How to actually line shop

Line shopping gets talked about like it's a personality trait. It's a spreadsheet habit. Here's the version that isn't a blog post platitude.

Step one: have more than one account funded

You can't shop a line you can't bet. Keep small working balances across at least two or three books so you're never choosing between "bet the worse price" and "miss the bet entirely."

Step two: check juice, not just the number

A -3 spread at -110 is not the same bet as a -3 spread at -105. The second book is giving you a better breakeven win rate on an identical line. See our reduced juice math for why this matters more than it looks like it should.

Step three: watch for limit differences, not just price

The best price is worthless if the book that offers it also caps you at $50 a bet the moment you show a winning pattern. Cross-check against our limit hunting guide before you build your shopping rotation around a book that's going to cut you off in a month.

Step four: actually track it

A basic spreadsheet logging the line you took versus the best available line elsewhere, even loosely, will show you within a month whether your current book is worth staying with.