Vegas odds redux: The importance of line shopping

A few days ago, Spiral posted some "Vegas lines" to win the Stanley Cup.
On Pinnacle, the following prices are available:

101 Detroit Red Wings +474
102 Pittsburgh Penguins +665
103 Montreal Canadiens +968
104 Anaheim Ducks +1490
105 San Jose Sharks +1256
106 Philadelphia Flyers +1430
107 Ottawa Senators +2074
108 Washington Capitals +1399
109 New Jersey Devils +2441
110 Dallas Stars +1901
111 New York Rangers +1758
112 Calgary Flames +2047
113 Vancouver Canucks +2809
114 Colorado Avalanche +5050
115 Buffalo Sabres +5050
116 Carolina Hurricanes +5050
117 Minnesota Wild +5050
118 Tampa Bay Lightning +1549
119 Edmonton Oilers +5050
120 Nashville Predators +7575
121 Boston Bruins +3901
122 Toronto Maple Leafs +7575
123 Florida Panthers +7575
124 Chicago Blackhawks +3013
125 Phoenix Coyotes +7575
126 New York Islanders +6565
127 St Louis Blues +7575
128 Atlanta Thrashers +8080
129 Colombus Blue Jackets +8080
130 Los Angeles Kings +10202

(To convert into traditional "x to 1" odds, simply take the number that
appears after the plus sign, divide by 100, and subtract one. For
example, the Canucks at +2809 can be considered 27.09:1)

If you compare these prices to the "Vegas" ones, you'll note that in the
majority of cases, you can get way better prices on Pinnacle. Pinnacle
does high volume and they offer great prices -- they are like the
Wal-Mart of online sportsbooks (without the creepy greeters). For some
teams like Colorado, Minny, Toronto, you can get almost twice as good a
price.

Of course, there are some spots (Philly, Ottawa) where Spiral would have
gotten a better deal if he bet in Vegas. But that only emphasizes the
point: a key component of intelligent sports betting is simply shopping
around for the best prices.

So does it also mean that if you bet 100 dollars on any of these teams you
would receive the payback amount shown next to them (your money back being
the minus part of the equation)?

Sorry, I'm slow, I'm an Av fan. Luongo must give the Canuck odds a pretty
decent boost. I better put money down on the Avs before they acquire him.

"TC---" <"[firstname]akqjt"@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:27tob8.ptj.17.1@news.alt.net...
>A few days ago, Spiral posted some "Vegas lines" to win the Stanley Cup. On
>Pinnacle, the following prices are available:
>
> 101 Detroit Red Wings +474
> 102 Pittsburgh Penguins +665
> 103 Montreal Canadiens +968
> 104 Anaheim Ducks +1490
> 105 San Jose Sharks +1256
> 106 Philadelphia Flyers +1430
> 107 Ottawa Senators +2074
> 108 Washington Capitals +1399
> 109 New Jersey Devils +2441
> 110 Dallas Stars +1901
> 111 New York Rangers +1758
> 112 Calgary Flames +2047
> 113 Vancouver Canucks +2809
> 114 Colorado Avalanche +5050
> 115 Buffalo Sabres +5050
> 116 Carolina Hurricanes +5050
> 117 Minnesota Wild +5050
> 118 Tampa Bay Lightning +1549
> 119 Edmonton Oilers +5050
> 120 Nashville Predators +7575
> 121 Boston Bruins +3901
> 122 Toronto Maple Leafs +7575
> 123 Florida Panthers +7575
> 124 Chicago Blackhawks +3013
> 125 Phoenix Coyotes +7575
> 126 New York Islanders +6565
> 127 St Louis Blues +7575
> 128 Atlanta Thrashers +8080
> 129 Colombus Blue Jackets +8080
> 130 Los Angeles Kings +10202
>
> (To convert into traditional "x to 1" odds, simply take the number that
> appears after the plus sign, divide by 100, and subtract one. For
> example, the Canucks at +2809 can be considered 27.09:1)
>
> If you compare these prices to the "Vegas" ones, you'll note that in the
> majority of cases, you can get way better prices on Pinnacle. Pinnacle
> does high volume and they offer great prices -- they are like the Wal-Mart
> of online sportsbooks (without the creepy greeters). For some teams like
> Colorado, Minny, Toronto, you can get almost twice as good a price.
>
> Of course, there are some spots (Philly, Ottawa) where Spiral would have
> gotten a better deal if he bet in Vegas. But that only emphasizes the
> point: a key component of intelligent sports betting is simply shopping
> around for the best prices.