It seems that no matter which sportsbooks you go to, they have almost identical game lines and odds, which means there must be a method to calculate them.

I don't think it's so much a method of calculation as it is a follow the leader thing. SI did an article a year or two ago in which they talked about the guy who sets the line for one of Vegas' big sportsbooks. He researched the teams, etc,, but ultimately sort of set it by feel. An interesting note: his concern was to put the line where the money would flow evenly to each side rather than to actually predict the game's outcome. After he set his, other sportsbooks followed his lead and came out with similar/identical numbers. Then, of course, they move it according to which way the action is going so that their odds of losing money are reduced.

I should have been clearer. The Vegas guy in the SI article was just doing the NFL games, which would be more manageable, especially with a staff of folks supplying data on command.

I think the method to employ to calculate is by making the best tricks that you can do to a player doring a game.

tape mesure