[BigDofBA]

These two terms are way overused on this site.

It seems like people say a play is square if you take a favorite. Likewise, if you take an underdog it's sharp. This logic is just plain stupid. There is nothing sharp about taking shit teams against really good teams. If you are very selective and do it with effectiveness this it's one thing, but if you're just betting every crap team with no real idea about the teams, it's just stupid and does not make you a "sharp".

The books don't care who you bet on. They just want your action. Mathematically, sports betting is very difficult to beat and you almost need inside information. Do you people really think it's as easy as just reading the line or taking the underdog? We would all be rich if that were the case.

Books want you to bet on as many games as you can. It doesn't really matter to them who you take.

Here is an example from yesterday. When the line in the Oklahoma State/Tulsa game dropped half a point people on this site automatically start taking Tulsa without knowing anything about the two teams. I told people OSU would win by 30 because I know both teams inside out and see them play all the time. People then tell me I'm a square and "Tulsa it is."

OSU wins 59-32 yet I'm a square and Tulsa was still the sharp play.

Another example was the LSU/Miss. State game Thursday. I'm still a square for taking LSU even though they won easy.

Things like this happen all the time on this forum. Then you have people things like, "Either the Eagles or over won't hit." I mean really???? Is that being sharp? LMAO.

I don't just bet favorites so don't take this post the wrong way. In baseball most of my plays are underdogs but in football it's about 50/50.

[BettingWizard]

not always fav/dog. Bears were a square play

[fishmonger]

Everyone is a square here so who cares?

[FindTheLock]

old school gamblers refer to the people that bet on favorites as chalk players and the people who bet on underdogs as dog players. On this site there are a bunch of kids that don't understand the terms, and some of them are delusional enough to think they are billy walters. Even though billy walters didn't really get rich by betting on sports, but he does have enough money now to scare a casino from taking his bets. The only sharp plays are the ones that win!

[dume walker]

The books do pay attention to who is betting their games. And they are more sensitive to the action of bettors whom they know to be experienced, long term winners. That is why the Wynn opens their line in limited action to that relative handful of pros whom they know and respect. They then adjust that opening line based on their action before it is released to the general public. Casino books will continue to adjust their lines based on sharp action throughout the week. A $5,000 bet from a well-respected sharp is more apt to move a line than $20,000 or more from the general public. Therefore, when the public seems to be down in heavy percentages on a favorite and the line moves the other way it is fair to assume it is one or more sharps are moving betting the other way, usually on the dog. So some bettors will follow that RLM in the assumption that there are pros out there who know more than they do and they are going to blindly follow their lead.

That does not mean your "square" for making a certain bet, or that the sharps win every one. But it is fair to assume they are basing their play on some historical trends or technical analysis that goes against the common grain. For instance, many people thought Houston -7 at LA Tech was a gift this past weekend. The public was on Houston but the line went slightly down throughout the week. I laid off the game when I read that Houston was only 2-7 ATS as a road favorite since 2009 whereas LA Tech was 9-2 their last 11 games as a home dog. At one point LA Tech was way up in that game. They ended up losing 35-34 and came very close to winning SU. People who thought that game was a gift got hosed.

Congratulations on your Okie State win. Tulsa lost by 26 and yet put 33 on OSU in a game in which their star QB went down early. Also playing in very unusual conditions. At 1 a.m. after a 3 hour lightning delay and then with rain often pouring down. Game could have gone the other way very easily; not an OSU loss but a Tulsa cover. OSU is a tricky team to bet on. Their O puts up a lot of points early. But they also score fast, which means their weaker D is on the field a long time. That tends to wear the OSU D down. So at the end of the game OSU pulls their 1st team O and maybe even some of their starting D. Now the opponent -- who's been embarrassed -- looks to pile on some points. All of a sudden you have a backdoor cover like you did with ULL who covered ATS on OSU on Okie State's home field. Could have very easily happened again on Tulsa's home field with their high powered offense late in the game when OSU takes their foot off the gas.

Try not to get offended by terms like sharp and square. But I would suggest you do pay attention to RLM, not to follow it blindly, but to try to uncover why the line is moving against what you see as a sure bet.

[suicidekings]

Chances are, if a bettor is always wanting to be on the "sharp" side and laughs at the "squares" laying the favourites, then he's most likely a long term sports betting loser. Labels like sharp/square are just another thing that gets in the way of handicapping.

