That is precisely it, and the bookies HAVE to juice the home teams to balance the action. All they are doing is protecting themselves from getting badly sided on the home teams. It helps to remember that the quoted odds ARE NOT a reflection of the bookies opinion on that game, they are a reflection of PUBLIC OPINION on that game. Contrary to much of the thinking on Covers, bookies do not desire to be gamblers and gamble against their clients, they are BROKERS that want the margin left between the two sides that disagree on the game's probable outcome. Anyone that thinks he is gambling against his bookie is either ignorant (curable), or stupid (non curable).