There’s no worse feeling than getting beat by the hook, that nasty half-point that oddsmakers often attach to spreads.

Fortunately, if you put in a little effort and have accounts at the right sportsbooks, it doesn’t have to happen that often.

Sportsbooks like Skybook and Wager Chief (both part of the Bet Phoenix family) will give you free half-points on some of your football and basketball bets. The only time you can’t use a free-half point to move the line in your direction is to get on or off the key football numbers of 3 and 7.

Skybook will give free half-points in football when you place your bet on Tuesdays or Fridays between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. eastern. Wager Chief awards the free half-points on Mondays and Fridays.

During basketball season, Skybook will hand out the free half-points on Fridays.

Yeah, we know. Half a point doesn’t sound like that big a deal, right?

In the long run, it is.

Every Saturday during the college football and basketball seasons, there are several games that are decided within a point of the spread. Getting that extra half-point can turn losses into pushes or pushes into wins, which will add up after a while.

I was reminded of that last week in college football. My two biggest bets – Florida -14 and USC -11 – both landed on the number. Had I had an extra half-point, those two wagers would have won and I would have had one hell of a Saturday.

There’s a reason why buying half a point will generally cost you about 10 cents in juice – it increases your winning percentage by that extra little bit.

Just remember, you don’t always have to buy it.

Check out the free half-point programs at Skybook and Wager Chief.