subject: Interpretation of Sports Betting Odds at Online Sportsbooks [print this page] Interpretation of Sports Betting Odds at Online Sportsbooks
These sportsbooks provide a huge sports betting menu, so that the bettors can choose from multiple sports and bet on their favorite game, whenever they want. Before betting, you should have complete knowledge about the working of sports odds and sports betting lines. Basically, sports betting odds are referred to as the wagering numbers that are established by the online sportsbook. Lines makers utilize the latest and most sophisticated computer programs to run multiple statistical calculations with regards to the teams or players involved in a particular game or sporting event.
The statistical data provided by the computer program is based on thorough analysis of the various factors such as the statistics of all teams and players, type of playing field, possible weather conditions etc. The computer program is specifically designed for this purpose and they provide a proposed final score or outcome of the event to the lines maker. Based on the information or projected score generated by the computer program, the lines maker creates the sports odds.
However, while creating the betting odds, the lines maker also considers the overall perception of the betting public and the final odds on the online sportsbook are released only after combining the public's perception with the prospective odds generated by the computer program. Thus, it should be understood by the bettor that the public opinion acts more as a factor than a statistic while creating the sports odds.
In general, the public will always bet on the team that is favored in a particular game or the team that is better on the performance side and have higher sports betting odds. For instance, let's say in baseball, if the Philadelphia Phillies are playing the Texas Rangers in Philadelphia, then obviously the public will favor the Phillies. So, even if the computer program proposes the sports odds of 140/100 for the Philadelphia Phillies for that game, the lines maker will raise the betting odds to 150/100, as the public perception is in their favor.
Just like sports odds are changed by public influence, they also change as money is wagered. The lines makers tend to alter the sports betting odds, when a significant amount is wagered on a particular team. Thus, it is extremely vital to read the odds and also to compare odds at different online sportsbooks, to ensure a winning sport pick.
