can anybody help me figure out all these terms bookies use

why in a bet, what is the point in them saying "the team should win by a # and a half (ex: Oakland by 6 1/2... but really meaning they should win by 7)"

what does the term "parlays/ teasers" mean?


thanks .. .i just have no idea what theyre talking about

First of all the number theoretically functions as a handicap to balance relative strengths of the opposing teams.And the 1/2 (the half you talk about) is meant as a real half. It can be just enough for the underdog to win....but if you make it 7 in stead of 6 1/2 then the teams aren't balanced correct.

Thats what I think...but Plawrence can explain it much better.

Case in point ; Yesterday's Dallas / Seahawks game, final score Seahawks 13 Dallas 10. Dallas was a 3 1/2 point underdog so therefore, if you bet Dallas, you won your bet by a 1/2 point. If you bet the Seahawks, even though they won the game outright, you lost your bet because you had to lay/give 3 1/2 points to Dallas.


Don Cardi

Well, not exactly.

It's a fairly common misconception that the point spread is designed to "equalize" the two teams in strength.

What the point spread is actually designed to do, and there's a subtle shade of difference here, is create a number that will attract an equal amount of money to be bet on each team.

Due to local and national preferences for certain teams, for example (The Dallas Cowboys always have a big national following, and teams from New York, say, always get lot of betting on the local team), the point spread may not always realistically estimate the strengths of the two teams.

Since in new York, there will always be a disproportionate amount bet on the Giants, in a game in which the Giants may be realistically 6 points better than their opponent, the bookmaker may create a point spread of, say, 7 in order to attract enough betting on the other team.

This is important, because regardless of which team you bet on, you are always putting up $11 for every $10 that you wish to win, so if the bookie has $1000 bet on the Giants and $1000 bet on their opponent, he pays the winners $1000 and collects $1100 from the losers, regardless of which team wins.

But if he has $1000 in wager on the Giants and only $800 on their opponents, if the Giants win he has to pay out $1000 while collecting only $880 from the losers.

Of course, the more money he has bet on each team, the less important it becomes that his books balance exactly.

If he has $130,000 bet on Team A, and only $120,000 bet on Team B, he still makes a profit whichever team wins.

If team A wins, he pays out $130,000 to the winners, and collects $132,000 from the losers, which makes his profit $2,000.

If Team B wins, he pays out $120,000 to the winners, while collecting $143,000 from th4e losers, which makes his profit $23,000.

A parlay is a bet in which you pick two teams to win. If the first team wins, you place the amount of your original bet, plus the winnings, on the second team.

Let's say you wnted to bet a $50 parlay on Team A and Team B.

If Team A loses, you lose your $50.

If Team A wins, you have your original $50, plus the $50 you won, riding on Team B.

If Team B loses, once again you lose your original $50, plus the $50 you won on Team A, but your net loss is still only your original $50.

But if Team B wins, you had a $100 bet one them - your original $50, plus the $50 you won on Team A.

So you get back $200. Subtract the original $50 that you risked in the first place (which, remember, is the most you can lose here), and you have a $150 profit for risking only $50.

The advantage in a parlay is this:

If you bet each of the two teams individually for $50 each and they both win, you win only $100, not $150 as you would in a parlay.

And, if you bet each of the two teams individually for $50 each and they both lose, you lose $110 (remember, on an individual bet you are putting up $11 to win $10, so you lose $55 on each individual bet if both teams lose), rather than the $50 you lose on a parlay.

But, and here's the disadvantage to a parlay, if one wins and one loses, you lose only $5 betting on them individually, instead of $50 on a parlay (remember, on an individual bet you are putting up $11 to win $10, so you lose $55 on the team that lost, while winning only $50 on the team that won).

A teaser is yet another type of bet, and are a bit trickier.

They allow you to pick two, three, or four teams, and then "tease", or adjust or change, the point spread line by a certain number of points depending on how many teams you chose in your teaser bet.

Typically, a two-team teaser allows you to change the point spread by 6 points.
A three-team teaser allows you to change the point spread by 10 points.
A four-team teaser allows you to change the point spread by 13 points.

