Professional Gamblers And 'Sharps' Use These Tricks: Why Don't More Sports Bettors?

In the gambling universe, a sharp refers to a person or group that has a good track record betting on games.

Sometimes, sharps will sell their picks to other bettors to tail.

Unlike recreational gamblers, sharps take betting very seriously and often bet large sums of money on single bets.

Now, recreational sports bettors in certain states can go to sites such as Draftkings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) or Penn National Gaming's (NASDAQ:PENN) Barstool Sportsbook, making sports gambling even more popular. 

Tricks From Sharp — Making Sense of the Books: Oddsmakers have a great understanding of how the public likes to bet. For instance, because most sports fans like watching an exciting, high-scoring game, bettors almost always favor the over. This allows oddsmakers to set the over/under higher than it should be because they know the public can’t help but take the over and root for a lot of points, goals or runs.

Watch Out For Moving Lines: Odds for games will often change from when the lines open to game time.

For example, the Los Angeles Lakers could be listed as 10-point favorites when betting opens on the game. But, if it comes out the day before the game that Lebron James is hurt and going to miss the game, the line could be affected.

It’s important for bettors to watch out for moving lines and understand why the lines are moving.

Reverse Line Movement: Many sites allow you to see what the "public bet" is on. This means that if 80% of people are betting on the Lakers against the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers are 10-point favorites, you will be able to see it.

It would be expected if 80% of the public are taking one side, the line would move in that direction and the Lakers would become 11-point favorites.

But this is not always what happens, sometimes the line will move in the opposite direction.

This is because even though 80% of public tickets are coming in on the Lakers, large bets could be placed on the Suns. The percentage of public bet does not equal the total amount of money being bet on one side.

Any time there is reverse line movement, it's because large bets, or whales, are taking the other side.

(Photo: Erick McLean via Unsplash)