Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, or so the old saying goes. Bookies enjoy several advantages over bettors, and any sports bettor worth his or her salt, knows that beating the bookie and the crowd is where the true edge is to be found, and that awareness of what it is that the opposition enjoys in terms of advantages is already half the battle won.

The Value of Support

Bookies enjoy the support of entire team’s worth of professional oddsmakers, researchers, support staff, etc. Oddsmakers, also referred to as traders, perform various tasks depending on the business model followed by the bookmaker he or she works for. But at the end of the day, what traders are paid to do is to ensure that the lines offered by the employer are right where they’re supposed to be.

Large bookmakers typically employ many traders. Knowing this means being aware of a crucial and valuable weakness: complacency. Big bookies are less likely to turn over every penny and decision three or more times. The trick is to look for the point of common complacency. It works every time.

The Value of Big Data

Bookies have at their disposal every bet ever wagered by every bettor ever. This is a potluck of information, to say the least, and a definite advantage over the individual bettor. A solid argument yet again in support of taking into account as much data as possible when deciding to bet and on what.

This can be tied directly to the value of a specialised and focused approach on any old line or sport and hoping for the best. Its far better to stick to one or two sports or products and to master these, than to cast the net too wide and subsequently perform poorly at everything.

The Value of Mathematical Models

Barring human input errors, the math never lies. Bookies make use of specialised mathematical models when determining odds. Which brings us back round again to why its so very important to devise a mathematical model of one’s own. Failing to do this isn’t all that different to going to a war of guns armed only with a pocket-knife.

The Value of the Hold

One rotten apple is all it takes to spoil the entire basket. This is the danger of engaging in synthetic markets in a nutshell. Also known as the advantage of the hold, bookies are constantly relying on one poor decision affecting numerous others in a negative way.

This is why it is of utmost importance to bet on games and sports at sites like https://sportbettingus.org/tennis within your scope of knowledge. For example: if a bettor were to bet 4 reasonably profitable bets with success, and one really poor bet for having missed something as simple as an injury or player-change, the one really poor bet can automatically wipe out every last one of the 4 good ones.

Be aware of the hold – its important.