A look back at this past weekend from a bettor's point-of-view
By Jimmy Mason, Director of Sportsbook Operations, www.betcom.com
This weekend saw the NFL pendulum swing back the players' way with many books taking
a real beating. After two great weeks it was the players turn to put the screws to
the bookies, however thanks to some fine bookmaking we were one of only a few shops
that I have spoken to this morning that made a small profit......Here's why:
In the early game the Eagles opened as a -4 ? point favorite over the Atlanta
Falcons. Our lines maker Rick McColley opened our line at -6 (-105) with the
underdog Falcons laying juice. While on the surface opening a game 1 ? points off
the general number may seem irresponsible, mathematically it made all the sense in
the world. First the numbers 5 and 5 ? are 'dead' numbers in that games simply are
not decided by 5 points thus diminishing the value of those two numbers. Rick also
knew very well that our clientele would play the favorite and had the foresight to
see that this line would be at -6 by game time (Which it was!). So by setting the
opening line at -6 (-105) he invited a nice chunk of change on the Falcons +6 laying
anywhere between -113 and -118. By the time game day rolled around and we were being
swamped with Eagle money, we were able to tack on a bit of juice and use Philly -6
(-115). From a bookmaking standpoint this was a perfect situation for us. We had our
players laying extra juice on either side of the game, effectively using a 30 cent
line by being a step ahead of the public.
Rick pulled another rabbit out of his cap by opening our total later in the week
than most shops due to the unknown weather situation in New England. When he finally
did open the total he was sharp enough to never move below 37 as many less
experienced bookmakers did. 37 is an important number and holds extra value as it is
four touchdowns and three field goals and is a common final score. Therefore we took
the bulk of our under action at 37 which pushed and when the pre game shows aired a
clean field in Foxboro, Rick was right there on the spot once again moving the total
straight to 37 ? without ever taking a hit. Within minutes the bets came rolling in
over 37 ?. So when the game landed right on 37 and many books were middled, we
effectively sided the game and came away in good shape.
In the evening game the road favorite Patriots opened a minus -2 point favorite and
saw many Steelers fans surprised that they were underdogs! Well by game time the
Patriots were -3 point favorites with the full point move being generated by big
time, sharp money. We ended up juicing this game out though even with the big money
bets on the favorite by moving strong and offering +3 on the Steelers before most
other shops. Our ticket count was actually in the 5-2 range on the Steelers so that
combined with the total going over (Strange spot for BM rooting for the over!).
All in all is was a very nice weekend for the players and we were one of the few
books to squeeze out a small profit. Remember you want your book to win as much as
you want to win yourself! All sportsbooks win and lose, but when you have competent
people running the lines and front office personnel that are true businessmen the
money will always be there for you payouts. That to me is what makes a sportsbook
truly great!
Until next Monday when we will break it all down again..
Jimmy Mason
www.betcom.com
By Jimmy Mason, Director of Sportsbook Operations, www.betcom.com
This weekend saw the NFL pendulum swing back the players' way with many books taking
a real beating. After two great weeks it was the players turn to put the screws to
the bookies, however thanks to some fine bookmaking we were one of only a few shops
that I have spoken to this morning that made a small profit......Here's why:
In the early game the Eagles opened as a -4 ? point favorite over the Atlanta
Falcons. Our lines maker Rick McColley opened our line at -6 (-105) with the
underdog Falcons laying juice. While on the surface opening a game 1 ? points off
the general number may seem irresponsible, mathematically it made all the sense in
the world. First the numbers 5 and 5 ? are 'dead' numbers in that games simply are
not decided by 5 points thus diminishing the value of those two numbers. Rick also
knew very well that our clientele would play the favorite and had the foresight to
see that this line would be at -6 by game time (Which it was!). So by setting the
opening line at -6 (-105) he invited a nice chunk of change on the Falcons +6 laying
anywhere between -113 and -118. By the time game day rolled around and we were being
swamped with Eagle money, we were able to tack on a bit of juice and use Philly -6
(-115). From a bookmaking standpoint this was a perfect situation for us. We had our
players laying extra juice on either side of the game, effectively using a 30 cent
line by being a step ahead of the public.
Rick pulled another rabbit out of his cap by opening our total later in the week
than most shops due to the unknown weather situation in New England. When he finally
did open the total he was sharp enough to never move below 37 as many less
experienced bookmakers did. 37 is an important number and holds extra value as it is
four touchdowns and three field goals and is a common final score. Therefore we took
the bulk of our under action at 37 which pushed and when the pre game shows aired a
clean field in Foxboro, Rick was right there on the spot once again moving the total
straight to 37 ? without ever taking a hit. Within minutes the bets came rolling in
over 37 ?. So when the game landed right on 37 and many books were middled, we
effectively sided the game and came away in good shape.
In the evening game the road favorite Patriots opened a minus -2 point favorite and
saw many Steelers fans surprised that they were underdogs! Well by game time the
Patriots were -3 point favorites with the full point move being generated by big
time, sharp money. We ended up juicing this game out though even with the big money
bets on the favorite by moving strong and offering +3 on the Steelers before most
other shops. Our ticket count was actually in the 5-2 range on the Steelers so that
combined with the total going over (Strange spot for BM rooting for the over!).
All in all is was a very nice weekend for the players and we were one of the few
books to squeeze out a small profit. Remember you want your book to win as much as
you want to win yourself! All sportsbooks win and lose, but when you have competent
people running the lines and front office personnel that are true businessmen the
money will always be there for you payouts. That to me is what makes a sportsbook
truly great!
Until next Monday when we will break it all down again..
Jimmy Mason
www.betcom.com
