERING, HANGING ON, NOT COVERING, IN TROUBLE) weighs the cushion against how much time remains, in the sport's own scoring scale.
• Settles at the final. Unlike a prop, a spread can flip back and forth, so it never cashes early. Whole-number spreads can push if the margin lands exactly on the number.
• Names: a full name like chiefs or lakers is enough. Abbreviations shared across leagues (cle, tb) bring up a picker, or add a league tag such as mlb.
• Odds like -110 aren't spreads, and are ignored when typed after a prop.

Moneyline and game totals

Moneyline is a bet on a team to win the game outright, with no spread: chiefs ml, lakers to win, bills moneyline. Odds typed alongside, like -150, are ignored. The card shows the current lead or deficit and a time-aware label (CRUISING, LEADING, NARROW LEAD, TIED, TRAILING, IN TROUBLE). It settles only at the final, and a tie is a push.

Game total is an over or under on both teams' combined score: chiefs o47.5 total, lakers u224.5 total, cle u8.5 total mlb. Name either team; the bet is on that team's game.

• Because the combined score only goes up, a total works like a prop: an over cashes the moment the score passes the line, an under busts then and wins only if the game ends below it, and a whole-number line can push. The card shows the combined score, the line, and an "on pace for" projection.
• chiefs o47.5 total points also works. If there is a player by that name it is a player prop; if not, it is the game total.
• With no direction (kc 47.5 total) over is assumed, as for props.

Team totals

A team total is an over or under on one team's score alone: chiefs team total o24.5, kc tt u21.5, lakers team points over 112.5, cle team runs o4.5 mlb. It behaves like the game total: the score only goes up, so an over cashes the moment that team passes the number, an under busts then and wins only if the team finishes below it, and a whole-number line can push. The card shows that team's score, the line, and an "on pace for" projection.

Importing a bet slip screenshot

Have a bet slip on your phone? Tap Import a slip screenshot (or paste or drop an image) and PropBeacon reads the legs off it and turns them into bets. Today it understands Hard Rock Bet slips, both settled and still-live ones, including single bets and same-game parlays with player props, spreads, moneylines, game totals and team totals. More formats are being added.

• You confirm everything. You get a list of what was read, one editable line per bet with a checkbox. Fix a name or number if the reading was off, untick what you don't want, then add. Nothing is added until you say so.
• Read on your device. The image is processed inside your browser and never uploaded. The first import downloads a text reader (about 7 MB) from this site; after that it is cached.
• Built-in checks. A leg that says "Over 49.5" and "50+" must agree, and the ticket's leg count must match what was found. If not, the line is flagged.
• Already-settled slips. A slip that shows a final score is a finished bet. Adding it would track each player's next game, so the bets start unticked and a warning explains why.
• Tips: a clear screenshot of the whole slip works best. Cropping out your balance and account details is a good idea.

Sharing your board

The Share button in the header makes a link that adds your current bets for whoever opens it: send it to a friend, a group chat, or save it as a bookmark. On a phone it opens the share sheet; on a computer it copies the link.

• It shares the bets, not your results. Settled bets are left out, and whoever opens the link gets each bet on their next or live game, on their own board.
• The right team or player. The link pins each bet's league, so a shorthand like cle opens the Guardians for them, not a picker.
• Nothing is stored. The bets live in the link itself. There are no accounts and PropBeacon keeps no copy.
• Opening a link adds at most 20 bets, and your own board is capped at 30. A very long board is split: the link holds as many as fit safely, and the button tells you how many were left out.
• You can also write a link by hand: propbeacon.app/?bet=chiefs+-3.5&bet=bills+ml. Use %2B for a plus sign.

Supported markets

Football (NFL and college)

Passing, rushing and receiving yards; passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns; anytime touchdown and touchdown count; receptions; targets; rush attempts; completions; pass attempts; interceptions thrown; rushing + receiving yards; passing + rushing yards; longest rush and reception; field goals; extra points; kicking points; sacks; tackles.

Basketball (NBA, WNBA, college)

Points, rebounds, assists, three-pointers made, steals, blocks, turnovers, points + rebounds + assists, points + rebounds, points + assists, rebounds + assists, steals + blocks, field goals made, minutes.

Hockey (NHL)

Goals and anytime goal, assists, points, shots on goal, saves, goals against, hits, blocked shots, penalty minutes.

Baseball (MLB)

Hits, runs, RBIs, home runs, walks, hits + runs + RBIs, batter strikeouts, pitcher strikeouts, pitching outs, earned runs, hits allowed, walks allowed.

How a card works

Once you add a bet, PropBeacon finds that player's live game, or the next one if nothing is on yet, and locks the bet to that game. It checks for new stats about every 15 seconds while the game is live (you can choose 10, 15, 30 or 60) and more slowly before kickoff.

• Over bets cash the moment the stat passes the line. Under bets bust the moment it does, and win when the game ends below the line. Whole-number lines can push (land exactly on the line).
• The big ring is the stat as a share of the line. The thin outer ring is the game clock, so you can see whether the stat is ahead of or behind the game.
• "On pace for" projects the final number from how much of the game has been played, once enough of it has.

The hype ladder

Over bets measure how close the stat is to the line. Under bets measure how much of the line has been used up.

Limits to know about

• The data feed can lag the real game by roughly 10 to 40 seconds, sometimes more.
• Some markets can't be built from box-score data, so they aren't supported: MLB total bases, first touchdown scorer, and alternate "to record" ladders.
• Spreads, moneylines and game totals are full-game and use the final score, overtime or shootout included. Half, quarter and period versions, and alternate lines, aren't supported yet.
• A football player who never shows up in the box score counts as 0. Basketball, hockey and baseball players listed as did-not-play are voided.
• Your bets live in your browser. Clearing site data, or using another browser or device, starts you with an empty board.

New to the lingo? The glossary explains every term used here.