The Ladder
The same number is not the same bet at every book. This is the consensus price against the best one posted, what shopping it is worth, and the hold you are paying either way.
Shopping is the cheapest edge there is
It requires no opinion, no model and no nerve. Taking -105 instead of -115 on the same number, every time, is worth more over a season than most people's handicapping. The lift column is exactly what that shopping is worth on each row.
The hold tells you where not to look
A market with a 3% hold is a market the books are confident in and competitive on. A market with 12% is one where they know the public will take a price without checking. Small-number props — hits, blocks, first scorer — carry the widest holds on the board. That is not a reason to avoid them entirely, but it is a reason to demand a much better number.
Then check the fair price
Best price alone is not enough — the best of five bad prices is still bad. Take the number to the gap board, which measures the best price against fair rather than against the other books. If both sides come out mispriced at once, free money will show it.