[Machine Choice]

Sharp is just another word for high-roller....people that can move the line with one bet. Has nothing to do with handicapping.

Sharps don't post on forums, so don't worry...no one here is a sharp

[thebestthereis]

I am 21-8-2 picking every nfl game so far and I would consider myself an idiot.

[BigdaddyQH]

People who use terms like "Sharps", "Squares", and "Lock" just show how ignorant they are. Like many people have said, most of these people are overall losers. Some do not even wager. As far as the accusation that there are no "High Rollers" in here, that is absolutely false. The term "High Roller" and the term "Sharp" often are seen to mean the same thing to some people in here, but they are not. One has to do with the amount that a person wagers. The other has to do with the knowledge that the person possesses.

[BigDofBA]

OSU was up 31-6 at halftime and dominated the whole game. Tulsa was never even close to covering and most of their points came in the second half when the game was already decided.

[thetrinity]

people on tulsa probably saw it as a lookahead type game for okie st almost like a big bropther little brother type deal(rivalry for tulsa not for the cowboys). tulsa also had 6 turnovers and most of the time a team turns it over 6 times they arent gonna cover. i didnt like the matchup really so i didnt play a side, i coulda seen the reasoning on both sides. i do think this sharp square nonsense is overused. the lines have moved against oklahoma st last 2 games and they have easily covered both of them. it is what it is. in the olden days when lines werent sharp the favorite was basically the recreational side and the dog was the pros side. im talkin before computers the internet, 24 hr sports tv, all of that. the average bettor is more educated nowadays and therefore the book is less willing to "gamble" on their lines and its up to the bettor to determine which side is the "sharp" side in the game, the favorite or the dog.

one thing ill never back down from in my entire life is that the right side is always the winning ticket. couldnt have a more simpleton way of thinking IMO. if you take an under and the game goes over in the 3rd overtime, did you really make a bad pick? if your quarterback blows his knee out on the first play and you are forced to live with a backup is that really a bad pick? if a groza finalist misses 2 field goals from inside 30 yards and your over misses by a point? a teams on the take, ala toledo back in the day, and you dont know about it? its kinda like in poker when a guy calls an all in with pocket 7s vs pocket aces "cuz he knew hed hit it" and he does. i could go on and on. this is a good example of why if you are a good capper you shouldnt have GOY "LOCKS" any of that, cuz any of this shit could happen on any given day. you want to make it into a marathon and not a sprint.

[wal66]

I used to assume a sharp was the guy that bet “key” dogs and a square was the guy who always without fail played fav’s. I considered myself a square cause I followed the general misconception that “they were favorites for a reason” and so I played fav’s.

I’m still a square in my mind, not because I only play Fav’s cause I don’t, I now include dogs as well. I consider myself a square because I still haven’t learned how to beat a closing number more often than not. I’m a square cause I still rush myself to a decision even if I think I have validated that decision. I’m a square cause I while I know to watch the lines, I get so excited to get the games out before anyone else that I don’t allow the lines to tell a story as the week progresses.

The past 3 years I have posted more winners than losers in college football but I could never make a living doing this. I’m a recreational square and you know what, I’m ok with that.

[GemSportsPicks]

Def. the two most overused terms out there... I consider a Sharp someone that things out of the box to see angles that a "Square" wouldn't see... Here it seems people just go on the line, if Pats are -1 against the Bengals, then the Pats are the Square play and Bengals are the sharp play...

On the positive side, there are some decent cappers unfortunetly you need to look real hard to find them.

I mind as well join in the abuse of the terms... SHARP PLAY MONDAY NIGHT RAMS +7 got 2k on them. lets get it.

[letsgo]

Sharp and Square are made up words that are used retroactively after a game is over for people to try to reason with why they lost or won.

[BigDofBA]

There are some really good posts in this thread

[Sawyer]

Sometimes people say Squares are on Team-A and Sharps are on Team-B. This is BS. There's just too many bettors in world. Even sharp ones, they all can be on the same side? Impossible. Some sharps will pick Team-A while some sharps will pick Team-B.

[suicidekings]

Sometimes people say Squares are on Team-A and Sharps are on Team-B. This is BS. There's just too many bettors in world. Even sharp ones, they all can be on the same side? Impossible. Some sharps will pick Team-A while some sharps will pick Team-B.

A pro bettor might be playing BOTH sides of the game as well...