since you're posting in april i'm assuming that most of your bets over the next 6 months will be MLB bets so i'll offer my advice on that...
first, use the sportsbooks that offer reduced vig, the three best are:
1) pinnacle
2) hollywood
3) cascade
second, consider familiarizing yourself with betting "exchanges" they're similar to sportsbooks except there's no "bookmaker" you're betting directly against other bettors who have made offers and the "house" (the company that runs the site) just takes a small flat commission from each winning bet (usually a flat 1 or 2% charge).
i'm not sure how much betting experience you have, but even if you're a beginner, you can become familiar with how the exchanges work in just a matter of minutes. they have excellent tutorial programs on their sites.
my 2 favorite exchanges are:
1) matchbook
2) mansion
these five are great books, especially for MLB betting.
lastly, consider rounding out with some of the big boys...
1) 5dimes
2) WSEX
3) BetCris
4) Olympic
HOWEVER, the last 3 all have "full juice" (i.e. -110 pricing) and BetCris and Olympic deal 20-cent lines in MLB (AVOID 20-cent MLB lines at ALL COSTS)...in fact, there's no point even having Cris and Olympic until AFTER MLB season.
although, 5Dimes can be worth using during MLB for their overnight lines and WSEX has good lines at times too.
so, to recap...
1) pinnacle
2) hollywood
3) cascade
4) matchbook
5) mansion
are all pretty much "must haves" for betting seriously and finding a good price. followed by:
6) 5dimes
7) wsex
and the last 2:
8) Cris
9) Olympic
just keep them in the back of your mind and come next fall, consider opening up some accounts.
i know this is a lot of information...i hope it's not "overload" good luck!
first, use the sportsbooks that offer reduced vig, the three best are:
1) pinnacle
2) hollywood
3) cascade
second, consider familiarizing yourself with betting "exchanges" they're similar to sportsbooks except there's no "bookmaker" you're betting directly against other bettors who have made offers and the "house" (the company that runs the site) just takes a small flat commission from each winning bet (usually a flat 1 or 2% charge).
i'm not sure how much betting experience you have, but even if you're a beginner, you can become familiar with how the exchanges work in just a matter of minutes. they have excellent tutorial programs on their sites.
my 2 favorite exchanges are:
1) matchbook
2) mansion
these five are great books, especially for MLB betting.
lastly, consider rounding out with some of the big boys...
1) 5dimes
2) WSEX
3) BetCris
4) Olympic
HOWEVER, the last 3 all have "full juice" (i.e. -110 pricing) and BetCris and Olympic deal 20-cent lines in MLB (AVOID 20-cent MLB lines at ALL COSTS)...in fact, there's no point even having Cris and Olympic until AFTER MLB season.
although, 5Dimes can be worth using during MLB for their overnight lines and WSEX has good lines at times too.
so, to recap...
1) pinnacle
2) hollywood
3) cascade
4) matchbook
5) mansion
are all pretty much "must haves" for betting seriously and finding a good price. followed by:
6) 5dimes
7) wsex
and the last 2:
8) Cris
9) Olympic
just keep them in the back of your mind and come next fall, consider opening up some accounts.
i know this is a lot of information...i hope it's not "overload" good luck!
not too much I don't think. thanks christian.
I have a fair amount of betting experience, and my best luck by far has been with MLB, though I certainly have much to learn. A friend of mine turned me to sportsbook.com when I began and I've gone pretty much exclusively with them since super bowl last year.
right now there are only two games up for tomorrow on SB, which is kinda frustrating. i'll definitely check into pinnacle and some of those others.
is sportsbook a joke among serious gamblers then???
I have a fair amount of betting experience, and my best luck by far has been with MLB, though I certainly have much to learn. A friend of mine turned me to sportsbook.com when I began and I've gone pretty much exclusively with them since super bowl last year.
right now there are only two games up for tomorrow on SB, which is kinda frustrating. i'll definitely check into pinnacle and some of those others.
is sportsbook a joke among serious gamblers then???
