Overall, the majority of sports bettors fall into two categories: sharp or square bettors. Most bettors are squares, and only a few are good enough to become sharps – but, what exactly is a sharp in betting?
To find out more, let’s look at how sharp bettors operate in the world of sports betting, and list some handy tips and examples on how to place wagers like a sharp bettor.
What is a Sharp Bettor?
In a nutshell, a sharp bettor is an experienced and professional bettor with a high success rate. Similarly, sharp sports betting entails a professional approach to betting with profitable results, unlike those who simply bet recreationally for fun.
Several other characteristics also define sharp bettors. Most notably, they are skilled and spend hours doing research into betting markets and analyzing the data to make informed betting decisions. They also use diverse sports betting strategies to maximize their winning probabilities. Moreover, they avoid betting with their gut or emotions, eliminating all biases.
Sharp action bettors are also very selective. They mostly focus only on value bets. To this end, they only make bets on events that they are sure of and avoid betting on events with uncertain outcomes. Interestingly, sharps usually bet against the general public sentiment more often than not.
They also tend to stake huge amounts of money via bigger bets because of their confidence, enabling them to make big profits. Interestingly, sharp bettors can form groups of betting syndicates to maximize their betting opportunities and winning probabilities. One of the most famous sharps is Billy Walters, who has won millions of dollars betting on sports.
Interestingly, sportsbooks often notice sharp bettors because their success and betting accuracy make them stand out. Moreover, some bookies know how to identify sharp bettors, and even move their lines based on insights from the sharp money movements. Now we’ve answered the question: what is a sharp in betting?, let’s look at the exact opposite – what is a square in betting?
What is a Square Bettor?
A square bettor defines most of the sports bettors today. They usually bet recreationally for fun and profits. They also don’t bet full-time, but rather only when they can create some free time outside their main jobs and personal lives.
Sports betting has seen a huge increase in the last few years with the global sports betting market expected to be valued at $155.49 billion by 2024. Such a rise has presented plenty of opportunities for sharp bettors, but the vast majority of bettors remain recreational square bettors.
Most notably, squares are not as skilled as sharps, and some even let emotions influence their betting decisions. For example, some square bettors place over/under bets because they hope to see their favorite teams score more points. Unsurprisingly, their lack of skills reflects their success rate, which ranges around 50% of their bets (and many post even higher losing rates).