Sports Betting: Line Shopping and Odds Comparison

Line shopping may not be convenient, but it’s profitable and necessary.

If you’re serious about making money betting on sports, you need to make sure you’re getting the best betting line. The easiest way to do that is to use ScoresAndStats.com odds comparison tool.

If you scroll over the sports at the top of this page (IE: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, etc.) in our menu and then click on the “Picks” link, you’ll be able to view real-time betting odds for all major sports.

Why Should I Shop for the Best Betting Lines?

Line shopping ensures you get the most bang for your buck. It won’t guarantee you make money, as you still need to win your picks, but it ensures your breakeven percentage is lower.

For example, if you bet at –110 odds, you need to win 52.4% of your bets to breakeven, however, if you’re betting at –105 odds, you need to win 51.3% of your bets to breakeven.

That may seem miniscule, but over a season that adds up. If you placed 500 bets at –110, you need to win 262 games to breakeven, whereas at –105 odds you only need to win 257 games.

When even the best sports handicappers are hitting 53%-56% of their bets on average, every single game counts and getting the best line will ensure you need to win less games to turn a profit.

You can end up saving even more than $0.05 in vig in some cases as well.

Let’s say you’re betting on some MLB/NHL money lines. One book might have Team A at +140 while another bookie may have Team A at +155 odds. With this example, you’re gaining $0.15 in value for every $1 you wager.

You can perform MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL betting odds comparison here at Scores And Stats.

Shopping for the Best Point Spreads and Game Totals

Line shopping isn’t limited to just getting the best price on a bet. You also want to ensure you’re getting the best point spread or over/under before placing your wager.

How often does a team you bet on fail to cover a point spread by a ½ point or 1 point?

Probably more than you’d like to admit.

To avoid those situations happening too often, you need to shop for the best odds.

Here’s an example of shopping for the best point spread:

Lakers –9 (-110) vs. Thunder +9 (-110) at Bookie #1

Lakers –8.5 (-110) vs. Thunder +8.5 (-110) at Bookie #2

In this example, you’d want to bet on the Lakers at Bookie #2 and the Thunder at Bookie #1.

With totals, you may see an even bigger disparity for some match-ups. You could end up getting a few extra points on an NBA total by using our bookmakers’ odds comparison tool.

Stick to Trusted Online Bookmakers

One thing to be cautious about when line shopping is where you are placing the bet.

All of the bookies featured on our odds comparison game previews are trusted. The problem with some of the odds comparison sites is that they’ll list rogue bookies. The rogue bookies will often have the best odds on tons of markets, which entices bettors like you to sign-up and join.

However, the problem is that whether you win or lose, your chances of being paid are slim at best.

That’s why you should stick to trusted online sportsbooks that are reputable. The big guys like BetOnline and America’s Bookie consistently offer the best lines on many markets.

We also have about a dozen other bookies that we analyze for our betting odds comparison.

When you’re on our prediction pages for sports like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, you’ll always be presented with the best odds only. It’ll save you time from doing this work on your own.

Our goal is to help sports bettors make as much money as possible and one of the best ways to improve your ROI is to ensure you’re getting the best price/odds on every wager.

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What is Line Shopping in Sports Betting?