Mauneau733 said:
yes.
ha ha, i wish there a nicer way to answer that. but i'm just being honest.
now don't get me wrong, EVERY honest/reliable sportsbook is worth trying to at least "bonus whore" them.
but as far as KEEPING your money in a book to bet with them continually, stay away from -110 books. there's just no need for that nowadays (unless you're really serious and have 15-20 outs or something like that...that's a little bit different).
granted, there are plenty of exceptions. i've already listed WSEX and 5Dimes as 2 excellent "full price" books. but with sooooo many reduced juice places, it just doesn't make sense to be paying full price anymore.
and i'm pretty sure the only reason sportsbook.com has any customers at all is because they spend so damn much on advertising. if i remember correctly, i'm pretty sure i found an ad for that book in the magazine on a thai airways flight i took from LAX to Bangkok last year!!! they sure do advertise their asses of, i'll give them that.
another good resource is sportsbookreview.com they have a pretty good rating guide and good write-ups (it's sort of a watchdog site for the offshore industry)
anyway, pinnacle is a great place to start..actually the BEST place to start. good choice!
wow..great explaination on the books and ur recommendations christian. I agree with you that pinnacle is the best one so far for mlb that i have and i'll probably be opening some of the ones u listed once i get my bankroll up
even though I didn't ask the question, i had that question in the back of my mind so thanks for ur input.
even though I didn't ask the question, i had that question in the back of my mind so thanks for ur input.
SKDiablo said:
yeah, that's why i always try to wait until near the very end of each month to use my free withdrawal from pinnacle...
that way, if something ever happens and i need to do another withdrawal, i'll only have to wait a few days until the new month kicks in and i get another free one.
sure, it's only $15...but $15 saved here, and saved there, can really add up over time.
I finally got registered with pinnacle.
It seems to me that Sportsbook would be a good book to play if you're going with a dog. Horrible choice if you're playing a fave, but if the odds on either side of the board essentially correspond to each other, is this logic correct?
For instance: risking $20 to win $20.60 USD on Phillies and B.Myers to beat Cards and M.Mulder tomorrow, whereas Sportsbook gave me $21 on $20. Not much of a difference I know but every little bit counts, huh?
It seems to me that Sportsbook would be a good book to play if you're going with a dog. Horrible choice if you're playing a fave, but if the odds on either side of the board essentially correspond to each other, is this logic correct?
For instance: risking $20 to win $20.60 USD on Phillies and B.Myers to beat Cards and M.Mulder tomorrow, whereas Sportsbook gave me $21 on $20. Not much of a difference I know but every little bit counts, huh?
Christian- Thanx for the info - I hope you don't mind but I copied and paste to my other site for helpful guidance. I have one question- How do 'you' deposit? I want to avoid my bank account from having all of these transactions and my credit card doesn't fly either. It seems firepay, neteller, and such is an option- but I believe I would rather pay by western union - just so a paper trail doesn't occur- Any suggestions? I also am hearing of legislation concerning gambling offshore- which is another reason - I would like to keep the action off my banking. I think this is the main reason why people have bookies!
SunDog said:
a paper trail will occur REGARDLESS of which method you use...unless you fly down to CR and hand your book a suitcase full of cash!
in fact, western union has a HUGE paper trail...and any transaction over $3,000 is reported to the IRS.
that's not to say not to use WU. just the opposite, i use them all the time. i have a little trick i do where i charge up one of my credit cards to the $10,000 max limit (monthly limit) via Western Union and send it to Pinnacle. my bank gives me 1% cash-back for this ($100 per month) and then i use pinnacle's 1 free withdrawal per month and send the money back to neteller and then back to my bank account to pay off my $10,000 credit card bill. so i profit $100 each month ($1,200/year) for doing about 10 minutes worth of work. so i love Western Union.
there's no way to avoid a paper trail. personally, 90% of my financial transactions involved neteller each year. neteller can't be beat. but you will ALWAYS have a paper trail. that can't be avoided...
unless, i guess, you go with a local bookie. but to be honest, i've never used a local. i grew up so close to the internet age that for me it's always been "offshore"
oh mcirish, yeah, i forgot about betjamaica. you're absolutely right. plus, bjam offers a 20% sign-up and 10% reload! they're a great book to round out your MLB outs, especially since if you ever need to reload you have 10% coming to you.
