Online sports betting gamblers believe that a line move due to the “wise guys” or “sharps.” Sometimes, it is simply not the case at all in sports betting.
Online betting lines move all the time. What makes the online betting lines move? How does a game go from a pick to a two-point game? How do over/under totals and money line sports betting lines move? Above and beyond all of that, what does it all mean when wise guys move the online sports betting line?
You will see and hear different terms to describe wise guys, including “insiders” and the “syndicate.” These are often the first gamblers that have access to what used to be referred to as the “virgin” sports betting lines. These high power gamblers, through their actions, give the online oddsmakers the first solid indication as to how effective their line making for a particular matchup was.
Many small-time gamblers like to follow the “wise guys” but the problem is that the little guys get left out in the cold, holding an empty bag of no value as by the time the “wise guys” get done with the sports betting lines, it has moved at least a point and, often more than that, meaning that the little guy pays what, in essence, is a “wise guy tax.” While the “wise guy” may have gotten the game at pick’em, the small-time followers will have to lay the point(s) in online betting.
Some gamblers go with the other extreme and oppose that large opening line moves in online sports betting. While they do gain a point or two in online betting value they are also going up against the best in the business. Another move that the “wise guys” love to pull in online sports betting is that they will come in early on one side or total of a game, sway the online betting lines and attract extra public money, only to then cross everyone up and pound the other side late, right before game time, at bargain rates. It makes following wise guy line moves in online sports betting a difficult proposition.