who the hell is the public anyway?

[Crayzee]

everybody talks about the public like they are a bunch of stiffs who gamble and know nothing about what theyre doing
and everybody here who is "not" the public knows everything about everything there is to know about sports gambling
where is "the public" placing their bets?
they really just bet huge amounts of money without knowing what theyre doing?
with the neighborhood bookie?
or in las vegas?
surely "the public" doesnt bet with offshore books?


was the public money all on spurs last night and lost and the sharp money was all on cavs +POINTS and won?

and bettors on cav ml was also "the public"?
bettor on spurs ml was sharp?

i bought pts and pushed with spurs-so does that make me public or sharp?
pushing sucks but it sure as hell beats losing
does the public just bet on favorites and lay ridiculous amounts on baseball/money lines?
i'm confused

what can i do to not be par tof the dreaded "public"?

[hitbitritz]

it's easy to see who the public is on by looking at the opening lines and seeing where they move - that's all. if the spurs open at -3, and it's -4 at game time, it's pretty safe to say the public is on the spurs. the public does bet offshore, the public is ANYONE who places a bet which causes the line to move

[compaqDikk]

according to Sikkopedia:

'if the majority of their customers are going to bet on a team regardless of the price, they will set the price as high as possible. This is called "shading" the line. Generally, the public prefers to back the favorite, and unsophisticated bettors often show up during large events such as the Final Four and the Super Bowl. Some bookmakers actually offer different prices to different customers, using past bets as an indicator of who the customer will bet on as a way of additionally increasing their potential profit.

[BuddyBear]

1) if you bought points from -2.5 to -1 that is not a very sharp move to pay what -130/-140 on a pointspread? That needs to be avoided.

2) In response to hitbitritz, the rule of thumb is that the public does not move the line. The money that moves the line is sharp or smart or informed money. Sure the public may move the line if there is an overwhelming amount of money on the same side but that's really the only case. Sportsbooks don't care how much you are betting...they are more concerned with who is doing the betting. If you bet $50,000 a game and hit 50% they won't move the line for you instead they'll welcome your action.....

3) General rule in baseball is that line moves are the result of sharp money. The thing with baseball is that it is sharp against sharp. The "public" typically takes baseball season off. The "public" is most active during football and basketball season. The problem with this is that you don't have the square lines you typically see in football and basketball with the exception of maybe NYY, BOS, and CHC games.

[JBC77]

everybody talks about the public like they are a bunch of stiffs who gamble and know nothing about what theyre doing
and everybody here who is "not" the public knows everything about everything there is to know about sports gambling
where is "the public" placing their bets?
they really just bet huge amounts of money without knowing what theyre doing?
with the neighborhood bookie?
or in las vegas?
surely "the public" doesnt bet with offshore books?


was the public money all on spurs last night and lost and the sharp money was all on cavs +POINTS and won?

and bettors on cav ml was also "the public"?
bettor on spurs ml was sharp?

i bought pts and pushed with spurs-so does that make me public or sharp?
pushing sucks but it sure as hell beats losing
does the public just bet on favorites and lay ridiculous amounts on baseball/money lines?
i'm confused

what can i do to not be par tof the dreaded "public"?

Good post here. You hear the argument alot, "well if the public is on so and so it must be the wrong side."

What it comes down to, if you play a fav, 95% of the time you should pull the trigger when the line comes out......and then wait for the dogs to rise.

Never really understood why "the public" putting money on a side should sway a bettors choice. I mean, your either going to be right or wrong. How "the public" changes the outcome of a given event is beyond me.

[hitbitritz]

1) if you bought points from -2.5 to -1 that is not a very sharp move to pay what -130/-140 on a pointspread? That needs to be avoided.

2) In response to hitbitritz, the rule of thumb is that the public does not move the line. The money that moves the line is sharp or smart or informed money. Sure the public may move the line if there is an overwhelming amount of money on the same side but that's really the only case. Sportsbooks don't care how much you are betting...they are more concerned with who is doing the betting. If you bet $50,000 a game and hit 50% they won't move the line for you instead they'll welcome your action.....

3) General rule in baseball is that line moves are the result of sharp money. The thing with baseball is that it is sharp against sharp. The "public" typically takes baseball season off. The "public" is most active during football and basketball season. The problem with this is that you don't have the square lines you typically see in football and basketball with the exception of maybe NYY, BOS, and CHC games.

i don't disagree with anything you said, but the bottom line is that books want even money on each side, guaranteed profit.

[Dark Horse]

With the recent changes in online gambling, chances are you can pretty much kiss the public goodbye, at least where it concerns the US. The people still betting sports online now are the truly hardened criminals.