Betting Systems - Home Team

Definition

The ‘home team’ is literally, the team playing at home.

Is homefield advantage real?

The answer to this question is manifold, but in short, there is a general homefield advantage in every sport. Psychologically, players at home enjoy the benefit of the homecrowd cheering for them. Players at home also literally enjoy ‘homecooking’—they can be with their family and friends and be more rested and relax as compared to their competition. Albeit that this angle works both ways (since the home town team can sometimes have a let down and not be as focused as their opponent), in more situations than not, the home team usually has a greater advantage in sporting events.

Underdog home teams

Teams in this situation are usually at an interesting position. In the National Football League, home team spreads are inflated by an average of 3 points; in the National Basketball Association, the homecourt advantage is usually 3-4 points. When a home team is the underdog in a sporting event, this means that the away team has a slighter ‘edge’ than the home team—but, homefield/homecourt still cannot be discounted. In both the NFL and NBA, backing the small underdogs (of small pointspreads) is profitable in the long run. These home teams enjoy ‘homecooking’ and still enjoy the comforts of home, so why not back these teams? In this situation, likewise, the public monetarily backs the visitors. To their dismay, visiting road favorites usually lose against the spread. In Major League Baseball, if one were to bet home underdogs in divisional rivalry games, one would also show profit in the long run. Often, teams play over their heads, above anyone’s expectations, even the oddsmakers in division rivalry games. Such is the case why underdog home teams in division rivalry games win at a greater percentage than their opposition.

College Sports

In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), homefield advantage can be tremendous. In both collegiate football and basketball, home teams enjoy a greater percentage of winning than their opposing visitors. This can be explained by some athletes’ lack of maturity when playing away from their homecourt/homefield. Since these are still young and developing athletes, many often fold and choke when they are away from the comforts of home. As visitors, these college students succumb to the strong emotional impact that most college home games impact. Imagine going into Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium as a young starry-eyed Maryland freshman, or going into LSU’s Tiger Stadium (also known as Death Valley) as an inexperienced Georgia linebacker—these daunting situations can make young athletes fold under pressure.

Summary

In closing, the home team is defined as the team at home.

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