Debunking Four Common Sport Betting Odds Myths

By Author: Groshan Fabiola
Total Articles: 2671
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Due to lack of knowledge and experience, many people perceive the world of sport betting as mysterious, challenging and puzzling. Consequently, they tend to overemphasize the roles of bookmakers and take on betting in an apprehensive, hesitant manner.

Although there are numerous myths and stereotypes in sport betting, very few of these actually stand true. In the following section, we will address the common misconceptions circulated in the sport betting community and separate fact from pure speculation.

Myth 1- Bookmakers possess the flawless ability to predict game outcome

Although the odds they set often happen to closely reflect the course of events in the matches they are tied to, bookmakers shouldn't be perceived as or confounded with game handicappers.

In truth, bookmakers have no more wisdom concerning the aftermath of a match than any serious bettor, and although to an extent they do attempt to predict game outcomes, their main goal is actually to balance out the sport betting action so that they can earn their profit through wager vigorish.

Myth 2- The first-rated team is ...
... always superior to the underdog

Betting on the favorite in a sporting event doesn't invariably increase your chances of winning, and even when this does happen, the wager prize you get to collect may be too small to even be worth the effort. Especially with point spreads, first-rated teams generally tend to be on par with the underdogs, under which circumstances betting on the favorite is only fruitful in about 50% of cases.

Occasionally, the estimated point spread edge for a team playing on home ground (which in theory should be considered favorite) could turn out to be overrated, as not all teams do well when playing at home. Moreover, there are instances where the bookmaker simply makes a false assumption and backs the wrong team as favorite, so you should never follow sport betting odds and line moves blindly when making your picks.

Myth 3- Bookmakers hold absolute control of the betting industry

Although at first glance it may indeed seem that bookmakers are the ones pulling all the strings in the market, in truth, though, their roles are usually no more than reactionary. Think about it - bookmakers set an initial line and preliminary sport betting odds based mostly on statistic analysis, but from this point on it is the sport betting community that takes control of the action, and bookmakers have to respond by readjusting the original figures to keep things square. If a particular sport bet gets a disproportionate amount of action at one end, the bookies have to react promptly and even things out by moving the line in compensation to ensure they don't miss out on the vigorish.

Myth 4- Bookmakers are extremely agile and clever

Another popular stereotype states that bookmakers are extremely clever, to the point of being almost unbeatable. While this is far from the truth, you shouldn't however make the mistake of denying their proficiency, sport betting insight, not to mention money skills.

What you should understand though is that bookmakers are only human, which means they too are prone to errors; the main factor that separates solid bookmakers from sports bettors is better access to information and hence a greater level of sport betting knowledge.

For more resources about Sport Odds or about Sport Betting Odds or even about Sport Bet, please review these links.