Core betting
Opening line
The first price a sportsbook posts on a market, before it takes meaningful action.
Openers are the book's initial estimate, typically posted with low limits precisely because they are the number most likely to be wrong. Sharp bettors attack them; the book uses that action to correct.
The gap between the opener and the close is where most of the available value lives. Betting early means worse information but softer numbers; betting late means better information but a sharper price. Which trade is right depends on whether your edge comes from a model or from news.
See also
- Closing line — The final price on a market immediately before the event starts.
- Line — The number a sportsbook posts on a market — a spread, a total, or a price.
- Steam — A fast, uniform line move across many sportsbooks at once, driven by heavy informed money.
- Closing line value — Whether the price you got was better than the price the market settled at by game time.