Deadskins:
I hope you read this.
Deadskins wrote:DarthMonk wrote:Deadskins wrote:Of course, but I was also talking about the payout odds (which you posted alongside the teams) in reference to the first post, where the favorites were paying out more than the field, which was even money. I didn't understand that. Get it?
PS. I was also a math major (and computer science too).
It seems very simple to me. Something in the language?
Tigers Woods is the "
favorite" this week among all individuals.
That does not mean he is better than 50-50 to win. It just means he's deemed more likely than any other individual. He is 4-1. If Vegas didn't want to make money they'd pay $400 on a $100 bet if he won. They're probably paying more like $350.
The field (as in anybody but Tiger) is better than even money (naturally). Of course betting Tiger and winning pays more than betting the field and winning.
The field (as in any but Tiger, McIlroy, or Mickelson) is 12/1. I think that's a decent bet.
Any successful worse-than-even-money, eg. 4-1, will pay out more than any successful even-money, eg. 1-1, or better-than-even-money, eg. 1-2, bet.
If this doesn't do it for you then you are asking something different from the way I'm reading it.
I've left out all nuance concerning what books really think. This all assumes they are just trying to balance the betting and are playing it safe. The odds on Tiger will probably get shorter as he draws a lot of action.
DarthMonk
Ay yi yi! Look at the two posts. With respect to the payout odds, in the first post, the field paid even money, while the favorites paid 2 to 1 or better. In the second post, the three favorites paid lower odds than the field, which was now paying 5 to 1. The two sets of odds don't jibe with common sense. If, as you say, the field is more likely by sheer weight of volume, then the payout should be lower for betting the field, as it was in the first post. But then, in the second post, the three favorites pay out less than the field. You can't have it both ways. And I don't think you would even be betting "the field." You would have to name a specific team, which was part of the field, to win. So that makes the volume argument moot on its face.
Besides, your analogy of Tiger Woods doesn't hold up, because there are multiple players in this game, and they are weighted differently depending on the information available at the time. It would be like saying, after they've played two rounds, and Tiger has a one stroke lead over Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, and the rest of the field was five more strokes off the pace, that someone not mentioned would win the tournament. I mean really, what were the odds that the Colts were going to land Peyton? Or the Steelers, or the Packers, or the Saints, or the Giants, etc? How many teams were realistically even in the hunt?
It would have been nice to put $100 on Denver in the second post, though.

OK. My analogy does hold up but I think I see what you are saying now.
The analogy: It holds up. It just depends how "the field" is defined. There is a group of one (or more) golfers (or teams). All the others constitute the field. Everything else follows. BTW - I'm not a Tiger fan but there was actually a brief span of time where he was a better bet than the field (anyone but him). That is truly amazing. Usually, taking any guy against the field is a total sucker bet. Over his career it has been and will continue to be a sucker bet. But for a year or so ...
Now for the specific contradiction between 2 posts and the corresponding odds:
Odds I just saw from Vegas:
New York Jets +200 2/1 bet $100 to win $200
Miami Dolphins +300 3/1 bet $100 to win $300
Washington Redskins +400 4/1 bet $100 to win $400
Seattle Seahawks +500 5/1 bet $100 to win $500
Arizona Cardinals +600 6/1 bet $100 to win $600
Baltimore Ravens +700 7/1 bet $100 to win $700
Houston Texans +900 9/1 bet $100 to win $900
San Francisco 49ers +1000 10/1 bet $100 to win $1000
Field (any team not listed) +100 1/1 bet $100 to win $100
Converting all these to percentages shows the percent chance of Manning landing with a team from the group list is over 100% (about 140%). This clearly doesn't make sense until you realize Vegas does not want to give the longer odds - especially so early in the process. So even though Manning may have only really had a 10% chance of going to the Jets, Vegas was not going to give 9-1. They gave much shorter odds. The field is worse than even money too but again, Vegas is not giving odds early. Betting the field (or any team) is a "bad bet" if Vegas did a good job.
DarthMonk wrote:Deadskins wrote:DarthMonk wrote:
Where will Manning go?
Odds I just saw from Vegas:
New York Jets +200 2/1 bet $100 to win $200
Miami Dolphins +300 3/1 bet $100 to win $300
Washington Redskins +400 4/1 bet $100 to win $400
Seattle Seahawks +500 5/1 bet $100 to win $500
Arizona Cardinals +600 6/1 bet $100 to win $600
Baltimore Ravens +700 7/1 bet $100 to win $700
Houston Texans +900 9/1 bet $100 to win $900
San Francisco 49ers +1000 10/1 bet $100 to win $1000
Field (any team not listed) +100 1/1 bet $100 to win $100
The even money favorite is The Field which includes the Colts. I wonder about the Cowboys.
Why would the field be even money, but they are giving odds on what have to be the favorites?
Baisc math. Even in his prime Tiger was (of course) the favorite ... but not even money or better. Someone from the field is much more likely to win than the single best golfer in the world.
DarthMonk
I hope you see why this first objection to this lone post is senseless. There is clearly more chance of landing with a team outside the list than there is in landing
with any single team on the list. You must understand this if you got a Math/CS degree.
Now the other "contradictory" post. Realize I just searched the Internet then did a cut and paste. Also, this was at a much later time.
DarthMonk wrote:Latest odds:
Cardinals: 19% ($100 wins $250)
Dolphins: 16.5% ($100 wins $300)
Redskins: 13% ($100 wins $400)
Jets: 9.5% ($100 wins $600)
Chiefs: 7.5% ($100 wins $800)
Retire: 6% ($100 wins $1,000)
Seahawks: 6% ($100 wins $1,000)
Texans: 4% ($100 wins $1,500)
49ers: 3% ($100 wins $2,000)
Broncos: 3% ($100 wins $2,000)
Titans: 1.5% ($100 wins $4,000)
Team Not Listed: 11% ($100 wins $500)
Changes since opening odds . . .
$100 on retiring started off paying only $250, now paying $1,000.
$100 on Cardinals started off paying $2,500, now pays only $250.
$100 on Chiefs started off paying $5,000, now pays only $800.
I still like the Jets and the Chiefs. Jets might qualify as "one QB away," they have a good D, they have a good running game, they have pretty good WRs, and their OC is Manning's old OC.
DarthMonk
Notice how all payout odds are worse than the odds from the percentages. The first team, Cards, is 19% which is about 1 in 5 or 4 to 1. They should pay over $400 on a $100 bet but Vegas is only paying $250. This is true on all the other teams as well.
The percentages for the teams listed add up to 89% giving the field and 11% chance. That's about 1 in 10 so the odds should be about 9-1 with a $900 payout. Vegas is always paying out less.
So there is no contradiction. In the first post all the percentages added to over 140% for the teams listed but Vegas was being careful early. They got more precise later. Note that even in the last odds post Vegas is paying out more on the field bet than on any single team listed at greater than 11% - of course.
PS - Bets on "the field" are on the field - not a specific team or player. It is about volume. Every now and then one guy (team) has a better chance than a group or even all the others combined.
DarthMonk