Sports betting appeals to the smart bettor because it is not a game with a fixed house edge where the casinos are raking off fixed percentage. Sports betting requires more skill than luck similar to live poker. You won’t win every time but the skilled handicapper has a huge advantage over the recreational bettor. Before going into more detail you need to understand how sports betting works. We will take a look at football where a point spread is involved. (Basketball also uses a point spread.)
The casino Sportsbooks make their money on sports bets by collecting a commission on losing bets. This is called the Vigorish or Vig for short. The most common odds are 11 to 10. This means that if you want to win $100 you are risking $110. For example, you place a bet on the Giants at the casino sports book and pay $110. If the Giants win you collect $210 when you cash your winning ticket. If you lose your bet you lose the $110.
Ideally, the Sportsbook would like to have the same amount of money wagered on the two teams playing. If the Giants are playing the Colts and they have one player betting on the Giants and one player betting on the Colts they would pay the winner $100 but collect $110 for the loser. This gives them a $10 profit so they really don’t care who wins as long as they have an equal amount bet on each team. To accomplish this they assign a line or spread to make the contest equally attractive for both sides.
The Point Spread
Many people believe that the point spread is the predicted margin of victory by which one team will beat another team. This is not true. The line is the handicapper’s prediction of what number will be required to split the wagering evenly on both teams. For this reason, the line may change from the opening line to the line at game time. The Sportsbooks goal is to have the betting as evenly as possible.
If the public is swayed by sentiment to bet on a certain team then the odds makers need to adjust the line to get some action on the other team. Otherwise, the betting would be heavily lopsided. The general betting public reacts to the opinions of others. This is why you see so many people “Jumping on the bandwagon” of a winning team.
For the sports books, the line is flawed if it does not attract the same amount of action on both sides however from a smart handicapper’s point of view, the line is flawed when it does not compute to his predicted outcome of the game. A weaker team can actually become the favorite if public sentiment is with that team. When this happens the underdog presents a huge overlay for the seasoned handicapper meaning that the odds are in his favor. For example Team A should be a 3 point underdog to Team B, however, The public loves Team A and are betting on them and the line moves to make Team A a one-point favorite, then Team B becomes an excellent bet. This is the contrarian principle and why many smart handicappers go against the general betting public.
The Handicapper
A winning handicapper formulates his own opinions about the game and ignores most of the public sentiment. A handicapper takes information from numerous sources, assigns weights and values to it. They will make their own power ranking and predict what the point spread should be without looking at the official line first, and then compare their predictions to the line to look at discrepancies. A large amount of data available via the internet and other sources means that the handicapper has more information but it means there is more to sift through to find the gems. The use of computer programs can help when searching through the data.
Why don’t more people win at sports betting? Like any other endeavor, it takes time, patience and practice to become successful. A person of average intelligence can become a winning handicapper if they have the desire. Based on the odds of -110 for a straight football or basketball bet a handicapper only need to be right 52.38 percent of the time to break even however many sports bettors cannot achieve that percentage of winning over the long run. The chart below shows the break-even points for the various odds you will encounter when you make a bet on the money line. With higher odds, you have to have a higher winning percentage to break even. If you bet the underdogs you can have a lower win percentage and still make money.
Winning Percentages
Favorite Winning % Underdog Winning %
-110 52.38 +110 47.62
-115 53.49 +115 46.51
-120 54.55 +120 45.45
-125 55.56 +125 44.44
-130 56.52 +130 43.48
-135 57.45 +135 42.55
-140 58.33 +140 41.67
-145 59.18 +145 40.82
-150 60.00 +150 40.00
-155 60.78 +155 39.22
-160 61.54 +160 38.46
-165 62.26 +165 37.74
-170 62.96 +170 37.04
-175 63.64 +175 36.36
-180 64.29 +180 35.71
-185 64.91 +185 35.09
-190 65.52 +190 34.48
-200 66.67 +200 32.26
-220 68.75 +220 31.25
-240 70.59 +240 29.41
-250 71.43 +250 28.57
Featured Video
Important Terms to Know When Betting on Basketball
How to Successfully Bet on Hockey
How a Moneyline Works in Sports Betting
Beating Football Parlay Tickets
Sports Betting: How to Bet Parlays
Which Casino Games Have the Best (and Worst) Odds?
