Gambling 101: What is Sharp Betting?

Roy Larking | Feb 25, 2025

Gambling 101: What are Sharp and Square Bettors? /

Sports bettors are usually split into two categories. Often feared by bookmakers, sharp bettors make up the select few who gamble on sports to earn a living. As the vast majority, and favored by sportsbooks, bettors are labeled as squares due to a variety of reasons. Generally speaking, professional bettors tend to cash in on upwards of 55% of their wagers. The percentage dips for recreational players, or "squares," as they normally win approximately 48% of their total bets.

What is Sharp Betting

Sharp betting is all about finding advantageous betting markets or odds that give the bettor an edge on the book. This takes in-depth research and years of experience to master. Sharp betting requires combing through all of the betting markets sportsbooks offer and pinpointing a spot where you think the sportsbooks have overvalued or undervalued a team or player and betting on that market before the sportsbook adjusts the market or odds.

Who Are Sharp Bettors

Also referred to as “wise guys,” sharp bettors are methodical players who live and breathe sports betting. Sharps wager large amounts but do so via smaller bets at a variety of sportsbooks. In order to fly under the radar, and not draw attention from bookmakers, sharps may have a crew of money runners (beards) who place their wagers. Sharps are proactive and use sophisticated algorithms to forecast betting odds on a variety of contests before sportsbooks post their prices.

Pros tend to bet on opening odds and that action may cause bookmakers to adjust the lines after the initial wagering wave. If a -3.5 NFL point spread favorite is heavily bet, linemakers may move the odds to -4 to create action on the underdog side. Sharps are also known to bet big on one side, in order to move a line, so they can place an even larger wager on the other side. To gain maximum odds value, pro bettors have multiple accounts at several sportsbooks.

Through their years of networking, sharp bettors, like the sportsbooks, also use inside information to inform their bets. So if a starting quarterback is questionable for a game but a sharp knows they are going to play, they can use that information to get a favorable line.

Sharp Betting Example

As mentioned above, sharp bettors are quick to act when betting markets are made and they see an opportunity.

In the 2025 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles, for example, the Eagles were initially set as +2.5 point underdogs. That line moved down to a pick 'em (meaning no team was favored) by kickoff because sharps were betting on the Eagles and the sportsbooks wanted to entice public bettors to back the Chiefs.

How Are Square Bettors Defined?

Also referred to as “the public,” squares are casual players who largely place impulse bets without following a proper research protocol. Recreational players often wager on teams they follow regularly with little regard for the opponent. Super Bowl 54 offers an example as Northern Nevada sportsbooks took in a ton of San Francisco money from 49ers fans in neighboring Northern California. Going with heart over head is rarely a wise wagering choice.

Squares will often overlook key factors, like current form, injuries and scoring statistics while placing spur-of-the-moment bets. Taking points with underdogs, plus betting OVER on game totals, are common tendencies of recreational bettors. While a majority of public players are not big spenders, squares aren’t fully defined by the size of their wagers. There are lots of “famous” people who are square players and wager huge sums of money on big events like the Super Bowl.

Square bettors also tend to make more parlay bets, where they combine bets to increase the odds of their payout. These are "sucker" bets, as the house wins most of the time.

Sharp Bettors vs Square Bettors

As mentioned above, sharp bettors are more disciplined, do in-depth research, have insider information, and are meticulous with their bankroll and profits and losses. They win more times than they lose, but they never take winning for granted.

Square bettors tend to follow their gut or heart with bets. There's less research involved, less thought for how much their winning and losing long term, and more focus on the excitement gambling can create and the possibility of a big payday. These are your friends at the bar firing off bets because it's fun, and not the people in the backroom using algorithms and analysis to pinpoint a smart opportunity.

Can Recreational Players Follow Pro Bettors?

Following sharp bettors is not an easy task as their plays are often undetectable. However, recreational bettors are able to follow sharp betting line moves at sportsbooks that accept pro players. The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas welcomes sharp bettors. To rise above the average square crowd - rec players need to follow a solid research path and practice proper bankroll management. Both are key to long-term betting success.

Tips for Becoming a Sharp Bettor

Track your bankroll, don't make spur-of-the-moment bets, let research guide your betting decisions and not emotions, look for opportunities based on that research and stay away from parlays.

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