The first step on how to be a bookie is to set lines. That means you need to set up and adjust the odds that players can wager on. As a bookie, you need to monitor the lines and change them when needed. It is one way of optimizing profit and reduce risks. Also, one of the reasons to adjust lines is to prevent public betting.
The public betting is when most players wager on the favorite. It usually occurs in basketball and football. If the team has a big fanbase, many people will bet on them no matter what the odds might be. Another reason might be if it is a home game and bettors want to show their loyalty by placing wagers on the local team. As a result, one side of the line will have more action.
Public Betting Prevention
If the favorite or home team loses, then your bookie business wins. Although bookie always wins, there’s a massive risk of losing money with a public wager. If the team wins, your sportsbook will have to pay out a more substantial amount than what it can collect from the losing bets and vig.
The best way to prevent it from happening is to adjust lines. It would help if you made it more appealing for other players to wager on the other side of the line by providing more value to their bets. That way, you’ll get more wagers on the underdog and get a balanced line.
When public wagers flood your sportsbook, it will attract smart players. The latter love going against the public, according to bookie pay per head reviews. When you attract more players to bet against the public, you are using a contrarian method.
Although there’s no guarantee for a win, fading the public is one of the profitable ways of winning in sports gambling. That’s why you should watch out for smart players that would go against the public and abuse the value you set for a specific game. That concludes our bookie tutorials on public betting.