NFL Superbowl odds: Public perception will skew the line

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the source and creator of most, if not all, betting lines for sports games. Online casinos and sportsbooks rely on LVSC to establish the odds, thus ensuring a “universal” line between all sports betting houses. During the early days of sportsbooks, many different casinos had different lines, allowing the savvy player to “intermediate,” a practice that ensures a low-risk, high-return virtual bet. So what is the main purpose of a line? Contrary to popular public belief, most of the lines set by the LVSC do not really “predict the end result” of a game; because if this were true, betting on the favorites on the money line would never be a losing proposition. What is the line then?

The line, which can refer to the side/spread (betting on a team) or total (betting on the final score of the game to go under or over), is something quite interesting. It is mainly based on the fact that bettors “disadvantage” the general public. In general, the line is not the “true” power rating between the two sides in any given game; it is theoretically set up to divide the general population to take side A and side B equally.

However, in high-profile games, like the superbowl or a National Championship game, the line is mostly skewed, to make one side VERY attractive. How many of you thought USC’s -7 line was such an easy bet? In this matchup, you have the defending National Champion playing in his own backyard, with two Heisman winners against a “good” team from Texas that has yet to prove themselves in the national spotlight… how could the trojans do not cover that differential of -7? , let alone lose the game? Well, we know what happened in that game. Well my friends, in the next articles, I will try to explain how the line is formed and offer my ideas and tips to beat the sportsbooks.