Back in the day, the only way you could wager on sports was in Las Vegas or with a local bookmaker. Vegas odds were the holy grail for sports punters.
You can acquire sports betting odds on practically any sport in any legal market nowadays, thanks to the legalization of sports betting in more than thirty states.
Is it true that they’re all alike? After all, where do they originate from? Is there somebody in charge of overseeing or monitoring the odds? Does it make a difference?
Here’s a look at how the odds are determined in sports betting. Find here the list of best sportsbooks.
What Are Odds Anyway?
In the field of sports gambling, the phrase ‘odds’ refers to a method of calculating the possibility of something occurring, or the probability of it occurring. Online sports wagering odds are the proportion between the quantities placed by the parties in a wager based on the predicted likelihood of developments in a sports game.
Sports betting odds are calculated using a mix of technical and scientific methods and then made available to buy by punters at a sportsbook. Betting lines or gaming lines are the two types of odds offered by sportsbooks.
Narrow odds give you a big chance of winning. Bookies aren’t pulling substantially in one direction or the other when it comes to predicting who will win.
Bookmakers set their lines against the spread (ATS).
Sportsbooks Lines
Against The Spread odds were probably the one and only market to bet on in sports betting a couple of decades ago, especially bettors engaging with oddsmakers
instead of betting in Las Vegas itself. However, technological advancements and regulated sports betting have greatly increased the number and types of bets and odds available in this arena.
Prop Bets
These are bets that are not influenced by who wins or loses the game. They are wagers made on how teams perform, the game overall and, a very popular one, on what individual players will achieve during the match. They are specific bets.
For example, your bet for the next NBA game could be for how many assists Lebron James has when he plays next.
Over/Under Odds
This is called total odds as well. Bookmakers will calculate how the two teams will measure up against each other, looking at everything from offense to defense, and then anticipate what the scores will be at the end of the game for both teams
Game Props
These are bets made on the expected outcome of the game. These are unlike prop bets, which allow bettors to wager on if the game will run into overtime or on their favorite player.
Teaser Bets
This is when you consolidate two games or more onto one ticket, choosing the teams you think you are going to win, and choosing the number of points you want to move to the total lines or point spread.
There are also other kinds of bets, such as parlay or moneyline bets. Moneyline is very straightforward, where gamblers bet on who is going to win or lose.
Odds can be found in almost any aspect of the game. For instance, you may think that The Chicago Bulls are going to be NBA champions in the forthcoming season- you can wager future odds on it.
Who Is Behind The Odds and Lines?
So we know that sportsbooks, online or otherwise, put forward sporting events that can be bet on. But how do they come up with the number and price at which to put it?
This is where a bookie, bookmaker or oddsmaker enters.
These individuals use specific data to arrive at prospective outcomes. This will include certain trends, what the statistics look like, previous results, and historical data.
Even factors like weather or player injuries come into play, and also, as they are experts in their field, what their intuition tells them. All this is used to determine the line they employ to coordinate the market.
There is, of course, a head bookmaker who makes the final decision on the odds that may be presented to sports bettors.
Before making your bet, it is always a wise decision to look at the current NBA playoff standings and shop around at different sportsbooks to see what kinds of odds and lines they are offering. Good luck!
