Soft and Sharp Sportsbooks list, roles, pros, cons

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Whether you are a beginner or a skilled bettor sharp betting sites are important tools to increase your overall profitability.

Sharp bookmakers are known as a type of betting operator that has fast-moving odds that are defined with a high accuracy.

Sharp betting sites use sophisticated algorithms, experienced traders, and mathematical models to calculate the true probability of sports outcomes.

What is the definition of a sharp bookmaker?

A sharp bookmaker is a betting operator that has specific characteristics such as reduced house edge, fast-moving/adjusting odds, and odds close to the true statistical probability of the outcome.

These betting sites have different roles, advantages, and downsides to traditional sportsbooks. 

Betting platforms with sharp odds follow the business model of offering high maximum stakes and high odds due to lower profit margins.

This approach attracts smart bettors with strategies focused on odds dropping and discrepancies between betting sites.

List of sharp bookmakers

Here is a list of the most recommended and famous sharp bookmakers:

• Pinnacle
• BetISN
• 18Bet
• SBOBet
• 12Bet
• BookamkerEU
• Dafabet
• AsianConnect88 (betting agent)
• BetInAsia (most recommended betting agent)
• Exchanges like Betfair

What are the roles of sharp bookmakers in smart betting?

Sharp bookmakers have an important role in smart betting strategies based on mathematics. 

The main reasons why bettors use these sportsbooks are:

Having access to high maximum stakes is an important reason why many players use sharp betting sites in their daily betting activity.

Sharp bookies tend to offer fairly increased maximum stakes on major events, compared even to popular traditional sportsbooks.

Not getting your stakes limited while placing bets on smaller events is an important role and aspect of sharp bookmakers.

Smart bettors tend to use a wide range of markets and sports for their betting strategy.

Sharp bookies offer a piece of mind because bettors can rely on being able to cover/hedge their initial bet even with higher stakes.

Using them for hedging a bet placed at a soft bookmaker is the main role of sharp bookmakers for most smart bettors.

These platforms are the cornerstones of wagering strategies such as arbitrage, matched, and value betting. 

What are the characteristics of sharp betting sites?

• Even high-roller players don’t get their maximum stakes limited
• The house edge is lower than at traditional sportsbooks
• The odds are moving/adjusting fast both on pre-match and live events
• Odds are adjusted based on many factors including player stakes volume and industry news
• The odds between sharp bookies are very close to each other

Advantages of sharp betting sites

• Bettors can place bets with high stakes
• The odds are significantly higher compared to traditional bookies
• Each betting line and odds are adjusted quickly after sudden changes at sports events
• Betting on smaller markets won’t raise red flags
• You do not need to round your stakes
• Odds and lines are the closest to the statistical probability and can be used for odds comparison for value betting
• Most sharp bookmakers have a high level of trustworthiness

Downsides of sharp sportsbooks

• They have limited coverage of sports events and markets
• Bettors from many countries are not accepted
• Beating sharp bookmakers and remaining profitable is very hard
• Finding overpriced markets is challenging
• Betting syndicates can target sharp bookies to move betting lines

Can you win at sharp betting sites?

Only a very small group of bettors are capable of winning at sharp betting sites in the long run. The majority of odds and markets at these platforms are changed/adjusted quickly after relevant new information.

Arbitrage bettors can often experience a growing betting balance at sharp bookmakers. However, after an extended period, a large part of bettors will lose their funds at sharp bookies.

These platforms are capable of calculating the true probability of an outcome in the most accurate way. For this reason, winning at sharp betting sites is a short-term phenomenon caused by variance. 

Based on statistical probability and the rule of big numbers, at sharp bookies, you will always lose in the long run.

How to sign up at Sharp Sportsbooks?

Many bettors can’t sign up for Sharp Sportbooks because they are from one of the restricted countries. 

An excellent solution to sign up to sharp bookmakers is by using the services of a sports betting agent. These platforms allow players to bet on odds from many sharp betting sites, exchanges, and Asian bookies in a single interface.

You can sign up with betting agents and get access to sharp odds from many countries, even from the ones blocked by the sharp bookies.

What is the definition of soft bookmakers?

A soft bookmaker is a betting operator that focuses on attracting casual, regular players and offers odds that are often inaccurate.

