Betting Strategy

What is Line Shopping & How it Helps You Make Money Betting on Sports

Sports betting and handicapping require two essential skills in order to be successful. The first is simply understanding how the games breakdown and who will win your wager. The second is by far the more important of the two and it’s the ability to make bigger profits by line shopping.

What you’ve heard for decades from experts and sportsbooks in the sports betting industry is in order to be a successful sports gambler one must have a high winning percentage. Yes, winning is great, however, getting paid the most money you can is even better. Line shopping is simply finding the best odds for your wager. Here we will list the ways to not only Line Shop but to maximize the cash potential of your wagers. Follow these easy steps to collect as much as you can on every wager you play.

Keep a Count

Yes, you want to win as many games as you can. Keeping a record of your results is very important. You want to know just how good you are a picking the winner. Are you at 60%? 70%? 50%? Knowing how accurate you are is important for many reasons. One, you’ll know when you’re hot and when you are not.

This allows you to raise or lower your wagers accordingly. Two, you’ll be able to note the payout differentials. Getting a line at -105 instead of -110 doesn’t seem like much over the course of one wager. However, think about it in terms of 10 wagers. Or 50. By keeping a count, you’ll have first-hand proof as to the amount of money you’ve not only saved by line shopping but how much more you’ve won.

Novice vs. Expert

The goal every gambler needs to have is to move from novice to expert. That is, loser to winner and it takes a lot more than just picking winning teams. The bottom line is what separates the two. How much money can you make, not how many games did you pick correctly. An expert line shops, it’s that simple. Betting on -110 when you could find the same wager at -100 is the first step in losing and staying a novice because, even if you when, you still lost by leaving money on the table.

An expert is a good line shopper. They researched and thought over the wager they want to place, now they need to research and think over where they want to place the wager. Even on small amounts, five dollars here and three dollars there, they add up. Being an expert means playing the long game and it starts with shopping for lines.

Multiple Accounts

In order to line shop effectively, you are going to need to find a few different sportsbooks. At least two or three for sure. This will require some research as well because some sportsbooks are owned by the same companies and feature all the same odds and spreads only under a different name.

There are plenty of sites out there, however, not all of them are created equal. You want to find online gambling sites which offer good bonuses with low rollovers who payout fast. It’s these three factors to consider when picking your online sportsbook. It takes some snooping around and a lot of fine print reading but having quick access to three different sportsbooks is essential to line shopping and maximizing your dollar.

Routine Building

The best way to ensure you are consistently line shopping and getting the best value you can is by building a routine where you check and double check for the best lines. It’s a habit you will have to have. Just like the ballplayers that stay after practice to shoot foul shots or take grounders, you have to have the discipline to do it on every wager.

It’s the difference between being a novice or an expert, a winner or a loser. Remember, line shopping is what’s best for you bottom line which is the only thing that’s important.

Bankroll

Obviously, you’re going to need a good bankroll to line shop. You need multiple accounts open and action all over the map to be successful. Luckily, as previously mentioned, many sites offer bonuses for signing up and depositing. Find the best bonuses with the smallest rollovers to maximize your bankroll. A little research will go a long way in building your bankroll.

Shop til you Drop

With all of these factors considered, you are now able to line shop on your wagers. You are looking for two factors while line shopping. The first is better odds. As mentioned before, you would always take -105 or -110 and it’s discrepancies like this which you are looking for. If you like the Steelers over the Browns -8 points, you’ll want to find the best payout for it.

If one sportsbook has it at -110 and another has it at -105, you always take the -105. The second is better lines. If you’ve looked and couldn’t find anything better than -110, maybe you can find the Steelers at -7.5 or lower. This is line shopping and this is what it takes to win.

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