You might have Heard this phrase before, for sure, if you’re in the sportsbook business, “laying off action”. But what does it mean exactly? And why is it necessary to know the term and to be able to do it from time to time? That’s what we’re going to talk about for a little bit in this article.
There will be times when your players all sit on the same team or teams, and as a bookie, you will have great exposure to different games. That’s unavoidable, if we’re being honest, it just happens from time to time, regardless of how well you dealt your lines and how much you try to control your risk. There are games where teams are just too favorite, or fans and players are just too eager to bet on a specific team for different reasons, it could be because they’re having a great home winning streak, it could be because a player is about to break a record, it could be just because the best team in the league is facing the worst, record-wise. There are many reasons why this could happen, and if you’re a small bookie, mostly, or if you’re running a small operation, you could worry about the risk level for that game.
So, laying off action is something you can do in these cases, and what it means is that you basically side with your players, and if they’re all betting on the same team, then you look for a bookie yourself, that can take you as a customer, and you play some of that money on that same team. What this will do is decrease your risk level and allow you to work with better margins.
How do I lay off action if I need to?
Let’s put an example so that it’s easier to understand. Let’s say the Buccaneers are home playing the New York Jets. The Bucs are obviously huge favorites, let’s not even talk about the spread, let’s just say that all your players are taking the Bucs, and you start seeing that it could get “out of hand”. All of the sudden, you have $30K riding on Tampa, and as a small bookie, you think this could hurt your finances a little bit.
What you do in this case is that you go to another bookie, and you place a wager for a percentage of what your exposure is on this game, and of course, you bet on the same team, in this case, the Buccaneers. It’s good to have a plan in advance, so that you know what to do exactly. What you want to do is prevent, lower your risk, not try to go and cancel it out. You can think of a 20% to a 50% maybe, so that if you have $30K already at risk by your players, then you can try to lay off $10K, or $15K.
If the Bucs win, then your players will win, but so will you. And if they end up losing for whatever reason, then you will also lose your bet, but you’ll have your players’ losses as well.
This is a good backup, or emergency practice you can keep in mind for the future. Remember, it’s not something to do too much, but it can make your life easier, and reduce your risk, from time to time. If you want to talk about this a little bit more, visit us at www.RealBookies.com right now, and we’ll be happy to help.
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