When you become serious about making a profit in sports betting, there are numerous factors you should be aware of. Solid handicapping and research are a given, as is a fundamental grasp of discipline and bankroll management.

Most bettors are aware of the pitfalls of poor bankroll management; that is, they know that betting a high portion of their bankroll on one particular game, or chasing losses with larger bets on the next game isn’t a prudent thing to do.

Even as such, there are lots of sports bettors, even individuals that might qualify as advanced in the majority of areas of skill, who take for granted the importance of the “juice,” or vigorish, in the sports betting business.

The juice is the fee the sports book charges that essentially puts the odds in their favor against the gamblers. The conventional fee is 10 percent or -110; basically, you will need to bet $110 in order to win $100. If you win, the fee is returned together with the original wager as well as the sum of the win for an overall total of $210.

So what’s the problem, you ask? Most novice bettors, after they become acquainted with this concept, tend to not give it much serious thought. They figure since they intend on winning anyway, what is the big deal about the fee they have to pay up front should they intend on getting it back?

The fact is, the juice makes a lot bigger difference over the long haul than you might expect. Within the short run, the juice serves as a sort of insurance policy for the sports books that ensures them a profit whatever the outcome of each game.

Imagine, by way of example, that you walk up to the counter and place a $110 bet to win $100 on Team A. The customer behind you in line bets $110 to win $100 on Team B. The sports book has now taken $220 worth of wagers on the game and may only have to pay out $210 irrespective of which team wins, guaranteeing the business a $10 profit.

Many bettors mistakenly believe that this profit margin alone is exactly what keeps sports books in business. This is not entirely true; even though the point spread as well as other odds are set with the hope of drawing “two-way action,” or bets on both teams, the juice is essentially a default position for the sports book.

Put simply, if they receive exactly 50-50 action on each game both in volumes of wagers and amount wagered, the books will gladly accept the 10% profit that comes with this situation.

In contrast, this scenario is far from a common occurrence. More frequently not, the books are unbalanced on each game, meaning they have got more bets on one side than the other. In essence, they’re gambling against the bettors, while they will lose money if they side on which they are heavy wins the game. The sports books stay in business while they win more often than they lose in these situations.

So while the juice only accounts for a portion of the profit for a sports book, it is a significant obstacle that stands between you and long-term success with sports betting.

The reason being beating the point spread on a consistent basis is difficult, and simply breaking even is a losing proposition. As an example, if you bet $110 to win $100 on six different games and went 3-3, you might think you broke even for the day.

Think again. When you placed your bets, you gave the sports book an overall total of $660 and, despite winning half of them, you are now only picking up $630 when you cash your tickets.

Over the long haul, these $30 losses add up and, the greater you bet, the more juice you will pay. This forces you to win at an increased rate than 50% so that you can show a profit.

The break-even point for sports bettors when you aspect in the juice becomes 52.five percent.

Again, the 2.5% edge the home gets from the juice might not seem like much, but let’s compare this to other gambling games.

A blackjack player who uses correct basic strategy on every hand can expect to break even against the home within the long haul. An advanced card counter may expect to achieve a 1-2 percent edge over the home. This seemingly slight edge is enough to get card counters banned from the casino as soon as management catches on to them.

So if you bet 100 games against the point spread, you need to hit 53 of them as a way to just break even. This really is the equivalent of the sports book taking a three-game lead on you before you bet the next 97.

The goal you must shoot for is a minimum of 55 percent, with the hopes of hitting 57 percent or higher over the long haul. With good handicapping and discipline this is possible, but you must always keep the juice aspect in mind.

You need to count the juice as part of your wager and factor it in as a share against your bankroll. For example, if you bet $110 to win $100 as well as your bankroll is $1,000, you are betting 11 percent of it, not ten percent. Because of this, it is necessary to understand your bankroll.

Some sports books, particularly of the great online football variety, might give a weekly special by which the juice is -105 on a particular day or event. This really is something you should take advantage of, as you are receiving a product which is worth $110 for $105.

Also, if sports books are heavy on one side of a game, they might change the juice on each side to generate more action. For instance, if a 4-point favorite is heavily bet, they might charge -120 for the favorite and let you take the underdog for even money. In the event the underdog will be the side you liked to start with, this really is a situation you need to take advantage of.