Sport books strategies, odds comparison
What is "middling"? What is "scalping"? Are they different? Are they good betting strategies? First of all, I don't have the bankroll to do either, so I'm least qualified to answer this question. That said, I will state, that, to me, middling is betting both ends of a game, whereas scalping is finding a way to get prices for a game that guarantees a profit. For an example of middling, say your are football betting online, the New York Giants are favored by 3 over Dallas this Sunday. A lot of players will find books with low vig or free betting picks and buy half a point on both sides. They'll bet NYG -2.5 and Dallas +3.5 at different books for increased vig. In this example, they lose if the game does not land on 3 (win one bet, but lose the other bet plus vig). If it does land on 3, they win both bets. In this scenario, the middler needs the Giants to win by exactly 3. A scalper works with money lines. I associate scalpers more with baseball betting, because the standard dime line in baseball makes scalps more frequent than in most other sports. For instance, Arizona might open up -105 versus San Francisco, and a scalper might take Arizona, hoping that the baseball betting line goes up. If the line does go up to, say, -130, he can then take San Francisco at +120 on the other end and lock in a profit. Baseball betting might look like this: $210 on Arizona at -105 to win $200. $190 on San Francisco +120 to win $228. The scalper has wagered $400 and is guaranteed a profit of $10 if Arizona wins and $18 if San Francisco wins. Now that doesn't sound like a lot, but if you multiply the stakes by ten and multiply that by ten games, you can eek out a living as a scalper. The key is the big bankroll and the hours poring over the sports betting odds trying to see lines that move.