Raffle Laws in the US and Canada: How to Run a Legal Raffle
How to Bet on Boxing
How Casinos Make Money: The Handle, House Edge & More
Where Does Lottery Money Go?
Lottery Strategies: 7 Systems to Predict Winning Lottery Numbers
Horse Betting: Types and Terms
NFL Point Differential Betting System
What “No Purchase to Enter or Win” Means in Sweepstakes
Doubling Down in Blackjack Is a Good Bet
Match Play Coupons at the Casino
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LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
Sports betting appeals to the smart bettor because it is not a game with a fixed house edge where the casinos are raking off fixed percentage. Sports betting requires more skill than luck similar to live poker. You won’t win every time but the skilled handicapper has a huge advantage over the recreational bettor. Before going into more detail you need to understand how sports betting works. We will take a look at football where a point spread is involved. (Basketball also uses a point spread.)
The casino Sportsbooks make their money on sports bets by collecting a commission on losing bets. This is called the Vigorish or Vig for short. The most common odds are 11 to 10. This means that if you want to win $100 you are risking $110. For example, you place a bet on the Giants at the casino sports book and pay $110. If the Giants win you collect $210 when you cash your winning ticket. If you lose your bet you lose the $110.
Ideally, the Sportsbook would like to have the same amount of money wagered on the two teams playing. If the Giants are playing the Colts and they have one player betting on the Giants and one player betting on the Colts they would pay the winner $100 but collect $110 for the loser. This gives them a $10 profit so they really don’t care who wins as long as they have an equal amount bet on each team. To accomplish this they assign a line or spread to make the contest equally attractive for both sides.
The Point Spread
Many people believe that the point spread is the predicted margin of victory by which one team will beat another team. This is not true. The line is the handicapper’s prediction of what number will be required to split the wagering evenly on both teams. For this reason, the line may change from the opening line to the line at game time. The Sportsbooks goal is to have the betting as evenly as possible.
If the public is swayed by sentiment to bet on a certain team then the odds makers need to adjust the line to get some action on the other team. Otherwise, the betting would be heavily lopsided. The general betting public reacts to the opinions of others. This is why you see so many people “Jumping on the bandwagon” of a winning team.
For the sports books, the line is flawed if it does not attract the same amount of action on both sides however from a smart handicapper’s point of view, the line is flawed when it does not compute to his predicted outcome of the game. A weaker team can actually become the favorite if public sentiment is with that team. When this happens the underdog presents a huge overlay for the seasoned handicapper meaning that the odds are in his favor. For example Team A should be a 3 point underdog to Team B, however, The public loves Team A and are betting on them and the line moves to make Team A a one-point favorite, then Team B becomes an excellent bet. This is the contrarian principle and why many smart handicappers go against the general betting public.
The Handicapper
A winning handicapper formulates his own opinions about the game and ignores most of the public sentiment. A handicapper takes information from numerous sources, assigns weights and values to it. They will make their own power ranking and predict what the point spread should be without looking at the official line first, and then compare their predictions to the line to look at discrepancies. A large amount of data available via the internet and other sources means that the handicapper has more information but it means there is more to sift through to find the gems. The use of computer programs can help when searching through the data.
Why don’t more people win at sports betting? Like any other endeavor, it takes time, patience and practice to become successful. A person of average intelligence can become a winning handicapper if they have the desire. Based on the odds of -110 for a straight football or basketball bet a handicapper only need to be right 52.38 percent of the time to break even however many sports bettors cannot achieve that percentage of winning over the long run. The chart below shows the break-even points for the various odds you will encounter when you make a bet on the money line. With higher odds, you have to have a higher winning percentage to break even. If you bet the underdogs you can have a lower win percentage and still make money.
