Man, I hate it when some computer genius screams about high vig, impossible to overcome odds, how the world is stacked against the player, and all that crap. The house gives you the chance to bet and adds a vigorish to make them a profit, regardless of who wins or loses.
If you wanna bet on sports you're gonna pay vigorish if you lose. It's always there. If you wanna dance, you gotta pay the fiddler. If you don't wanna pay the vigorish don't gamble. Or at least if you do gamble, don't lose. That way you don't have to worry about paying. But with 60% being a fabulous winning percentage, it means a 40% losing percentage is lurking in the bushes. In football and basketball there are points attached to every game, based on the opinion of the line maker as to whom he believes is the best team. This is explained in the next chapter. Let's suppose the Dallas Cowboys are playing the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland. We'll assume Dallas has a 6 5 record and Cleveland is 5 6. Obviously they are almost equal except that Dallas has a slight edge. The line maker comes out and says Dallas 2 vs. Cleveland. That means if you like Dallas you give Cleveland 2 points. If you like Cleveland you get 2 points. In his opinion, he has made that game an even choice and will attract bets on both sides. If he made Dallas a 7 point favorite, too much money would go on Cleveland and you'd have an imbalance of money bet. The bookies would be swamped with Cleveland money and in a position where they would be gambling and bookies don't gamble. They want equal amounts of money bet on both sides. Then they merely pick up the vig or juice with no worry of getting belted. That's why it's imperative that the line maker gives lines that make it difficult for you and me to make our decisions. The vigorish changes according to the amount of your bets, with less vig charged as you increase your wager: (I ) $25 bet lay $30 to win $25 (2) $50 bet lay $55 to win $50 (3) $75 bet lay $82 to win $75 (4) $100 bet lay $110 to win $100 (5) $200 bet lay $220 to win $200 (6) $1000 bet lay $1050 to win $1000 Look at the $50 bet. You lose $55 if your team goes belly up. You win $50 if your team wins. What the bookie is looking for is to get equal bets on each side of the contest. In that Dallas/Cleveland game let's suppose his customers split their opinions equally. He gets $5500 bet on Cleveland getting 2 points and he has $5500 bet on Dallas, laying the deuce. Of course this is his perfect world, but it does happen when the line maker zeros in on a strong number. Let's say Dallas wins. All of the people that bet Dallas collect their bets totaling $5000. The Cleveland bettors lose $5500. The bookie wins $500. But he was gonna win $500 no matter which side came out on top. Vigorish is always there. You're giving a 10% charge (if you lose) for the right to make your choice. If you win, you don't pay vig. So, win more. The more you lose, the greater the vig will eat into you. © Copyright 2005 John Patrick's material. It may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
