Typically there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (college and pro football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing and golf). Each bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses into the process.
What Is the Line Trying to Accomplish?
Because of the fee charged to the better (called juice), dividing the action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game.
Commonly, people are under the misconception that point spreads represent the prediction of how many points the favorite will win the game by. In other words, they want to create a line that is attractive to people betting one way and also people betting the other way (known as dividing the action).
How the Opening Line Is Made
A discussion amongst 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
The oddmakers ultimate goal is to equally divide the betting action, therefore public perception and betting patterns are taken into consideration. Example: the public might have heavy betting interest on a popular college football team. Then an adjustment up to -6.5 or -7 would be made in response to the public’s expected bias, if an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of -6.
When a game’s power rating pointspread is figured, the oddsmaker will make changes to that line after considering each teams most previous games and recent games played against the opponent. Adjustments are also made after reading each teams local newspaper to get a feel of what the coaches and players are thinking prior to going into the game.
In other words, they want to create a line that is attractive to people betting one way and also people betting the other way (known as dividing the action).
Power ratings are the oddmakers value of each team and they are used as a guide to calculate the preliminary point spreads on upcoming games. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Non-game factor examples that require adjustments to the team’s power ratings are key player injuries and key player trades.
The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to all the sportsbooks. It starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game that is based on their personal approach. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of -6 then an adjustment up to -6.5 or -7 would be made in response to the public’s expected bias.
If it feels right or not, the final step in the line making process for all oddmakers is taking one last look to determine. This is where common sense and past experience with games with how games are bet enters into the picture.
The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to all the sportsbooks. It starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game that is based on their personal approach.