Winning Percentages
Favorite Winning % Underdog Winning %
-110 52.38 +110 47.62
-115 53.49 +115 46.51
-120 54.55 +120 45.45
-125 55.56 +125 44.44
-130 56.52 +130 43.48
-135 57.45 +135 42.55
-140 58.33 +140 41.67
-145 59.18 +145 40.82
-150 60.00 +150 40.00
-155 60.78 +155 39.22
-160 61.54 +160 38.46
-165 62.26 +165 37.74
-170 62.96 +170 37.04
-175 63.64 +175 36.36
-180 64.29 +180 35.71
-185 64.91 +185 35.09
-190 65.52 +190 34.48
-200 66.67 +200 32.26
-220 68.75 +220 31.25
-240 70.59 +240 29.41
-250 71.43 +250 28.57
Featured Video
Important Terms to Know When Betting on Basketball
How to Successfully Bet on Hockey
How a Moneyline Works in Sports Betting
Beating Football Parlay Tickets
Sports Betting: How to Bet Parlays
Which Casino Games Have the Best (and Worst) Odds?
Raffle Laws in the US and Canada: How to Run a Legal Raffle
How to Bet on Boxing
How Casinos Make Money: The Handle, House Edge & More
Where Does Lottery Money Go?
Lottery Strategies: 7 Systems to Predict Winning Lottery Numbers
Horse Betting: Types and Terms
NFL Point Differential Betting System
What “No Purchase to Enter or Win” Means in Sweepstakes
Doubling Down in Blackjack Is a Good Bet
Match Play Coupons at the Casino
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
Sports betting appeals to the smart bettor because it is not a game with a fixed house edge where the casinos are raking off fixed percentage. Sports betting requires more skill than luck similar to live poker. You won’t win every time but the skilled handicapper has a huge advantage over the recreational bettor. Before going into more detail you need to understand how sports betting works. We will take a look at football where a point spread is involved. (Basketball also uses a point spread.)
The casino Sportsbooks make their money on sports bets by collecting a commission on losing bets. This is called the Vigorish or Vig for short. The most common odds are 11 to 10. This means that if you want to win $100 you are risking $110. For example, you place a bet on the Giants at the casino sports book and pay $110. If the Giants win you collect $210 when you cash your winning ticket. If you lose your bet you lose the $110.
Ideally, the Sportsbook would like to have the same amount of money wagered on the two teams playing. If the Giants are playing the Colts and they have one player betting on the Giants and one player betting on the Colts they would pay the winner $100 but collect $110 for the loser. This gives them a $10 profit so they really don’t care who wins as long as they have an equal amount bet on each team. To accomplish this they assign a line or spread to make the contest equally attractive for both sides.
The Point Spread
Many people believe that the point spread is the predicted margin of victory by which one team will beat another team. This is not true. The line is the handicapper’s prediction of what number will be required to split the wagering evenly on both teams. For this reason, the line may change from the opening line to the line at game time. The Sportsbooks goal is to have the betting as evenly as possible.
If the public is swayed by sentiment to bet on a certain team then the odds makers need to adjust the line to get some action on the other team. Otherwise, the betting would be heavily lopsided. The general betting public reacts to the opinions of others. This is why you see so many people “Jumping on the bandwagon” of a winning team.
For the sports books, the line is flawed if it does not attract the same amount of action on both sides however from a smart handicapper’s point of view, the line is flawed when it does not compute to his predicted outcome of the game. A weaker team can actually become the favorite if public sentiment is with that team. When this happens the underdog presents a huge overlay for the seasoned handicapper meaning that the odds are in his favor. For example Team A should be a 3 point underdog to Team B, however, The public loves Team A and are betting on them and the line moves to make Team A a one-point favorite, then Team B becomes an excellent bet. This is the contrarian principle and why many smart handicappers go against the general betting public.
The Handicapper
A winning handicapper formulates his own opinions about the game and ignores most of the public sentiment. A handicapper takes information from numerous sources, assigns weights and values to it. They will make their own power ranking and predict what the point spread should be without looking at the official line first, and then compare their predictions to the line to look at discrepancies. A large amount of data available via the internet and other sources means that the handicapper has more information but it means there is more to sift through to find the gems. The use of computer programs can help when searching through the data.