In a teaser bet you can pick any 2, 3, or 4 teams that are playing on a given weekend. Here's an exmple from this weekend:

Let's say you like the Giants (favored by 2 points over Denver), the Jets (a 7 point underdog to Atlanta), and the Colts (favored by 12 points over a Houston).

You would then adjust the line by 10 points in your favor on each game.

So your bet would be the Giants +8 points, the Jets +17 points, and the Colts -2 points.

Looks attractive, right? The thing is, though, that you have to win all three parts to win the bet. One loss out of the three, and you lose.


Also, depending on the bookmaker and the number of teams in your teaser, you usually have to lay the 11-10, or sometimes even 6-5 on a teaser bet.

Very interesting stuff Plaw! Really like it, and it informs good! The thing I said: "...balance teams..." was taken out of the book of Abadinsky "Organized Crime"....so I thought he was right... ...which isn't...

Well you were not all wrong. What Plaw described was 100% correct. Bookies will "move" lines up or down based on the amount of tilted action (bets) that they may get on a certain team. But the initial line that first comes out has to be formulated, and that is were the "balanced teams" formula comes into effect. But once that inital line comes out, then the scenerio that Plaw correctly described comes into effect.

Bookies also can "Lay Off" bets with other bookies from other cities to limit their losses if they are getting too much one side betting from the gamblers, or sometimes even lock in a potential profit wihtout any risk of losing.


An example of laying off a bet is this : Back in July the NFL Giants are 65 to 1 t win the Superbowl. So you place a $100 bet on the Giants at 65 to 1. Now two months later the line drops down to 25 to 1 for the Giants to win the Superbowl. You turn around and take a $100 bet from someone else who is looking to bet the Giants and give them the 25 to 1 odds. Now you cannot lose! If the Giants don't win the Superbowl, you've lost your original $100 bet that you placed when they were 65 to 1. But you collect $100 from the guy you took a bet from when you gave him 25 to 1. Can't lose. But say the Giants do Win the Superbowl, now you cash in on your original $100 bet getting $6500 and you turn around and pay the gut who bet $100 with you at 25 to 1, his $2500. You've still made a profit of $4000! So it is a no lose layoff where you can't lose if the team loses, but at the same time you can win $4000 if the team wins!

Bookies do this all the time with regular weekly football bets when lines move substantially from a Monday up until gametime on a Sunday.


Don Cardi

Even that "initial" line is designed to attract an equal amount of action on each team rather than estimate their relative strength vs. each other.

If the Giants play the eagles in Philadelphia, even the opening line in each city could be different.

In Philadelphia, where the bookmakers expect more action on the Eagles, the opening could be, say, a "high" 4 points with the eagles favored, to attract money on the Giants and balance all the Eagles action, but in New York, where the bookies need bets on the Eagles to attract action to offset all the money being bet on the Giants, the Eagles might be favored by only 3 points.

In other words, the bookies are taking advantage of the local prejudices and betting patterns of the bettors in each city.

Hey, this is at least the third or fourth time I've written a short treatise on sports betting here. I know M.M. Floors reads it, 'cause he asked the question once before.

Anyone else ever read this crap?

Yes, that is true Plaw.
But all bookies "usually" get the same line first, so that they can make their lines, as you said above, according to their own local and local teams. There are soooo many factors used in that formula to come out with the initial line for a game. Home field, records, how a team fares in certain weather conditions, position by position matchups, etc. That initial line is never seen by the public itself. The bookies see it first and then make their lines from that one accordingly. Then as the action comes in they will move the lines to adjust for getting an equal amount of action on each team or to hedge off their action.


Don Cardi

Everytime I ask there is a slight difference what makes it difficult for me to understand. But I find it very interesting subject: "how betting works?"..so that's why I always read it. As same as your visions on the poker game...real nice.

As I understand it, DC, the lines are originated by professional line makers in vegas who take all of the factors you mentioned into consideration.

Then, before the line is posted and the public allowed to bet, the casino sportsbooks allow a select few professional gamblers to bet that line.

If they see all or most of the money going one way, then they know they have a bad line and adjust it accordingly.

Since these sportsbooks handle untold sums on each game, they can afford to be a little bit off in having their books balance and still make a profit.