• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your WyoNation.com experience today!

Please be careful....

Holy ticket writers, Batman! How did I miss this thread of comedy gold?

Oregonjoy should be looking up some good crow recipes about now, but, as a somewhat regular sports bettor, I thought I'd clear a few things up regarding the line, sports books, and "sharps".

The whole idea of the line generated by the sports books is to get half the money to fall on each side. With a few exceptions, the vigorish (vig) the 'books charge on bets is 10%. In other words, if you want to win $20, you have to bet $22; to win $100, $110 must be risked. If a total of $5500 was bet on Wyoming and $5500 on Oregon at Joe's Sports Book, the book comes out ahead by $500 after all bets are paid off. That's the baseline goal of the line. Now, 'books will adjust the line as money flows in- if more money is coming in on the 'dog (in this case, Wyoming), then the line will go down to try to increase betting on Oregon. 'Books also, when setting lines, weigh probable betting volume as well. The line on a large and popular fanbase, like Oregon, will often result in a somewhat inflated opening line, and these games that pit P5 vs. G5 schools are generally the ones the "sharps" tend to focus on.

"Sharps" is short for sharp bettors- they're the guys who might have insight or information the 'books, quite honestly, don't have the resources or time to cultivate or mine. It's also a violation of Nevada Gaming Regulations for ANYONE (including sports books) to place a wager based on such inside information. There's no way these corporate giants are going to risk their gaming license by attempting to glean such information. The way they act on it is by observing the actions of the sharps- these guys are well-known to the 'book operators. Generally, the minimum amount of money it takes to move a line is in the low four-digit range. A sharp, however, might move a line with a couple of hundred dollars' bet (they often "structure" their betting, spreading out bets over several 'books to avoid money influencing a line as well as to avoid the $1200 reporting threshold). It's not unusual to see a 'book manager or director talking to a well-known sharp about what they might know after placing a wager. Information gleaned this way isn't a violation of NGC codes.

For the most part, however, inside info on teams and players from a sharp is less likely to influence a line than the fact that, to the 'books, the sharps are kind of a check on their baseline handicapping. Most sharps play college football for one reason- the number of games. The 'books always get lines wrong every week- the sharps are simply a bit better at spotting the "bargains" and grabbing them than the casual bettor.
 
That all sounds well and good, sure.

But have you ever lived in Vegas? I'd give a little more credence to your post if you have actually lived in Vegas like Duck fans have.

The sports book illuminati are everywhere.

JI9xKd4.png
 
hithere said:
That all sounds well and good, sure.

But have you ever lived in Vegas? I'd give a little more credence to your post if you have actually lived in Vegas like Duck fans have.

The sports book illuminati are everywhere.

JI9xKd4.png
I lived in LV for twenty years. Twenty very long years...
 
WYCowboy said:
I lived there for 3 years a long, long time ago - back when it was still small and just coming alive.

When was this? Before the Transcontinental Railroad?
 
Wyokie said:
WYCowboy said:
I lived there for 3 years a long, long time ago - back when it was still small and just coming alive.

When was this? Before the Transcontinental Railroad?

:rofl: Pretty darn close. They still had the 20 mule team bringing in supplies. ;)
 
WYCowboy said:
Wyokie said:
WYCowboy said:
I lived there for 3 years a long, long time ago - back when it was still small and just coming alive.

When was this? Before the Transcontinental Railroad?

:rofl: Pretty darn close. They still had the 20 mule team bringing in supplies. ;)

Plus you could see millions of buffalo grazing. If we knew then what we know now.......
 
Back
Top