Why don’t more people win at sports betting? Like any other endeavor, it takes time, patience and practice to become successful. A person of average intelligence can become a winning handicapper if they have the desire. Based on the odds of -110 for a straight football or basketball bet a handicapper only need to be right 52.38 percent of the time to break even however many sports bettors cannot achieve that percentage of winning over the long run. The chart below shows the break-even points for the various odds you will encounter when you make a bet on the money line. With higher odds, you have to have a higher winning percentage to break even. If you bet the underdogs you can have a lower win percentage and still make money.
Winning Percentages
Favorite Winning % Underdog Winning %
-110 52.38 +110 47.62
-115 53.49 +115 46.51
-120 54.55 +120 45.45
-125 55.56 +125 44.44
-130 56.52 +130 43.48
-135 57.45 +135 42.55
-140 58.33 +140 41.67
-145 59.18 +145 40.82
-150 60.00 +150 40.00
-155 60.78 +155 39.22
-160 61.54 +160 38.46
-165 62.26 +165 37.74
-170 62.96 +170 37.04
-175 63.64 +175 36.36
-180 64.29 +180 35.71
-185 64.91 +185 35.09
-190 65.52 +190 34.48
-200 66.67 +200 32.26
-220 68.75 +220 31.25
-240 70.59 +240 29.41
-250 71.43 +250 28.57
Sports betting appeals to the smart bettor because it is not a game with a fixed house edge where the casinos are raking off fixed percentage. Sports betting requires more skill than luck similar to live poker. You won’t win every time but the skilled handicapper has a huge advantage over the recreational bettor. Before going into more detail you need to understand how sports betting works. We will take a look at football where a point spread is involved. (Basketball also uses a point spread.)
The casino Sportsbooks make their money on sports bets by collecting a commission on losing bets. This is called the Vigorish or Vig for short. The most common odds are 11 to 10. This means that if you want to win $100 you are risking $110. For example, you place a bet on the Giants at the casino sports book and pay $110. If the Giants win you collect $210 when you cash your winning ticket. If you lose your bet you lose the $110.
Ideally, the Sportsbook would like to have the same amount of money wagered on the two teams playing. If the Giants are playing the Colts and they have one player betting on the Giants and one player betting on the Colts they would pay the winner $100 but collect $110 for the loser. This gives them a $10 profit so they really don’t care who wins as long as they have an equal amount bet on each team. To accomplish this they assign a line or spread to make the contest equally attractive for both sides.
The Point Spread
Many people believe that the point spread is the predicted margin of victory by which one team will beat another team. This is not true. The line is the handicapper’s prediction of what number will be required to split the wagering evenly on both teams. For this reason, the line may change from the opening line to the line at game time. The Sportsbooks goal is to have the betting as evenly as possible.
If the public is swayed by sentiment to bet on a certain team then the odds makers need to adjust the line to get some action on the other team. Otherwise, the betting would be heavily lopsided. The general betting public reacts to the opinions of others. This is why you see so many people “Jumping on the bandwagon” of a winning team.
For the sports books, the line is flawed if it does not attract the same amount of action on both sides however from a smart handicapper’s point of view, the line is flawed when it does not compute to his predicted outcome of the game. A weaker team can actually become the favorite if public sentiment is with that team. When this happens the underdog presents a huge overlay for the seasoned handicapper meaning that the odds are in his favor. For example Team A should be a 3 point underdog to Team B, however, The public loves Team A and are betting on them and the line moves to make Team A a one-point favorite, then Team B becomes an excellent bet. This is the contrarian principle and why many smart handicappers go against the general betting public.
The Handicapper
A winning handicapper formulates his own opinions about the game and ignores most of the public sentiment. A handicapper takes information from numerous sources, assigns weights and values to it. They will make their own power ranking and predict what the point spread should be without looking at the official line first, and then compare their predictions to the line to look at discrepancies. A large amount of data available via the internet and other sources means that the handicapper has more information but it means there is more to sift through to find the gems. The use of computer programs can help when searching through the data.
