Reading the positive EV table
A column-by-column guide to the Positive EV table — expected value, fair odds, width, the live game status, and the filters that control which bets appear.
The columns
Every row in the Positive EV table is one bet at one book. From left to right on a wide screen:
- Parlay checkbox - adds the bet to your parlay slip.
- Event - the market, league, matchup, and start time (or the live game status once the game is under way).
- Selection - the side of the market the bet is on, such as a team, a total, or a player's line.
- Book odds - the price the listed sportsbook is currently offering, with the book's logo and name. Clicking the price opens the book's bet slip where a link is available.
- FV and Vig - the fair value, SmartStake's no-vig estimate of the true price, followed by the vig in the sharp market it was derived from. Book odds longer than the fair value are what produce positive EV. Click it for an explanation of how the fair value was worked out.
- Limit - the most Pinnacle will currently accept on this same selection, shown beside the Pinnacle icon. It appears when Pinnacle is one of the sharp books behind the bet's fair price and publishes a limit for the line; otherwise the column shows a dash. On a phone it is the chip with the Pinnacle icon. It is a separate figure from Max, which is the limit at the book offering the bet.
- Rec Bet and Max - the stake suggested from your bankroll and Kelly multiplier (see Bankroll, Kelly and stake sizing), followed by the book's maximum bet size when it publishes one.
- EV % - expected value as a percentage of stake. A 3% EV bet has a modelled expected return of about three cents per dollar staked over a large sample - a statistical expectation, not a prediction; results vary and any bet can lose. This is the primary sort key. The help icon beside it explains the calculation.
On phones, tablets, and narrower layouts the card shows the same bet in a compact form; tap it to open the full detail.
Filters
The filters narrow the feed to the bets you can actually use:
- Sportsbooks — restrict to the books where you hold accounts. There is no point seeing edges at a book you can't bet.
- EV % - hide bets below an EV threshold so only meaningful edges show.
- Leagues and markets - focus on the leagues and bet types you understand.
- Max Vig % - hide bets whose fair price comes from a market with too much vig, where the estimate is less reliable.
- Sharp books - choose which books set the fair price, and how many of them must agree (Min sharps), trading volume for confidence. See Custom devig and sharp books.
Every filter is covered in Positive EV filters and settings.
Live game status
When a bet's game is already under way, SmartStake replaces the date and start time with a live game status — the current score and game state, refreshed alongside the odds. On a row or card you see the compact version: the period or inning and the running score (shown away–home, matching the matchup label). Open the bet — expand the card, or tap into its detail view — for the live game details for that sport.
The details shown are tailored to each sport:
- Baseball — the current count and outs, runners on base, the batter at the plate, and hits and errors.
- Basketball — timeouts remaining and team fouls for the bonus.
- Football — the current down and distance.
- Soccer — the latest match event with its minute, extra time, and penalty-shootout goals when a shootout is under way.
- Tennis — who is serving, with the current game's points in the running score.
Hockey carries only the period and running score.
The live status is most useful in live (in-play) mode, where it tells you at a glance whether a game is actively running or stopped — between innings, at a timeout, during a review — which is exactly when books widen or pull their lines.
Live status follows the game feed
The score and game state come from a separate live game feed, not from the odds. A brief lag or a missing field on an obscure game is normal and does not affect the bet's price or EV.
A note on stale lines
Odds move quickly. A large EV that looks too good to be true often means the book has not yet moved a line the rest of the market already has — and the book may move or void it before you bet. Treat outsized EVs with the same scrutiny as outsized anything: confirm the price is still live at the book before you commit.
Next: back to Finding positive EV bets for how the fair price is built.
- Odds, prices, expected value, conversion rates, and profit figures shown are estimates based on the last data we retrieved. They can change at any time — confirm the current price at the book before you bet, as odds may move and entry errors can occur.
- Using a “sharp” book as a fair-value reference is a modeling choice, not a statement of accuracy. Review a book’s record yourself and anchor on the books you trust.