Nuke wins the rake race.

Sportsbook Vocabulary

If you've been a poker player or blackjack player for a while and are just starting to study sports betting as another wagering option, you are probably coming across some new terms that you are not to sure about.  Among them might be Hold, Theoretical Hold, Handle, Overround and Zero-vig Probability.  Don't be intimidated by these terms, they are probably already known to you by other names.

Hold is simply a fancy sportsbook word for profit.  If a sportsbook makes 5.6% profit on a particular betting line, then they will say that that their hold on that line was 5.6%. 

Theoretical Hold is a sportsbooks way of expressing house advantage. 

It Is In Spread Betting

If you're going to handicap sports in order to beat the book on spread bets, your realistic long term goal would be to pick 55% winners.  If you could do that, you should retire from whatever else you might do, and focus on sports betting full time, because you would eventually become very wealthy.  Picking 55% winners is an elite skill.

But even with 55% winners, you're going to have some long losing streaks that will test your emotional control and discipline.  This actually becomes doubly difficult given that  even if you're picking 55% winners, on most nights you're going to bed a net loser.  If you don't believe me, then just keep reading.