What are the Main Differences Between EV Betting and Traditional Sports Betting?

It’s important for sports bettors to find methods that increase their ability to stay profitable. Every legally licensed sportsbook offers betting lines that contain vigorish, or vig, which is a slight percentage fee that a sportsbook charges. 

Learning the main differences between EV betting and traditional sports betting is a great way to stay profitable while becoming educated on good betting habits and methods. Let’s find out more about traditional sports betting and EV betting.

What is Traditional Sports Betting?

Traditional sports bettors tend to lean on statistics and metrics instead of considering the expected value of a particular betting line.

No matter the preferred betting market, traditional sports betting tends to overlook the vigorish, or vig, charged on certain betting lines. However, this doesn’t mean that underdogs always hold value. 

Traditional Sports Betting Methods

Traditional sports betting methods include placing wagers on all available retail and online sportsbook betting markets without factoring in the value that certain betting lines offer. Whether it’s betting totals, moneyline odds, point spread, game props, or player props, traditional sports bettors value personal bias, gut feeling, and statistical analysis over expected line value.

Traditional sports betting methods use research on a certain player or sports team to speculate on the result of an event by using available statistics. While this seems like a good strategy, it’s a much different, and often less lucrative approach than EV betting.

What is EV Betting?

EV betting stands for expected value betting. This betting method gives sports bettors a way to gauge the probability between their own expectations compared to the value assigned by oddsmakers at a specific sportsbook.

By utilizing EV betting, an individual can pinpoint value by calculating what oddsmakers have a betting line set to versus what they perceive to be a more realistic outcome. There are several strategic EV sports betting methods to utilize to place a bet with positive expected value, while avoiding negative expected value.

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EV Sports Betting Methods

Among the most popular EV sports betting methods is taking advantage of betting lines early after they’re released by oddsmakers on a sportsbook. In more popular sports betting markets, like the NFL, line movement tends to happen quickly and some of the best prices are only available for a short window following their initial release.

Shopping around for positive EV bets is an integral strategy to avoid losing wagers, as well as dodging vig. For example, if a team is an underdog on the moneyline at plus-odds, but a sports bettor believes they shouldn’t be available at this long of a price, they’ll place a bet on the underdog to win outright. They bet this even if they don’t fully expect the underdog to win, because there is more value on that betting line compared to taking the favorite at a shorter number. 

Positive EV sports betting emphasizes removing emotional bias from placing bets. So if a Boston Red Sox fan places a bet on the Red Sox moneyline at -150 odds, they are paying a big price on a favorite without obtaining much value. A positive EV bettor may see that the underdog is priced too long on the moneyline, and opt to back them at plus odds instead. 

What are the Key Differences Between EV Betting and Traditional Sports Betting?

There is only one primary difference between EV betting and traditional sports bettors. It comes down to assessing line value versus accounting for personal biases and performance-related metrics. 

EV bettors avoid heavy favorites, jump on lines early in the week, and shop around to find the best price on a specific betting line. Traditional sports betting relies on statistical research and personal biases may come into play, while the value of a line is less emphasized.

Pros and Cons of Each Betting Strategy

Each of these betting strategies has pros and cons associated with it. A pro for traditional sports betting is backing up a pick with research on a player or team. A con of traditional sports betting is overpaying and failing to acquire enough value on a betting line. 

EV betting cons include ignoring statistics completely and playing contrarian by backing underdogs at too much volume. It’s often a mistake to ignore certain betting metrics and trends, as this can help identify a winning wager. 

Pros with EV betting, particularly positive EV betting, are gaining value on a betting line by backing the less popular pick, while also avoiding heavy favorites, home favorites, and removing personal biases.