The Full Point

[FreeFall]

I was wondering if people could explain to me why there is a full point in sports betting? It just causes the books to give money back and not make 10%. Wouldn't they rather make money on every bet and not offer full points( IE -4 or +9) ? But then would the movement be too great between half points?

Hope that made sense.

[Peep]

They certainly prefer to put up .5 when they can justify it. When I gather data I notice the lines set at half points outnumber the lines set at even points.

[Arilou]

Most numbers have a relatively small chance of landing, and when the number is more likely, such as with the 3 in NFL, it becomes very hard to avoid it without things getting very awkward. Yes, it means that the effective volume on the game will drop by say 4% because you're on a whole number, but this is far better than posting the wrong number. On things like first quarters this can become a far bigger consideration.