Why does a sportsbook price need a timestamp?
A timestamp tells you when a price was observed. Sportsbook lines and prices can change, so a captured quote describes that moment rather than guaranteeing what is available now. Compare the game, player, market, line, side and time together.
A page refresh is not a new observation
Reopening a page does not make its source data newer. The observation clock should come from the captured quote, not from your browser or the time the page loaded.
Over and Under can have different observation times. Treat them as separate observations unless the source records otherwise.
The line is part of the price
Illustrative example: Over 50.5 receiving yards at -110 and Over 55.5 receiving yards at -110 are different selections. The matching price does not make their lines interchangeable. These numbers are invented for explanation, not a current offer.
First observed is not the opening line
Tikata records the first time it saw a book’s line for a selection and calls that first observed. The book may have posted that line earlier, so first observed is Tikata’s first sighting and not necessarily its opening line. Tikata does not claim to know when a book opened a market.
A per-book line move compares that first observation with the most recent one at the same book. A book seen only once has nothing to compare against, so it is reported separately rather than counted as unchanged. Books do not have to agree, so the count names how many moved out of how many had history, and how many were seen only once. Where every book moved identically it is reported once as the same at all of them, rather than repeated per book.
A pick’s own detail reports the movement as a median across the books with history, alongside the first observed and current lines. A median is a summary of several books and is never presented as one book’s line. Where only one book has history the summary says so, reporting one book with history rather than a median, and it does not name which book.
Check again at the destination
Tikata displays captured prices with their observation times. A sportsbook destination opens the provider’s site; it does not place a wager or guarantee the captured terms. Check the terms and availability there.