Soft betting sites are incapable of fast odds adjusting in every situation and also have a high profit margin. This higher house edge causes less competitive, lower odds. 

For this reason, soft bookmakers tend to focus on offering a wider range of markets, sports coverage, live streams, and bonuses to gain the attention of traditional bettors.

What are some examples of soft bookmakers?

Soft bookmakers are the ones you see in ads, have betting shops, and are the sponsors of sports teams.

Because of this heavy marketing, these bookies do not focus on having sharp odds and a low house edge. 

Examples of popular soft betting sites are Bet365, BetMGM, Fanduel, WilliamHill, 888Sport, Unibet, PaddyPower, Ceasars, and hundreds more similar.

What are the roles of soft bookmakers in smart betting?

The main role of soft bookmakers in smart betting is to find overpriced odds, price, and line discrepancies compared to other sportsbooks.

Odds discrepancies between sportsbooks are caused by soft betting sites in the majority of cases. These types of operators can’t adjust the odds quickly enough which is causing sure betting opportunities.

Smart bettors who are focusing on arbitrage betting use soft bookmakers as an essential part of their strategy.

Getting access to great bonus offers is an important role of soft betting sites for many players who are focusing on the wagering strategy called matched betting.

These offers combined with odds discrepancies open the opportunity of making guaranteed profits from betting without risks.

What are the characteristics of soft bookmakers?

• The odds are adjusting/moving slowly and inaccurately in many cases
• They target casual players without mathematical betting strategies
• Soft bookies tend to copy the odds and lines from sharp bookies
• They offer many bonuses to keep players returning and staying active
• Winning players are limited after a certain level

Advantages of soft betting sites

• Soft bookmakers make many mistakes, offer wrong odds, lines
• You can have access to many bonus offers
• The odds are adjusting slowly
• You can find many odds discrepancies between soft betting sites
• The number of soft bookies available is fairly high in countries with legalized gambling
• It is easy to beat soft bookies and win in the long run
• You can generate significant profits
• Licensed soft bookies have already built their reputation
• You can have access to live stream for many sports events

The main downsides of soft bookmakers

• Winning players get their maximum stakes limited fairly fast
• You need to face a strict KYC process at most soft bookies
• Smart betting activities are algorithmically monitored and can be caught even after a few bets placed
• The odds are fairly low due to high profit margins
• The maximum stakes are fairly low at smaller events/markets

Can you win at soft betting sites?

Yes, you can definitely win and be profitable at soft betting sites. Many betting systems based on mathematics focus entirely on mistakes by these operators.

Due to odds discrepancies between soft bookies, and wrong odds, bonus offers being profitable at soft bookies became fairly easy.

Many services such as the so-called arbitrage bet finders, odds matching tools, and value bet opportunity finder sites display these betting opportunities from soft bookies.

What are the differences between sharp and soft bookmakers?

A main difference between sharp and soft bookmakers is focused on their policy towards winning players. Soft betting sites limit/ban winning players as soon as they spot similar activities.

Sharp bookies on the other hand welcome smart players and use their betting behaviour to adjust odds faster in a more accurate way.

Another difference between sharp and soft bookmakers is the available bonus offers. The majority of sharp bookies do not offer bonuses.

Their competitors with soft odds attract new players through different marketing tactics including offering a wide variety of bonuses.

The accuracy of the odds offered is a major difference between soft and sharp betting platforms. Soft bookies tend to have a high house edge with less accurate odds. They also tend to react slower to changes in sports events.

Sharp bookies on the other hand use many ways to define the true probability of an outcome. This results in more accurate odds, lower house edge, and fast-changing/adjusting odds.

Sharp or Soft betting sites – which is better?

For a smart bettor, both sharp and soft betting sites are essential for their daily wagering activity. Each of them has their specific role. 

In the case of a smart bettor with a proven strategy such as arbitrage betting, a soft bookie generates profitable betting opportunities. Sharp bookies are better for hedging a bet on higher odds and stakes.

For casual bettors without a mathematical betting strategy, soft bookmakers are significantly better in the long run.

While sharp bookies might seem a better choice because of their higher odds, regular bettors are not capable of beating them in the long run.

FAQ