The Key To Success: Line Shopping For The Best Betting Lines

The Key To Success: Line Shopping For The Best Betting Lines

If you are a rookie bettor, you probably didn’t hear about line shopping. Even if you did, chances are you haven’t yet implemented it into your betting strategy. And as something that all experienced bettors are doing, you should probably consider adding it to your arsenal. This entry covers what you need to know about line shopping.

What Is Line Shopping And Why Is It Important?

Line shopping is just finding the best deal in the market right now. Market, in this case, represents odds given to us by bookmakers. Think of it like going to the store to purchase everyday items. Slight differences in individual items don’t make much difference, but overall it’s enormous. For example, if one bet has odds of 1.70 and that exact match has odds of 1.80 at a different bookmaker, it’s only a .10 difference, but with many chances, it makes a huge difference. Here is the example with numbers:

• $100 x 1.60 = $160 return

• $100 x 1.70 = $170 return

• $100 x 1.80 = $180 return

Now you have a general idea of line shopping and its importance.

How Do You Shop For Lines?

Line shopping involves a lot of research as you compare the odds of a bunch of bookmakers. Also, you need to factor in welcome and sign-in bonuses to maximize your profits. The more research you do, the better odds will appear; there is also a possibility to pay people to do this for you. Not people directly, but some sites offer these kinds of services.

Types Of Line Shopping

Line shopping isn’t only about the difference in odds; you should also look at the different totals and spreads. Below we have three line shopping types that are worth taking a look at.

Money Lines

A money line bet is simple: pick who you think will win. There are no spreads and totals, so this one we recommend for people who are just starting with line shopping. Line shopping is effortless; we must find bookmakers with the best odds. Here is an example:

• Warriors to win 1.50 odds

• Return on $100 is $150

• Warriors to beat 1.70 odds

• Return on $100 is $170

Here we can see how far our $100 can take us if we do the research and implement line shopping into our strategy.

Spreads

Line shopping for spreads it’s just a bit more complex. We need to consider odds and fans to make our bet better; this is easier to understand with an example:

• Warriors to Win -10 at 1.70 odds

• Warriors to Win -10.5 at 1.80 odds

Another option is better because of the 0.10 difference in odds and because they give us an extra 0.5 spread difference. It means if the Warriors win by 10 points, we will win a bet, whereas in the first option if the Warriors win by 10 points, it would be a push.

Over/Under

Similar to spreads, this one involves looking at more than just odds. It is easier to comprehend with an example:

• Liverpool vs. Chelsea: Liverpool to win with more than three goals - 1.90 odds

• Liverpool vs. Chelsea: Liverpool to win with 2.5 or more goals - 2.00 odds

Apart from the odds difference of 0.10, we have better over/under in the second option. In the first, Liverpool needs to score more than three goals and win; in the second, Liverpool can achieve three goals and win, which is a huge difference.

Closing Thoughts

There is everything to know about line shopping, and we wish you good luck when using them. Just remember that these don’t guarantee a win; line shopping is just a handy thing you can do to maximize your winnings.