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Although blindly following a good handicapper
can be profitable it is possible to boost profits with these
techniques.
Line
shopping is a simple method that every serious sports bettor
uses. In fact, most people do something very similar every day. It
is bargain shopping or getting the best price and you should be
doing the same thing every time you place a bet.
You may be surprised how widely sports betting odds can vary from
sportsbook to sportsbook. At first thought getting an extra half
point on your football wager may not seem like much of a benefit
but over the long haul it will add up to more wins and increased profits.
If you have just one sportsbook account, you are missing out on
extra income that takes very little effort to earn. Take the
time to open accounts at a minimum of three sportsbooks dividing
your bankroll among them.
Knowing the value of a half point, especially on key numbers is
another technique used by sports bettors to find an edge. A key number is any
point spread where there is a relatively high chance of the bet
ending in a push.
For example a sportsbook might offer -3.0 (-110) on the favorite
while another sportsbook has a point spread of -2½ (-130) on the
same team. The bettor must risk $1.10 to win $1.00 if they are
willing to lay -3.0 points but if they want to lay
only -2½ points they must risk $1.30 to win $1.00. The advantage
of laying -2½ points is that if the favorite wins by exactly three
points and covers the bettor wins their
bet instead of pushing.
So the question is what is the best bet? Essentially you are
buying a half
point for 20¢ if you want to bet the favorite at -2½. The
half point chart
shows you when it is advantageous to buy or sell a ½
point. If the cost of a half point is less than the price shown
on the chart then buying the hook will give you an advantage.
Using the half point chart you can see that the fair value to
pay to buy down from -3.0 to -2½ is 17¢ which is lower then the price offered by the sportsbook.
In this case -3.0 (-110) is the better bet.
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