Who are you playing against?

[eisen33]

In my opinion, this is obvious to anyone. In the casino you play against the casino, but betting you play against other players. In this sense, sports betting is somewhat similar to playing poker against other players. The bookmaker acts as the "arbiter" of the bet, which charges a certain fee for services. Poker tables are also functioning.
Thus, the Bookmaker himself is not a participant in the game, and does not bear the corresponding risks. But the casino is a participant in gambling and carries the risks of losing. That is why gambling is initially designed so that the casino has an advantage.

I don't agree with this, in a casino you play against the casino, and in betting you play against the bookmaker, because if one player or several players win a bet with a huge odds, then the bookmaker will have to pay for it, not always in bets players bet equally on teams in one match. Maybe the bookmaker is reinsuring himself by the fact that not such a large percentage of players win, so he can cover these losses with the losses of other players, but in any case, a big win for a player is a loss for a bookmaker.

[Natalim]

I don't agree with this, in a casino you play against the casino, and in betting you play against the bookmaker, because if one player or several players win a bet with a huge odds, then the bookmaker will have to pay for it, not always in bets players bet equally on teams in one match. Maybe the bookmaker is reinsuring himself by the fact that not such a large percentage of players win, so he can cover these losses with the losses of other players, but in any case, a big win for a player is a loss for a bookmaker.

Okay, you got your opinion man, and you are right as literally, you’re playing against the bookmaker, but in essence, you’re actually playing against other bettors. For example, if you bet on side A and someone else bets on side B, the bookie’s job is to record all the actions, pay the winners, and keep the money wagered by the losers... simple as that.

They have a system in place, which makes it look easy for them, and in case you think you can beat the bookies, the truth is, you can’t. Even if you’re consistently winning, as long as there are losers, they’ll continue to make a profit from the vigorish they pre-deducted.

[crwth]

I know that if you are just working within a small bookmaker or a local one in your place, you are against the Bookmaker, but if it's quite a big audience, you are now against other bettors. The role of the bookmaker there is to adjust the odds and ensure a balance between both sides of a sure bet.

It also depends on the market that you are betting with. I think in polymarket, it's within other players. Based on what I have read, I haven't tried it, but it's a fantastic site.

[viljy]

In my opinion, this is obvious to anyone. In the casino you play against the casino, but betting you play against other players. In this sense, sports betting is somewhat similar to playing poker against other players. The bookmaker acts as the "arbiter" of the bet, which charges a certain fee for services. Poker tables are also functioning.
Thus, the Bookmaker himself is not a participant in the game, and does not bear the corresponding risks. But the casino is a participant in gambling and carries the risks of losing. That is why gambling is initially designed so that the casino has an advantage.

I don't agree with this, in a casino you play against the casino, and in betting you play against the bookmaker, because if one player or several players win a bet with a huge odds, then the bookmaker will have to pay for it, not always in bets players bet equally on teams in one match. Maybe the bookmaker is reinsuring himself by the fact that not such a large percentage of players win, so he can cover these losses with the losses of other players, but in any case, a big win for a player is a loss for a bookmaker.

No. It's a bad bookmaker if he gets into this situation. Moreover, the bookmaker can only substitute himself out of greed. A normal bookmaker cannot have such a situation. To some extent, a bookmaker can enter his game, I wrote about this in a previous post, but certainly not in such a way as to expose himself to such a financial blow as you describe.

[Darker45]

It's probably a different explanation of the same thing. Bettor A places a bet of $100 on Team A. Bettor B places the same amount of bet on Team B. Better A wins, therefore, he/she's not paying. Bookie doesn't take his/her money. Bettor B loses. He/she pays $100. Bookie takes $10 from Bettor B's payment and releases the remaining amount to Bettor A.

I’ve also read another explanation before, that the winning bettor pays the vigor, which is the opposite of what you believe or posted. Thinking about it, I realized it makes sense because vigorish is sometimes referred to as a commission, and typically, only those who profit pay the commission.

