Sports betting perception is how the public views a matchup between two teams that are playing a particular sporting event. The reality of the sportsbetting lines is that they are based on the perception of the gambling public. If two even teams are involved in a matchup but it is known that the public prefers the home team significantly more than the visitor, the sportsbetting odds will be set up based on that knowledge and the home team will be favored by a few points, rather than the true “pick’em” that the line should be.
Sportsbetting lines are based far more on perception than you might believe. What you may notice is that sometimes teams are getting more or less points, or laying more or less points, than what is actually merited. You should also be aware that when you take a team that is getting less than what is merited, you are accepting less than full value on the sports betting lines, like paying too much for a product in a store. Conversely, when you get more points on underdogs than you should, or lay fewer points on favorites than what is deserved, you are getting added-value, which is what you want in sports betting.
Ultimately, the difference between what the sports betting lines should be and what the sports betting lines are is what the added value or the overlay is. The greater the difference between the actual value of the teams and the value projected on the sportsbetting lines is the relative value. The greater the spread between what the sports betting lines and sports betting odds should be and what they actually are is the greater added-value on the board.
What does all of this mean? Yes, it means that sometimes the wrong team is favored on the sportsbetting lines. And the way to know when this happens, and the best way to be able to read value on the sportsbetting lines is to learn to think like an oddsmaker rather than a gambler. An easy way to do this is by listening to public opinion. If the public thinks something about a game you can be sure the oddsmakers have entered that opinion into the sportsbetting odds. The value is rarely on the side the public likes in sportsbetting. That is the main way you can start to find value when looking at sports betting odds.