When it comes to sports betting, there are lots of terms and concepts you might not be too familiar with. The closing line value is one of them. It’s something not too many people are aware of, but understanding it can help improve your sports betting experience here at GGBet.
What Does Closing Line Value Mean?
The term ‘closing line value’ is actually quite easy to understand. Before explaining it, we’ll first look at the term ‘closing line’. This refers to the final odds that a sportsbook offers before closing a particular bet and accepting no more wagers on it.
Likewise, the ‘opening line’ is the odds that a sportsbook advertises as soon as it starts accepting wagers for a certain bet. More often than not, the closing odds are generally more favourable for bettors than the opening ones.
As for ‘closing line value’, this is a measure of what your own odds are like compared with the odds offered by the sportsbook when the bet closes.
What Are Positive and Negative Closing Line Values When Betting Online?
A closing line value can be positive or negative.
- A positive closing line value is where the odds for your bet are better than the final odds offered by the sportsbook.
- A negative closing line value is where the odds you’ve got for your bet are worse than the sportsbook’s closing odds.
When betting online, the ultimate goal is to have fun, of course, but many punters hope to make a profit. Therefore, they want their closing line values to be positive.
Does a Positive Closing Line Value Guarantee a Win?
What’s important to remember is that in sports betting, nothing can ever guarantee a win. Having said that, certain things can make you more likely to earn money in the long run. If you place a bet with a positive closing line value, you could be more likely to make money from it.
‘Could’ is the key word here. Even if your bet has significantly better odds than the closing odds, there’s still no guarantee you’ll win. Having said this, if you manage to place wagers with positive closing line values, you should stand a better chance of making money.
It’s worth pointing out that the practice of getting positive/negative closing line values is only for pre-match betting and not live betting.
How to Place Bets with Positive Closing Line Values
There’s no magic formula that can tell you how to place bets whose closing line values end up being positive. However, there are a few things that may boost your chances:
- Be smart and know a lot about what you’re betting on
- Consider past performances and take statistics into account
- Try to bet sooner rather than later (i.e. not the moments before a bet closes)
Follow these tips and hopefully you’ll benefit from positive closing line values.

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