Sportsbook bettors all understand that sportsbook odds will often change between the time when they are initially released and the time when they are finally removed from the betting board because a game has begun.
Fortunately, sportsbook sites now make it easy to access their lines in a variety of ways, thereby permitting sportsbook members to monitor changes in the lines. By observing how the sportsbook odds change one can sometimes predict future changes and, therefore, place wagers at the most opportune moments.
Sportsbook odds typically change as a result of the action a sportsbook is taking. For instance, if the Lakers are five point favorites over the Mavericks and the Lakers are receiving 90% of a sportsbook’s action then the will likely shift the line up to -5½ in order to attract more action on the Mavericks. Sportsbook bettors obviously do not know if action on an event is balanced or skewed, so it is hard to predict when or how a sportsbook’s odds will be shifted. Nevertheless, modern technology has made it extremely easy to track any changes. Sportsbook members can access the odds quickly and easily online or using a wireless device. The bettors can then monitor any changes in the odds to see how the lines are moving. Fortunately, such monitoring does not require one to check the odds every thirty minutes, as simply checking the sportsbook odds about twice per day is usually sufficient. Wagering on the football odds also gives bettors the greatest opportunity to monitor such changes because sportsbook sites release their odds several days before the games are played.
By monitoring how the odds change one can sometimes predict future shifts. For instance, in the Lakers-Mavericks example used previously, one may predict that a sportsbook will eventually move the odds all the way to -6. If you can make this prediction correctly then it should determine when you place your wager on the sportsbook odds. For example, if you think that Lakers -5 offers the best value then you would want to wager on the Lakers as soon as possible, before the line increases.
On the other hand, if you believe the Mavericks have a good chance of winning or playing a close game, then you may want to wait until nearly tip-off time to see if the odds shift all the way to +6 or even higher. Using this strategy can sometimes be quite frustrating, because it is inevitable that you will sometimes predict incorrectly and end up wagering on worse odds. Nevertheless, if you can predict correctly more than half of the time then you will end up receiving better overall value from the odds.
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