Are Smart Money Moves Really Smart?

By Tom Wilkinson

College football is much more of a “wise guy’s” sports betting venture than pro football, with its massive public following. Expert and professional sports bettors are much more in tune with college football and it’s 117 division 1-A teams that are on the sports betting board most weeks at casino sportsbooks and online sportsbooks. College football offers sports bettors more mismatches, variety, and sports handicapping possibilities against the odds than pro football does which is why so many of the “sharps”, “wise guys”, and professional sports bettors prefer it to pro football when it comes to sports betting against the sports betting line.

One of the best-known sports betting concepts that revolve around college football is the “smart money” theory. The so-called “smart money” will move a sports betting line at a casino sportsbook or sports gambling house significantly from the opening sports betting line that comes out on Sunday evening. There are many sports betting conspiracy theories and colorful stories about the smart money moves such as that they originate from sports betting groups that are in with the mafia and have “inside information.” In other instances, the sports betting theories on smart money moves are more logical, such as the sports betting line / sports betting odds maker simply made a mistake with his work. The bottom line regarding the sports betting legends and stories, both real and imagined, about smart money moves is that they are, indeed, smart and win more often than they lose against the online sportsbooks and sportsbooks. And since there is a legend about smart money moves winning, small time wannabe wise guys in sports betting simply like to follow the so-called sports betting smart money moves and they make their college football picks against the odds based on the sports betting actions of the wise guys and their smart money moves.

A deeper sports betting investigation and research reveals, however, that smart money moves do no better than the general sports bettor that is just another anonymous account at an sports gambling house or sportsbook. In fact, in some cases, it has been more profitable for a sports bettor to go AGAINST the smart money moves with his sports wagers against the sports odds at online sportsbooks or sportsbooks. The sports betting course, however, is to ignore rather than support or oppose “smart money.”