But we needed some clarification from online definitions, and it turns out that vigorish is indeed deducted from the winning bet.
So, in short, the winner pays it.

Shakespeare says this is in fact "much ado about nothing". But I'd respond one last time, just the same. 

Perhaps the confusion could be settled if we have a clear answer as to whose money is used to pay for the juice. One thing is clear, though; the bookie only takes the money of the loser. It doesn't take the money of the winner. The question now is, whose money is that actually? Is it still the loser's money? Or is it already the winner's?

Perhaps some would say it's already the winner's money because the loser has already lost the bet. Others would say that's the loser's money because that's actually his/her payment. Such is the reason why we could read somewhere that "the sportsbook only collects the vig if the bettor loses the wager" or that "bookmakers will take their vig on only losing bets."

Anyway, this is merely a matter of perspective, like 6 and 9.

[Oluwa-btc]

It is already too late once the game starts, how can you know if the player will be a better one than you or the other way? Tell me if j am missing something because you said it is about picking the right table, so how will you pick the right table so that you win?

You're right in gambling especially sports betting you can't really tell how good and skillful you are than other players cause everyone is on the goal of winning and they are also making out some tactics on how to win but then what matters is you being lucky on that game. Which is a 50/50 chances, so either you pick the right table or not it doesn't necessitate your win over other players.

[bubilas]

I know that if you are just working within a small bookmaker or a local one in your place, you are against the Bookmaker, but if it's quite a big audience, you are now against other bettors. The role of the bookmaker there is to adjust the odds and ensure a balance between both sides of a sure bet.

It also depends on the market that you are betting with. I think in polymarket, it's within other players. Based on what I have read, I haven't tried it, but it's a fantastic site.

I also like the polymarket, and it's very strange that no one has thought of this before. At the same time, it's very funny that this site doesn't seem to be fully related to betting, because users don't bet on sports events, but simply on ... events. I also like the fact that the polymarket takes statistics from it, for example, on presidential elections, and therefore we can know the true results of the statistics, which cannot be rigged by interested parties. I know that they have had problems with legislation lately, and I hope that everything will be resolved well.

[EluguHcman]

It turns out that every time you play sports betting, you are not playing against the bookmaker at all, but in some sense against other players. The 20th century bettor J.R. Miller wrote about this well in one of his books. I have already cited his quotes in other topics. This is a fairly long quote from his book, but it explains this thesis in great detail.

I still think we are betting against the bookmakers of the casinos because every newly launched casinos has to be financially equip to pay their winners in the first time and we know gambling is a source of income to be "investment" for the developers.
So if in anyway they pays their winners with the money of other players, that is to say they are doing that out of their profits.

Let us imagine possibilities of straight winnings of every bettors maybe we all betted on same prediction like.... Either the higher or lower odds to win and then everyone wins, hope you know a prepared and financed casinos will pay it all while their was no on wager lost by the players.

[freedomgo]

Such is the reason why we could read somewhere that "the sportsbook only collects the vig if the bettor loses the wager" or that "bookmakers will take their vig on only losing bets."

I think I’ll go back to my first explanation regarding who pays the vig.

Using the same example, with odds of 1.90 for Team A and Team B, let’s say both players bet $100. Since the odds are only 1.90, the sportsbook takes the vig regardless of the outcome, as it’s already embedded in the odds.

When you say the casino takes the losing bet, your understanding is different from mine. I justify that the winning bettor pays the vig because, in my view, when you place a bet, the casino has essentially "taken" your money. For example, if you bet $100, the casino will only return $190 on a win, meaning they keep $10 as the vig.

[Lidger]

Brilliant thoughts from you. I figured a lot from what you have just said. When am gambling I play against other gamblers. The odds are most times tempered by the bookers when they realize that a lot of gamblers are choosing the odd or reflecting it. So in reality, it is one gambler against the other, not the bookmaker. When we gamble against the bookmakers we certainly cant win.

