Do you want to know why the pointspread moved from -7 to -8 on your favorite team last week? Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a Sportsbook? If you’ve answered yes to either question, then you’ve come to the right place. In the weeks and months ahead, this column will [...]

Last week, I discussed what a pointspread really represents. For those of you that missed the article, I will recap here. The pointspread is not the handicapper’s predicted margin-of-victory, but it is in fact the handicapper’s opinion of what number will be required to split the wagering evenly on both teams. Now I will discuss [...]

Last week, I discussed how a pointspread is derived by a sportsbook. Now that we know where spreads come from, we can discuss how best to take advantage of them. One of my most memorable lessons as a novice bookmaker in Costa Rica was from one of the nicest and funniest guys you will meet [...]

Last week, I discussed how shopping around for the best number can really help you make more money. Now I want to talk a little more about why the numbers are different at different sportsbooks. As discussed earlier, sportsbooks make their money by withholding a small commission on winning wagers. If Player A bets on [...]

Last week, I explained how and why sportsbooks try to balance action. Now would be a good point to take a break from the weekly lessons and review everything that has been discussed to date with a look at a week’s worth of football games at Bodog Sportsbook from the House’s view. I want to [...]

Last week, I introduced the terms public money and sharp money and went over in detail the reasoning behind the line moves for the first round of NFL playoff games. This week I wanted to talk about key numbers and the NFL was kind enough to provide a couple of textbook cases. Based on the [...]

Last week I talked about key numbers, and why book managers are often forced to stay on a particular spread and change only the associated moneyline. We saw a little of that this past weekend, as both the AFC and NFC Championship games closed on or near 10, which is considered a minor key number. [...]

Last week I discussed some strategies for betting on Halftime lines and the Super Bowl presented us all with those exact scenarios, so I’m either psychic or just got lucky (I think we can rule out psychic because I am an Enron stockholder). Regardless, I’ll take a look at the wagering on Superbowl XXXVI, as [...]

Now that the football season has been put to bed and the swelling in our thumbs from overuse of the remote control has diminished, we can turn our attention to basketball. College hoops will dominate the headlines for the month of March as the Championship Tournament runs it course and then the NBA Playoffs will [...]

Last week, I put on my bettor/handicapper hat and discussed the advantages of betting basketball from that point of view. I want to thank Big Al McMordie again for his thoughts on the subject. Now, I want to talk about basketball a little more from the perspective of a book manager, and I will thank [...]