Why don’t more people win at sports betting? Like any other endeavor, it takes time, patience and practice to become successful. A person of average intelligence can become a winning handicapper if they have the desire. Based on the odds of -110 for a straight football or basketball bet a handicapper only need to be right 52.38 percent of the time to break even however many sports bettors cannot achieve that percentage of winning over the long run. The chart below shows the break-even points for the various odds you will encounter when you make a bet on the money line. With higher odds, you have to have a higher winning percentage to break even. If you bet the underdogs you can have a lower win percentage and still make money.
Winning Percentages
Favorite Winning % Underdog Winning %
-110 52.38 +110 47.62
-115 53.49 +115 46.51
-120 54.55 +120 45.45
-125 55.56 +125 44.44
-130 56.52 +130 43.48
-135 57.45 +135 42.55
-140 58.33 +140 41.67
-145 59.18 +145 40.82
-150 60.00 +150 40.00
-155 60.78 +155 39.22
-160 61.54 +160 38.46
-165 62.26 +165 37.74
-170 62.96 +170 37.04
-175 63.64 +175 36.36
-180 64.29 +180 35.71
-185 64.91 +185 35.09
-190 65.52 +190 34.48
-200 66.67 +200 32.26
-220 68.75 +220 31.25
-240 70.59 +240 29.41
-250 71.43 +250 28.57
Featured Video
Featured Video
Featured Video
Featured Video
Featured Video
Featured Video
Important Terms to Know When Betting on Basketball
How to Successfully Bet on Hockey
How a Moneyline Works in Sports Betting
Beating Football Parlay Tickets
Sports Betting: How to Bet Parlays
Which Casino Games Have the Best (and Worst) Odds?
Raffle Laws in the US and Canada: How to Run a Legal Raffle
How to Bet on Boxing
How Casinos Make Money: The Handle, House Edge & More
Where Does Lottery Money Go?
Lottery Strategies: 7 Systems to Predict Winning Lottery Numbers
Horse Betting: Types and Terms
NFL Point Differential Betting System
What “No Purchase to Enter or Win” Means in Sweepstakes
Doubling Down in Blackjack Is a Good Bet
Match Play Coupons at the Casino
Important Terms to Know When Betting on Basketball
Important Terms to Know When Betting on Basketball
How to Successfully Bet on Hockey
How to Successfully Bet on Hockey
How a Moneyline Works in Sports Betting
How a Moneyline Works in Sports Betting
Beating Football Parlay Tickets
Beating Football Parlay Tickets
Sports Betting: How to Bet Parlays
Sports Betting: How to Bet Parlays
Which Casino Games Have the Best (and Worst) Odds?
Which Casino Games Have the Best (and Worst) Odds?
Raffle Laws in the US and Canada: How to Run a Legal Raffle
Raffle Laws in the US and Canada: How to Run a Legal Raffle
How to Bet on Boxing
How to Bet on Boxing
How Casinos Make Money: The Handle, House Edge & More
How Casinos Make Money: The Handle, House Edge & More
Where Does Lottery Money Go?
Where Does Lottery Money Go?
Lottery Strategies: 7 Systems to Predict Winning Lottery Numbers
Lottery Strategies: 7 Systems to Predict Winning Lottery Numbers
Horse Betting: Types and Terms
Horse Betting: Types and Terms
NFL Point Differential Betting System
NFL Point Differential Betting System
What “No Purchase to Enter or Win” Means in Sweepstakes
What “No Purchase to Enter or Win” Means in Sweepstakes
Doubling Down in Blackjack Is a Good Bet
Doubling Down in Blackjack Is a Good Bet
Match Play Coupons at the Casino
Match Play Coupons at the Casino
Home
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Activities
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About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy
LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
Home
Home
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy
About Us
Advertise
Careers
Privacy Policy
Editorial Guidelines
Contact
Terms of Use
EU Privacy
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