Every single day the bookmakers win against a lot of gamblers.

I have never bet face to face with another opponent like that but I have seen many people bet face to face and what the outcome was. In betting on some matches, the two parties agree to pay each other based on wins and losses, but sometimes the losers refuse to pay the winner. So a tussle arose between the two parties and from this tussle the matter escalated from a scuffle between the two parties to the extent that the police started monitoring it. Seeing this, I actually did not want to bet with another opponent. But I try to gamble on online gambling sites where if the result is against me then my money is automatically deducted and if the result is in my favor I get the profit amount and capital back and I think this method is correct.

[iv4n]

Does it matter who we bet against? We choose how much money we risk, which games, and how we will bet. If we predict correctly we will take some money, if we lose our money goes to others and that's it.

I guess this topic provides some explanation about how bookmakers set the odds, and how to "beat the line"... but it's not something that everyone can do. It's not easy or simple "to become more informed than the majority of the gaming public", somehow I don't think that only following news is the right answer here. One needs to be directly included in some sports circles and have access to some important stuff.

[Hispo]

I know that if you are just working within a small bookmaker or a local one in your place, you are against the Bookmaker, but if it's quite a big audience, you are now against other bettors. The role of the bookmaker there is to adjust the odds and ensure a balance between both sides of a sure bet.

It also depends on the market that you are betting with. I think in polymarket, it's within other players. Based on what I have read, I haven't tried it, but it's a fantastic site.

That is one of the reason which have got me thinking why certainly it is not easy to start a betting business having relatively small money to start it, specially if the markets who is offering are unknown for the potential bettors who would be willing to give a small bookie a try to begin with...
That is why only big and well established casinos or sport books are afford to offer markets which are rather a niche for bettors, like political events, fashion events, geopolitical happenings a things like those.
Polymarket is actually a good example of a website which have the volume and hence enough liquidity for bettors to open markets which are completely unrelated to sports, which is kind of refreshing if you think about it.
There are people like me who does not have much of capacity when comes to sports, but we keep an eye on geopolitics and the relations countries have with one another, those websites give us a chance to capitalize on your talent to analize other things outside sports.

[OgNasty]

I can’t say that I’ve ever considered gambling a me vs others thing. Sure, I’ve placed bets directly with another person, but if I’m making a bet online it is always just me against the odds. I’m usually not even set on picking a winner, but evaluating the odds to see if a bet is worth the risk for the reward, so I play the odds, not the competition.

[peter0425]

It is already too late once the game starts, how can you know if the player will be a better one than you or the other way? Tell me if j am missing something because you said it is about picking the right table, so how will you pick the right table so that you win?

Observe. If it’s allowed, lurk around and watch each table. If you notice the table full of players that make a lot of mistakes and you are already and expert then that might be the right table for you. The pot size is also an indicator of whether you are in the right table or not depending on how you assess yourself.

Playing against other players still have everything to do with luck, just pray that you are matched with someone who have less experience than you and that's all, so far there is nothing in this gambling space that makes winning a easy thing, everything is all about luck and luck only.

Most gambling games rely on luck but poker needs more than that. Sure a little luck could help but analyzing can’t hurt.

[alastantiger]

You're right in gambling especially sports betting you can't really tell how good and skillful you are than other players cause everyone is on the goal of winning and they are also making out some tactics on how to win but then what matters is you being lucky on that game. Which is a 50/50 chances, so either you pick the right table or not it doesn't necessitate your win over other players.

Are there skills in sport betting, I thought you get an advantage when you know your sports. Someone that has a good knowledge on basketball and knows the teams playing stands a better chances of winning than a novice. Skills comes in with games that needs skills to play them. Sport needs familiarity and luck not skills. If I'm wrong can someone tell me own skill that you'll need to have to play sport betting. When playing sport betting, you're betting against other players and not the house. You bet against the house when you play the normal games that aren't sporty related like dice games or any other games that you can play in the casino that has nothing to do with sport activities. When playing virtual games, you're betting against the house too and not your follow players.

