probably many different factors...
one may be someone who can successfully predict more often than not which way the line will move & bet accordingly....i/e NE/TENN under 38 when it opened....opportunity to buy back @ over 33.5 by game time...Long term weather forecasts? This may be one factor of what would constitute a sharp....
others might be....
people who look for exceptional opportiunities betting against inflated public facorite lines...
perhaps this is just the definition of smart gamblers, however I guess that is also the definition of sharps...
sharps probably also have what 94.54% of gamblers do not have...solid money management & discipline...I am ashamed to say that after 10 years in this business I am still no where near mastering these two skills.
one may be someone who can successfully predict more often than not which way the line will move & bet accordingly....i/e NE/TENN under 38 when it opened....opportunity to buy back @ over 33.5 by game time...Long term weather forecasts? This may be one factor of what would constitute a sharp....
others might be....
people who look for exceptional opportiunities betting against inflated public facorite lines...
perhaps this is just the definition of smart gamblers, however I guess that is also the definition of sharps...
sharps probably also have what 94.54% of gamblers do not have...solid money management & discipline...I am ashamed to say that after 10 years in this business I am still no where near mastering these two skills.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by IDENTITY:
do they have inside info? just exceptional cappers? what? i dont believe in the concept myself...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree ID...I feel as confident in NFL Football as anyone and I have No Inside Information, etc.
do they have inside info? just exceptional cappers? what? i dont believe in the concept myself...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree ID...I feel as confident in NFL Football as anyone and I have No Inside Information, etc.
Well, before my computer locked up and crashed, I was writing a long reply, but now I'll just give short testimony.
Sharps according to LV sportsbooks encompasses a much wider definition than does an NYC/Wiseguy office or Offshore, as they label any winner such.
Sharps can't be given a short easy stereotype, as they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
The majority of them that I've known, were mostly born into a family of wiseguys, sharps, or at least connected semi-pro gamblers/books/movers/clerks/beards.
Most due to the aforementioned, have a 10 to 20 year gambling knowledge learning curve edge over the average bettor, even by the age of 25 to 30. It's about the average age where they can stand on their own from yr to yr, without losing their roll constantly, because let's face it, even most wiseguys go out from time to time.
Most sharps aren't even great cappers, most are just more disciplined and sophisticated than the average bettor in "being in the know" or being one of the "followers", which afford them to not have to cover as much ground, as even the syndicates use different cappers for different sports, leagues, and conferences.
This group usually is BMs, Clerks, Runners, Cappers, Beards, Gamblers, Semi-pros w/good connections, wiseguys connected to outfits with strong tentacles, and intelligent businessmen-
players that have made friends/contacts and have bankrolls as a ticket to the party.
Elite Sharps have the kind of outs that don't advertise in the phonebook, yet take more on a single event than LV would dare(why pay an army of runners in LV, when NYC,Offshores, and some towns in the US that would surprise most, have stores that can fill an order in one call?).
The Elite of the Elite may eventually become a "Bookmaker's Bookmaker", and get phone call offerings throughout the day on games at +110 for six-figures-plus.
I've barely scratched the surface, but there is just no simple answer as to what a sharp is, but as stated by others above, most importantly, a sharp if truely defined by personal success(and not just a BM's labeling as such), he/she(yes, there are even a few women sharps, movers, BMs) is strong in money management, discipline, shopping options(that the masses don't have), ability to cap on one's own(if have to), being "in the know"(which eventually allows many to quit capping & still win), and most importantly discernment when to ease off(most really good sportbettors win 55% to 57 % or better of their best plays, they just dilute the winnings into losing with ACTION)..the best sharps know when to just PASS.
P.S. The proliferation of gambling & tv , the internet, plus the abundance of capping resources out there today have made for a much more formidable semi-pro and recreational sports-bettor, I'm telling you guys that here at TheRX and places like Madjacks, etc..are cappers on par with many that make the decisions that move the majority of the moves on the DB screen..just minus the R.I.C.O. elements!
[This message was edited by Horseshoe on January 11, 2004 at 02:58 AM.]
Sharps according to LV sportsbooks encompasses a much wider definition than does an NYC/Wiseguy office or Offshore, as they label any winner such.
Sharps can't be given a short easy stereotype, as they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
The majority of them that I've known, were mostly born into a family of wiseguys, sharps, or at least connected semi-pro gamblers/books/movers/clerks/beards.
Most due to the aforementioned, have a 10 to 20 year gambling knowledge learning curve edge over the average bettor, even by the age of 25 to 30. It's about the average age where they can stand on their own from yr to yr, without losing their roll constantly, because let's face it, even most wiseguys go out from time to time.
Most sharps aren't even great cappers, most are just more disciplined and sophisticated than the average bettor in "being in the know" or being one of the "followers", which afford them to not have to cover as much ground, as even the syndicates use different cappers for different sports, leagues, and conferences.
This group usually is BMs, Clerks, Runners, Cappers, Beards, Gamblers, Semi-pros w/good connections, wiseguys connected to outfits with strong tentacles, and intelligent businessmen-
players that have made friends/contacts and have bankrolls as a ticket to the party.
Elite Sharps have the kind of outs that don't advertise in the phonebook, yet take more on a single event than LV would dare(why pay an army of runners in LV, when NYC,Offshores, and some towns in the US that would surprise most, have stores that can fill an order in one call?).
The Elite of the Elite may eventually become a "Bookmaker's Bookmaker", and get phone call offerings throughout the day on games at +110 for six-figures-plus.
I've barely scratched the surface, but there is just no simple answer as to what a sharp is, but as stated by others above, most importantly, a sharp if truely defined by personal success(and not just a BM's labeling as such), he/she(yes, there are even a few women sharps, movers, BMs) is strong in money management, discipline, shopping options(that the masses don't have), ability to cap on one's own(if have to), being "in the know"(which eventually allows many to quit capping & still win), and most importantly discernment when to ease off(most really good sportbettors win 55% to 57 % or better of their best plays, they just dilute the winnings into losing with ACTION)..the best sharps know when to just PASS.
P.S. The proliferation of gambling & tv , the internet, plus the abundance of capping resources out there today have made for a much more formidable semi-pro and recreational sports-bettor, I'm telling you guys that here at TheRX and places like Madjacks, etc..are cappers on par with many that make the decisions that move the majority of the moves on the DB screen..just minus the R.I.C.O. elements!
[This message was edited by Horseshoe on January 11, 2004 at 02:58 AM.]
A sharp knows how much a line is worth and places his bets accordingly...e.g. they will take +3.5 -120 when everyone else is at +3 -110
A sharp never takes a game unless they can get the best line...e.g. they will not take the lakers -5 if they could have gotten -4
A sharp does not bet on a game just because it is on TV,,,and a sahrp does not bet more on the NCAA championship or on the superbowl because it is "just another game"
A sharp knows how to play his bankroll, and how to use the slight advantage that he has to make money,,,
A sharp never takes a game unless they can get the best line...e.g. they will not take the lakers -5 if they could have gotten -4
A sharp does not bet on a game just because it is on TV,,,and a sahrp does not bet more on the NCAA championship or on the superbowl because it is "just another game"
A sharp knows how to play his bankroll, and how to use the slight advantage that he has to make money,,,
P.S. One might consider starting a website devoted to Offshore Gambling, then milking ad dollars, building it's appraised worth, then cashing out while being kept on in an paid-advisor role, all the while partying one's way back-and-forth to tropical locales as an hosted guest..as Super-Sharp.
