Okay, so I’ve been messing around with college football betting, and one thing that kept popping up was “public betting percentages.” I was like, “What the heck is that?” So, I started digging.
First, I googled it. I mean, where else do you start, right? Found a bunch of websites that track this stuff. Basically, it shows you what percentage of the bets are on each side of a game – like, how many people are betting on Alabama versus how many are betting on Auburn, you know?
So I signed up for a couple of these free sites(I wanted to see with my own eyes, so I don’t wanna pay for any of these). Most of them have these big, colorful charts and graphs. It’s pretty straightforward. You see a game listed, and then it shows, like, “65% on Alabama -7.5.” That means 65% of the bets are on Alabama to win by more than 7.5 points.
I spent a few hours just clicking around, looking at different games. What I noticed, big-name teams, like Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, they always have high public betting percentages. It makes sense, everyone loves a winner.
Then I got to thinking, how can I actually use this info? One idea I had was to look for games where the public is heavily on one side, but the point spread is moving in the opposite direction. Like, if 80% of the bets are on Alabama, but the line moves from -7.5 to -6.5, that could mean some sharp money is coming in on Auburn.
To test this out, I started tracking a few games.I didn’t make my own bet,I am just tracking.
I made a simple spreadsheet. Columns for the teams, the opening line, the current line, and the public betting percentages. I updated it every few hours, just to see how things were changing.
- Team A vs. Team B
- Opening line
- Current line
- Public Betting percent
It was kind of tedious, honestly. But I started to see some patterns. Sometimes, the line would move with the public, which usually meant the sportsbooks were just trying to balance the action. But other times, the line would move against the public, and those were the games I really wanted to pay attention to.
I’m still figuring this all out. It’s definitely not a “get rich quick” scheme. But I think these public betting percentages, when used with other information, could be a helpful * is all about tracking and see what is working.
It’s all about finding those little edges, right?