[freedomgo]

Are there skills in sport betting, I thought you get an advantage when you know your sports. Someone that has a good knowledge on basketball and knows the teams playing stands a better chances of winning than a novice. Skills comes in with games that needs skills to play them. Sport needs familiarity and luck not skills.

That’s just part of the basic knowledge you need when you’re into sports betting. There’s a lot more to learn if you’re aiming for real success.

If I'm wrong can someone tell me own skill that you'll need to have to play sport betting. When playing sport betting, you're betting against other players and not the house. You bet against the house when you play the normal games that aren't sporty related like dice games or any other games that you can play in the casino that has nothing to do with sport activities. When playing virtual games, you're betting against the house too and not your follow players.

One thing I know for sure..  you’re not playing against the house when you’re into sports betting. Let’s say you’re betting against a player, but that’s not always the case. Sportsbooks now offer a lot of different betting markets, and you can choose one where no one is betting on the other side. They have systems in place to handle that, which might sound complicated, but that’s the nature of the game. They’re good at it, and that’s why only a small percentage of sports bettors succeed. I’d guess maybe only 1% or even fewer.

[Twentyonepaylots]

I know that if you are just working within a small bookmaker or a local one in your place, you are against the Bookmaker, but if it's quite a big audience, you are now against other bettors. The role of the bookmaker there is to adjust the odds and ensure a balance between both sides of a sure bet.

It also depends on the market that you are betting with. I think in polymarket, it's within other players. Based on what I have read, I haven't tried it, but it's a fantastic site.

But now I think most Casinos are doing both, so if you are betting in sports they will find a bettor that nearly place the same bet as you and they will either fill your over/under bet or they will do it on the other side. Basically, we are just against other players and casinos are just filling in some gaps, but if they cannot find anyone, or you are just the only bettor they will just play against you.

I think this is how it goes.

If Drake bets 100K - Casino will find 5 bets with 20K each. If they cannot, then they have to play against Drake.

[Questat]

But now I think most Casinos are doing both, so if you are betting in sports they will find a bettor that nearly place the same bet as you and they will either fill your over/under bet or they will do it on the other side. Basically, we are just against other players and casinos are just filling in some gaps, but if they cannot find anyone, or you are just the only bettor they will just play against you.

It might be hard for us to grasp, but they’ve got a solid betting system in place to handle all that. What you’re mentioning is just a small part of the bigger picture in sports betting. They even use AI to make their operations smoother and more efficient.

You’ll notice there are tons of sportsbooks, but only a few odds providers. In fact, more than 100 or more sportsbooks might rely on the same odds provider. This keeps the odds uniform across platforms, making it easier for them to track bets and adjust odds or markets as needed. That’s why we see line movements, it’s all part of the system.

[Kelward]

I can agree that gamblers in sports do bet against themselves because the bookers are more of middle men in the bet. They set the rules and awards the price to the winners, their own reward is basically the commission that they collect as the middlemen. Although they're not profitable all the time when perhaps there's more wins than loses. From another perspective that is quite unrelated but makes the same sense, the bookmakers can be likened to insurance firms who collect premium from the majority and compensates the unfortunate few. A big difference between them is that insurance gives money to victims while bookmakers gives money to bet winners.

[famososMuertos]

OP: Many people don't know that even when the odds of a favorite team are better, each player's bet is redistributed among those who are betting on that team, which results in you not actually receiving the payment that corresponds to that percentage, sumarry, the payment is supported by the players themselves when a team is a big favorite.

Therefore, the ignorant person who only bets on low odds in the long term ends up losing money, he must bet on odds at a disadvantage, if he is not able to predict to go against the favorite bets, he loses money.