What Are ‘Square(s)’ in Sports Betting?
In sports betting slang, a “square” is a casual, recreational, or unsophisticated bettor. This term describes the vast majority of people who bet on sports.
A “square” is the direct opposite of a “sharp“ (or “wiseguy”), who is a professional, analytical bettor.
“Squares” are also collectively referred to as “the public.” Sportsbooks make the majority of their profit from “square” bettors.
Common Characteristics of a Square
- Motive: They bet for fun, entertainment, or to make a game more exciting, not as a serious source of income.
- Method: They often bet based on gut feelings, emotions, or personal bias (e.g., always betting on their favorite team or against a team they hate).
- Influences: They are easily influenced by media headlines, popular narratives, and which team has more star players.
- Typical Bets: “Squares” notoriously favor specific types of bets that “sharps” often avoid:
- Favorites: They prefer to bet on the team that is expected to win, regardless of the price (the “short odds”).
- Overs: When betting on a game’s total score (Over/Under), squares overwhelmingly bet the Over because it’s more fun to root for points to be scored.
- Parlays: They are very attracted to parlays (combining multiple bets for a single, high-payout wager) because of the potential for a large win from a small stake. Sportsbooks have a very high profit margin on parlays.
- Popular Teams: They tend to bet on popular, “public” teams (like the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers, or New York Yankees) and on nationally televised games.
Because of these predictable tendencies, “sharps” will often employ a strategy of “fading the public,” which simply means betting on the opposite side of whatever the “squares” are heavily backing.