Sports Betting Terms Opening Line

Linemakers change lines based on the action they receive once the opening lines have been set and made available for betting. The line movement is dictated by the amount of action one side of a bet sees compared to the other. Sportsbooks’ main goal is to create equal action on both sides of the line thus ensuring a profit. If the opening line is quickly changed or moves more than one or two points, this gives you a clear sense of how bettors are betting on that game.

This involves basing betting decisions on odds movements rather than the odds themselves. This stems from differences in betting terminologies used in the United States and elsewhere. In American parlance the odds are often referred to as the line because they call head-to-head wagers money line bets. While spread betting might seem daunting to some, wagering on the moneyline is as simple as it gets. With the rise of online sportsbooks and the legalization of sports betting across many states, odds are no longer exclusive to Vegas.

Bookmakers set the Opening Line based on a combination of statistical models, historical data, expert opinions, and current information about the teams or players involved. They aim to balance the action on both sides of the bet to minimize risk. By leveraging these insights, bettors can understand why professionals place such high importance on this early indicator within the competitive world of sports betting. Late movers benefit from reacting to new developments such as player injuries or weather changes, which can significantly sway a game’s outcome. Holding off allows punters to gather comprehensive information before placing their bets.

Lastly, our odds page lists the moneyline, which is a straightforward bet on who will win the game outright, with no point spread factored in. In some circles steam chasing is extended to include wagering on the odds after they have fallen. Critics of this point out that these punters have probably missed the boat. By the time the odds have dropped the wager may no longer be a +EV play.

Alternate spreads

For example, if the majority of bettors back a popular team, the sportsbook may adjust the line to make the less popular team more attractive. Futures bets are long-term wagers placed on events that will unfold over a season or tournament. Instead of betting on a single game, you’re predicting outcomes like who will win the NBA championship, MVP award, or a division title. Since these bets can be made months in advance, they offer a chance for big payouts, especially when backing underdogs.

The favorite is always listed with a minus (-) sign before the point-spread, while the underdog is labeled with a plus (+) label. Check out our comprehensive list of NBA player prop odds and NBA Finals odds. How this ties into beating the closing odds will be discussed shortly. So when someone says “closing line” are they referring to the odds or the handicap?

Betting on opening line has some advantages and disadvantages for bettors, depending on their strategy and timing. Betting on opening line can create opportunities or challenges for bettors who want to find value or lock in profit. Get expert sports picks on every game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

Therefore, bettors should be aware of the possibility of line movement and be prepared for it. An opening line is the first line that is set by linemakers for a game or event. The opening line is usually released several days or hours before the game or event starts. Some bettors exclusively try to “beat the closer” by betting early (then sometimes even hedging or arbitraging later), because they know that’s where their edge lies. The sportsbook has adjusted the odds to a point where they’re comfortable taking big bets, and any obvious edges have been bet out of the line.

If conditions on the day are atrocious then the overs odds could blow out past the odds at which you had wagered. In hindsight you had made a value bet with the information available to you at the time, but subsequent information and new conditions have shifted the odds against your favour. Moneyline bets are the simplest form of sports betting, focusing solely on picking a winner. If you see +250, that team is the underdog; a $100 bet would return $250 if they win.

• Sportsbooks will assign a handicap to the stronger team (the moneyline favorite).
• The fractional odds for this example would be 11/10, with the Yankees listed at 2.100 with the decimal conversion.
• Oddsmakers at the leading sportsbooks will weigh up the strengths of both teams.

Typically, the opening line for college football and the NFL comes out on Sunday evening for the following week. This is important to know since you can follow the line movement throughout the week in order to get an idea of who the big money is coming in on. In the end, sports betting isn’t about always betting early or always late; it’s about betting at the right time for the right reason. This comes from the idea of the efficient market hypothesis in sports betting.

Understandably, access to closing odds data is much easier the more popular the sport/league. Two services in the US that offer free trial access are SportsOptions and SportsInsights. The majority of punters don’t have sufficient access to data or model building knowledge to gain an edge over the bookmaker. Rather than attempt to build models of their own, many punters will instead employ the strategy of steam chasing.

Why is the Opening Line important in sports betting?

They set these lines based on a mix of statistical models, expert opinions, and inside information. This hypothetical scenario underscores the importance of not only watching opening lines but also tracking how they shift to become the closing lines. Understanding the factors that influence these movements can offer insights into public perception, team dynamics, and potential value spots in your betting strategy. When people refer to “Vegas” and what the line is they are usually referencing a consensus line from whatever they recognize as the most respected sportsbooks. The conversation regarding what are the most respected sportsbooks should always revolve around the sportsbooks that take the largest limits and don’t ban or limit players based on skill.

Bookmakers will react to these wagers looking to find the number that either divides the professional bettors or stops them from playing altogether. In the end, the most respected professional bettors will dictate what the betting line is, not the bookmaker. The tradition of Las Vegas helping to establish the opening lines continued years later as the Stardust Line became a respected number with the assistance of pinup casino Roxy Roxborough and his company LVSC.

This led to certain offshore sportsbooks becoming the gold standard as far as the opening line was concerned. Much of this had to do with liquidity and the fact that more money was being bet into these numbers than any other lines in the world. Many traditionalists in the sports betting space believe that parlay betting is too much like playing the lottery, and will discourage players from building NBA parlays altogether. But with parlays making up the largest share of betting handle for nearly every sportsbook during the NBA season, it’s clear where the public wants to spend its money.

The three popular NBA bets are betting the point spread, straight-up winner, and over/under point total. Sportsbooks also offer first-half lines, live betting, and other betting angles. On a related note, beating the closing odds doesn’t guarantee you have made a +EV play. If the line shifts to 1.90 you have beaten the closing odds, but if heads has a 50% chance of winning, this is not a +EV play. A key benefit of beating the closing odds is that it can often give you an opportunity to hedge your original bet before the event starts. This is especially easy on Betfair and other exchanges that support lay bets.

The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points. The biggest challenge to beating the closing odds is recording the closing odds in the first place. A web search for “closing line data betting” will list a few data sources, many of which require payment to access them.

Another common term is called “juice” and it’s technically the price the bettor has to pay on a straight wager. Optimize your bets using sports betting analytics like these and many more, available on our platform at hofbets.com or by downloading our new iOS app here. In the world of sports betting, evaluating the performance and true skill of a bettor relies on several analytical methods. Some indicators, such as Return on Investment (ROI) or Closing Line Value (CLV), are often used to measure the accuracy of predicti… You can use our exclusive DraftKings promo code to place any bet on the NBA.