2011 12 25 Rko Palace What were they Thinking

If you are a frequent bettor on sports, then you know that bookmakers are your primary opponents. And as a bettor, it is imperative to know how you can beat them. On the other hand, before you can successfully do this, it is vital to have good understanding on how they are able to generate profits.

Bookmaker Strategies

The major tactic that many bookmakers are using is putting odds in their favor by integrating vigorish. Now, vigorish or Vig is also called by many names such as:

• Overround
• Margin or;
• Juice

This is built into odds that bookmakers have made to help them generate profits. Simply speaking, it is the commission that they charge among players for placing their bets.

A Simple Explanation

Let’s use a simple toss coin analogy to explain what vig is. Tossing a coin creates two possibilities which is creates 50 chance to get heads and tails. If the bookmaker offers true odds on a simple coin toss, they’d offer even money.

In sports betting world, this is basically 2.00 in decimal odds and +100 in moneyline odds. Successful bet of $5 will return 10 which is a $5 profit including your initial stake.

So what the bookmaker does here to make money is, to add a percentage on one of the bets like $6 for heads. Of course, if you lose, then that is an automatic profit for the bookie.