Should you use a sharp or soft bookmaker?

Needless to say, the art of betting relies principally on the ability to anticipate the result of a sporting event. Yet this is not the full story. Successful bettors also need to master and take advantage of the betting platforms they use. This is where the choice of your bookmaker matters. While many criteria matter, we will focus here on the aspect of odds fixation, and on the difference between bookmakers that are considered as sharp, and the ones labeled as soft.

Sharp bookmakers

Sharp bookmakers tend to calculate very realistic odds. They use reliable statistical and mathematical models to do so. They frequently and almost immediately update the odds in function of pre-match circumstances such as injuries. Generally, they offer more competitive odds compared to soft bookmakers. Typically the odds will be a few digits higher than what you will find elsewhere. One disadvantage is that it's hard to find real value bets with sharp bookmakers, given that their odds reflect precisely each team or player's chances.

Soft bookmakers

Soft bookmakers, on the other hand, tend to present less accurate odds and do not update them very fast. The reason behind, is that they can take advantage of certain market trends in market biases that impact the odds.  These bookmakers generally engage the mainstream consumer segment, where many bettors bet for fun and for their favorite team. Soft bookmakers do not mind keeping certain odds unrealistic if that motivates a larger number of bettors to place a bet, in the idea of generating a maximum turnover.

The advantage for more professional bettors is that they can benefit from more frequent value bets and odds opportunities. Yet, focusing on such platforms has the disadvantage of having to work with odds that are on average slightly lower.

How to combine sharp and soft bookmakers?

If you're really serious about making money with betting, then you should consider using both types of bookmakers to your advantage. The fact they sometimes provide very different odds creates betting arbitrage opportunities . In general, you can focus on sharp bookmakers to get the best prices on odds, and keep an eye on the soft ones to take an easy advantage from the miscalculated odds they leave out sometimes. To help you then, it's very advisable to use a betting brokerage platform. You'll be able to quickly overview all available odds for your betting markets, and place your bets with a maximum potential return.