A message for degenerate gamblers
When I was a small boy, my grandfather sat me down next to him, and he gave me some sound advice. I'm going to share it with you.
"Mac, my boy," he said, "Never bet on Alabama. This is the illegal gambling capital of the world, and there are so many bets placed on the Tide that they drive the lines up, and they're always favored by more than they should be. Only bet on Alabama when they're an underdog and you think they're going to win."
"Now, go play."
posted by Mac @ 9/09/2006 09:36:00 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Yep.
I'm not the gambling type, but I remember having my eyes opened when I learned that the line was not set as a predicted margin of victory, but it was set to split the betting. Bookies want half the people to bet one side, and half bet the other, so the line is set up.
For example, people like to bet on New York's professional teams, so to split the betting, New York teams usually get a few extra points figured in. Traditional college powerhouses like Notre Dame and Alabama attract a lot of bets, so their line is usually a little high, too.
By the same token, if you see that a relative nobody is favored, the line is not as high because people are not going to bet on them as much, so the line is set low to split the betting.
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