Can someone explain sports betting/odd making, etc., to me?

Not an endorsement for gambling or anything, just wanted to know how point spreads, and over/unders, etc. work. I always have to nod my head and smile, when ever anyone talks about which team is favored for what reasons.

 

Oddsmakers consider home field advantage (weather), injuries and basic talent matchups in making point spreads. Over/unders involve the two team's offenses and defenses.

But the thing is, football and basketball are easy: it's the 'odds' on baseball and hockey games that confuse me. These are not played with run/goal margins.

 

What do they base those on? Assists, run percentage, etc.?

 

Odds are sort of like spreads, but instead of providing a margin to bet on, it really just compares who the better team overall is and weights the odds so that the heavier a favorite is, the more money is required to get a return, and vice-versa.

 

I'd like a little clarification as well. I live in Reno, NV, so betting and gambling are no strangers to me (it's all legal, as are casinos)...but I don't get it. How is it a profitable business for those who run sports betting and whatnot? How do they make money?

 

Bookies and casino sportsbooks add a commission to the odds that is typically split by each person betting one way or another.

This should explain everything.

 

Also, most lines for betting are as much a measure of popular opinion as anything else. It helps them make more money, which is what they care about.

 

It's pretty basic. A team is favored by a certain amount of points based on how much better they are considered to be than the other team. However, three points are automatically awarded to the home team. i.e if Team A is considered to be 5 points better than Team B, but the Team B is playing at home, Team A is favored by 2. The spread will change throughout the week based on how people are betting. The book wants there to be an equal amount of bets on both sides. And finally, if you tie the point spread, you lose your bet. If the Colts are favored by 7, and you bet on them to cover the spread, and they win by 7, you lose the bet. That is why half-points in the spread can be very important.

Over/Unders are very basic. A point value will be assigned to the game, and you bet whether the scores of the two teams combined will be over or under that number.

 

Casinos have a sports information office that the ESPN's and FoxSports of the world envy. They know every freakin' bit of information about players' injuries, tendencies, up-to-second weather, every useless stat (that they make useful), and best of all, they know the pattern of casual betters who place bets on their gut feeling. These guys are not idiots. They're not building those casinos because people are making smart bets. They know exactly where to put that spread. Then they offer up sweet parlays with awesome odds that make uninformed bettors feel like geniuses for picking 4 outta 5 games rights, only to win nothing. But they come back every week and bet it again, only to miss it by that "one stinkin' game" everytime.