{
  "slug": "line-shopping-value-calculator",
  "title": "Line Shopping Value Calculator",
  "heading": "Line Shopping Value Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/line-shopping-value-calculator",
  "summary": "Quantify the annual dollar value of always getting the best price.",
  "description": "Line shopping means checking multiple sportsbooks before placing a bet and taking whichever offers the best price on the side you want, rather than betting wherever is convenient. The difference between an average price and the best available price is usually small on any single bet, often just a few cents of odds, but it compounds significantly across a full season of betting volume. This calculator estimates the annualized dollar value of consistently getting a specified average odds improvement across your typical betting volume, converting a seemingly trivial per-bet edge into a concrete number that makes the case for maintaining accounts at multiple books. Getting -105 instead of -110 on every bet doesn't feel like much bet to bet, but across hundreds of wagers a year it functions like a permanent improvement to your win-rate requirement, lowering the bar you need to clear to be profitable overall.",
  "formula": "Value per bet = avg stake × (decimal odds at best price − decimal odds at typical price) × assumed win rate. Annual value = value per bet × bets per year.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=line-shopping-value-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "avgStake",
      "label": "Average stake per bet",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 50,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "typicalOdds",
      "label": "Typical odds you'd get at one book (American)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": -110,
      "unit": null,
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "bestOdds",
      "label": "Best odds after shopping (American)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": -105,
      "unit": null,
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "winRate",
      "label": "Your assumed win rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 53,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 99
    },
    {
      "id": "betsPerYear",
      "label": "Bets placed per year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 300,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "annualValue",
      "label": "Estimated annual value of line shopping",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "valuePerBet",
      "label": "Value per bet",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "oddsImprovement",
      "label": "Decimal odds improvement (×100)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Average stake per bet: 50 $",
      "Typical odds you'd get at one book (American): -110",
      "Best odds after shopping (American): -105",
      "Your assumed win rate: 53 %",
      "Bets placed per year: 300"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Estimated annual value of line shopping: $344",
      "Value per bet: $1.15",
      "Decimal odds improvement (×100): 4.33"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter average stake per bet ($).",
      "Enter typical odds you'd get at one book (american).",
      "Enter best odds after shopping (american).",
      "Enter your assumed win rate (%).",
      "Enter bets placed per year.",
      "Read your estimated annual value of line shopping on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "avgStake": 30,
        "typicalOdds": -65,
        "bestOdds": -65,
        "winRate": 32,
        "betsPerYear": 180
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "avgStake": 50,
        "typicalOdds": -110,
        "bestOdds": -105,
        "winRate": 53,
        "betsPerYear": 300
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "avgStake": 80,
        "typicalOdds": -175,
        "bestOdds": -170,
        "winRate": 85,
        "betsPerYear": 480
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Is a 5-cent odds difference (-110 vs -105) really worth tracking accounts at multiple books?",
      "a": "Yes, especially at real volume. A bettor placing 300 bets a year at $50 average stake with a 53% win rate gains real, non-trivial money over a season just from that single 5-cent improvement, since it applies to every single wager rather than being a one-time saving."
    },
    {
      "q": "How many sportsbooks do serious bettors typically use?",
      "a": "Many volume bettors maintain accounts at 4-8+ books specifically to shop lines, since different books adjust their numbers independently based on their own liability and customer base, meaning the best price on any given bet can come from a different book each time."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does line shopping matter more for favorites or underdogs?",
      "a": "The dollar impact scales with stake size and bet frequency more than favorite/underdog status, but odds differences tend to be proportionally larger on underdogs (a 10-point swing on a +200 dog is more implied-probability impact than 10 points on a -110 line), so shopping matters across your entire bet mix, not just one bet type."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/arbitrage-stake-split",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/closing-line-value-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/no-vig-fair-odds"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Line Shopping Value Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/line-shopping-value-calculator)"
}