Sports Betting FAQ
1. Can you explain "juice" in more detail?
Sports books typically charge a small premium on each bet. A very common premium is 10 cents on the dollar. This premium amount is frequently annotated as "-110" or "risk $11/win $10". If your line is listed at -110, you must bet $11 to win $10. Not hard to see how this helps the book. Say you want to bet on the Over/Under points total for a game. It is listed as:
Over 75.5 (-110) / Under 75.5 (-110)
There is a 10% premium on both the Over and Under. The book has set the total point level at 75.5, believing they will get equal amounts wagered on the Over and the Under. If they do, they will keep the 10% premium - the juice.
2. Sometimes the juice isn't -110. Why is that?
There are a couple of possible reasons. -110 is, more or less, the standard in sports betting. Some books, however, market themselves as "discount" books. If a book bills itself as a "30% discount book" then their standard juice is -107. A "50% discount book" would have a -105 standard. Discount books are quite useful for improving bettor's profits - as long as they are reputable and payout as expected.
Another reason for a non-standard juice is that the book is trying to encourage more action on one side of a line. In the above Over / Under scenario, if a substantial amount of money were being bet on the Over side of the line, the book might opt to spur betting on the Under by changing the line to:
Over 75.5 (-115) / Under 75.5 (-105)
By reducing the juice on one side of the line, and increasing it on the other, the book is attempting to entice bettors to put money on the side with the reduced juice. In some cases, the juice on a line might even go positive. For example:
Over 75.5 (-130) / Under 75.5 (+110)
Now a $10 bet on the Under will win $11. But a $13 bet is required on the Over to win $10.
3. What is a "spread"?
A "spread" refers to the point spread between the two teams in a contest. Sports contests are rarely even match ups. One team is usually favored over the other. If sports books offered bettors the opportunity to bet on either team in a contest, with no odds or point spreads, then nearly all the money would be bet on the favorite, and the sports book would be stuck paying off when the favorite won. Instead of offering the betting lines completely even, the sports books employ a linesmaker to establish wagering lines to make the contest more balanced from a wagering standpoint. One such method of balancing contests is the establishment of a spread. One team in the contest is chosen as the favorite by a certain amount - the spread. For example, if the Indians are considered a 3 run favorite over the Twins, then the spread is 3 runs. This betting line would be written as:
Indians (-3) (-110) / Twins (+3) (-110)
If you wager on the Indians, they must win by more than 3. If you wager on the Twins, they can lose by up to 2 and you still win your bet - as the Twins would have "covered the spread" in that scenario. If the Indians win by exactly 3, the bet is cancelled by the book. With a spread, more bettors are likely to bet on the underdog (than without a spread), and the book can balance its action.
4. What is a "moneyline"?
A money line is a method of stating the odds on a contest. It is used in lieu of a spread. The outcome of the contest is a straight up event, but the payout for each team may be vastly different. Betting on the favorite is likely to return less than your wagered amount. Betting on the underdog is likely to return more than your wagered amount. For example, instead of a 3 run spread on the Indians and Twins, a moneyline can be used.
Indians (-200) / Twins (+160)
The Indians are still the favorite. If you bet $10 on the Indians, your winnings will only be $5 if they win. $10 bet on the Twins wins $16 if the Twins prevail.
5. Why isn't there juice on a moneyline bet?
It's built into the numbers. Notice the example above. Because there is no spread, the book can expect heavier betting on the favorite than on the underdog. If the favorite wins, every bettor that loses $10 on the underdog, pays off two winners. If the underdog wins, every 1.6 loser who bet $10 on the favorite pays off the winners. If the book can get 1.8X the money wagered on the favorite as compared to the underdog, they make money no matter who wins the contest.