Sharp money is the money the book listens to.

Sharp Money, in plain words

Sharp money means bets from people the sportsbooks believe know what they are doing: professional bettors and syndicates with a record of beating the closing line. Books move their lines for this money, often quickly, because it tells them their price is wrong.

Public splits give a rough clue. If a side has a bigger share of the money than of the tickets, the average bet on it is bigger. At 70% of the money on 40% of the tickets, the average stake on that side is about 3.5 times the other side's. Bigger average bets often, though not always, mean sharper bettors.

Splits cannot tell you who placed a bet, how many large bets made the number or whether the book respected them. They also come from a sample of books. Read them beside the line: when the money share and the price both move one way, the clue is stronger than either alone.