As a sports bettor, how you can money is simple–bet and hope for the best that you win. If you make a good bet, then you might very well win. If you make a bad bet, expect to lose. However, it is not as simple as that for a bookie.
While reading online sports betting site reviews through sites like Efirbet.com is a good practice, it is also important to understand how bookmakers–the one facilitating your bets, work and make their money in this industry.
Here are the top ways a bookmaker makes their money in sports betting.
By charging the “vig”
The “vig”–also sometimes called as the vigorish or the “juice” is the standard amount that a bookie earns for every bet a bettor makes. By charging the vig, bookies are ensuring a profit for themselves no matter what the outcome of the game at hand would be.
Why do bookies need to charge a fee for players placing their bets? Think of a situation wherein the betting if for a coin toss–heads or tails. If there twenty bets on tails at $1 each, and also twenty bets on heads at $1 each, then the bookie would have $40 at the end of the betting period. If the coin toss ends up as tails, the bookie would have to pay everyone who bet on tails $40. In the same way, if tails indeed up being the winner, the bookie still pays $40 to the bettors. In this scenario, without a “vig,” the bookie is left without any profit at all.
Relying on player mistakes
Perhaps the simplest and the easiest way a bookmaker can make money out of sports betting is by relying on the players themselves. While there are serious bettors who have taken the time to educate themselves on all the things about sports betting and how it works, there are those who just go in and place their bets–as simple as that.
This kind of player behavior is one of the many things that bookies are always in the lookout for. If a player just goes in blindly and makes reckless bets, then the bookie will most likely end up being the one who will win. This is especially true for players who use their emotions in betting, rather than formulating a strategic bet–those who immediately place their bets on their favorite team or players, simply because they like them. Since they use their emotions more, they do not care about the odds or any other factors that could be taken into consideration in making a good bet.
When this happens, the player will lose his money due to the bad bet, and the bookie will be the one to take his full bet as earnings.
So, you want to be a bookie?
After realizing that bookmakers are the ones making the real money in the world of sports betting, perhaps you might be thinking: “can I become a bookie myself?”
The short answer is yes, you can. In fact, anyone can be a bookie if they wanted to. However, there are a lot of complex things you need to take into consideration before you can start a bookmaking business the right way and be able to run it to make money for you.
For starters, educate yourself more on everything there is to know about sports betting. Remember that as a bookie, you would be dealing with bettors. It is essential to understand, first of all, how a bettor thinks and behaves.
Lastly, make sure that you have enough money in your bankroll. While players are more likely to lose than win, you should be ready for the situation that someone would win big.
Being a bookie is a form of business and like with all businesses, it can make or break you–depending on how you play its game.
