Line Shopping in Sports Betting Explained

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When it comes to sports betting, The term ‘Line Shopping’ literally shopping around for the best possible betting line, or odds, for your bet. In the old days, sports bettors would walk from casino to casino looking for a half point on an NFL football spread, for example.

Now, sports bettors can simply look online to find the best line for the game they want to wager on. For various reasons, different online betting sites will have different lines, and gamblers who are aware of this can take advantage. So, it always helps to have accounts at more than one site because a team may be a (-150) favourite at one site, while only a (-145) favourite at another.

The difference between (-150) and (-145) may not seems like a big deal, but it adds up over time and is worth the few extra minutes it takes to shop around for the best possible line. It benefits a sports better to have various different ‘outs’ and in most cases these online betting sites will give you a bonus for signing up. Sometimes, the best possible odds can even be found on Pro-line.

The best possible scenario that a line shopper could hope for is what’s known as a ‘Middle’. This is when a gambler is able to bet on both sides of a game at with an opportunity to win both bets. For example, if the Buffalo Bills are playing the Seattle Seahawks and you are able to find the Buffalo +7.5 and Seattle -6.5, this would be an opportunity for a ‘middle’ if Seattle wins by 7 points.

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