How betting markets work
Where a line comes from, why it moves, and what the closing number tells you.
- 1.How Do Sportsbooks Set Odds?
A handful of market-making books and data suppliers build the first price; most retail books copy it, add a margin, and move it as bets and news arrive.
- 2.Why Do Betting Lines Move?
Lines move when the book's view of the probability changes: team news, bets it respects, or a sharper book moving first. Balancing money matters less.
- 3.What Is the Difference Between Opening and Closing Lines?
The opener is a book's first guess; the closer is the last price before the game. Beating the close is the best evidence of skill you can get.
- 4.What Is the Difference Between Sharp Money and Public Money?
Sharp money is betting the book thinks knows more than its price; public money is everyone else. Published betting splits can't tell them apart.
- 5.What Is Reverse Line Movement?
A line moving against the side most bets are on. It can hint that respected money disagrees with the crowd, but by then the better price is gone.
- 6.Why Do Some Bets Cost More Than Others?
Every price includes the book's margin, and the margin varies by market: thinnest on main lines, wider on props and futures, and compounding on parlays.