Wagers, bettor losses set record

Sharp money is dwarfed by the general public's cash nowadays, especially on the Super Bowl. Betting against the public consistently one of the few ways to make money gambling on sports.

 

But this is the ONLY week when public betting outstrips pro money because there's only one game.

 

I'm not so sure on that. Maybe in Vegas, that could be true, but I don't think with online books.

 

On a per-game basis, I'm talking.

 

By the way, I'm not saying books don't go for 50-50 in some cases. They do, just only when they can't find an edge to exploit. In an average NFL week, most games probably fall close to that range, between 60-40 and 50-50. But I follow these things very closely and there are at least a few games a week where the money is intentionally pushed to one side.

 

My first thought upon seeing the thread title was that Penn Wagers had run afoul of casino security ...

 

I wish exmediahack would tell us more.

 

@exmediahack - I find this interesting and would like to explore it further.

I typically count fives and aces and vary the bet accordingly while playing basic strategy, but I am intrigued by the session and units philosophies. Good stuff.

 

Exmediahack's essay on blackjack reminded me why I don't care for it. It's too much like real work when you do it correctly. He enjoys the work, which is great. I don't.

 

Nevada sports books have had one losing month in football since 2012. Last year they profited by $19.7 million just on Super Bowl wagers, but that huge percentage (about 17 percent of SB wagers) was an exception to the rule. Their monthly profits on sports wagering is almost always less than 10 percent of handle.

 

Look at that. The line is back to Seattle -1. That's awfully curious if the sportsbooks are trying to get the money to 50 percent on each side, when 75 percent of the money is already on New England.

 

75 percent of money on the Patriots, yes?

75 percent of the money is on Seattle, yes?

Which is it?