Question about how Vegas odds work?

[clonedude]

I was listening to the Dan Patrick show today and he was saying how Vegas probably cleaned up last night with the total score going "under" instead of "over", and with the Saints winning the game also.

Isn't this totally off base?

I always thought the way it worked was that they set the over/under number, the spread, etc initially as close to where they believe it should be, but then after that, it fluctuates up and down in order to get the exact same amount of dollars bet on each side?

So, in the end, they get nearly the exact same dollar amounts on each side of every bet, and then they skim off their betting fee and that is the profit.

Am I wrong about this? Or is Dan Patrick wrong that Vegas cleans up when a certain team wins or loses?

[khess83]

No expert here but that is always the way I have understood it.

[fccy]

You are correct in how Las Vegas odds work; it is to get equal money on both sides.

However, if there is a bunch of money coming in late on one side of a bet, they can not make the adjustments fast enough (I think).

So, if a bunch of money came in late on the over and a bunch of money came in late on the Colts, they would make a killing.

[clonedude]

You are correct in how Las Vegas odds work; it is to get equal money on both sides.

However, if there is a bunch of money coming in late on one side of a bet, they can not make the adjustments fast enough (I think).

So, if a bunch of money came in late on the over and a bunch of money came in late on the Colts, they would make a killing.

Thanks. That makes sense. So, I'm right, but Dan Patrick could also be correct if a lot of last minute bets were placed on the Colts to cover the spread and on the over as well.

Does anyone know when the last time they make an adjustment to the betting lines? For example, for the the Super Bowl, when is the last adjustment made? 2 hrs before the game? 8 hrs? Two days? What?