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Pinnacle Pulse
1/11/06
Four years ago, the offshore betting world was rocked by the failure of Aces
Gold. While many players were surprised, most professionals and other gaming
companies weren’t – any sportsbook that books irresponsibly, offers “unique
numbers” or unreasonable bonuses is always at risk of going under.
Although the industry has matured and companies with deep pockets like Pinnacle
Sports continue to pull away from the pack, as the end of the NFL season
approaches you should ask yourself an important question: How safe is my money?
The sad reality that some players risk being slow paid or not paid at all has
still not been completely eliminated from the offshore industry. For those of us
that have followed offshore gaming since the beginning, the only surprising
thing about the recent failure of Rich Coast Sports is that it happened during
the regular season. The fact is that there is a greater risk of failing sports
books going out of business in the two weeks after the Super Bowl than during
any other period.
This has been a rough year for some sports books. Many that are publicly-traded
have already issued profit warnings to the markets citing: “the NFL sports
betting margins in the US have been adversely affected recently as a result of a
large number of favourites winning” or “adversely affected by a run of poor
trading results on professional American Football”.
Books that cater to recreational players were hit particularly hard, since the
favorites covered at a 58% clip this season. Given many books have chased the
traditional “dog and under” sharp players to routinely take positions on sides
against the public, it has left them exposed to this run of results.
The possibility that your money could disappear when a sports book goes under is
a frightening thought. However, with just a little planning, you can greatly
mitigate the risk and ease your mind. Start by making an inventory of the sports
books you use then ask yourself: Which of these has ANY chance of going under?
Questions to ask yourself when evaluating these companies, include: How long
have they been in business? Are they offering uncharacteristically large reload
or sign-up bonuses? Perhaps they offer an increasing number of no juice games or
free half points? Are they putting out “unique numbers” (a sure sign that they
are gambling and not booking the games)? What are the forums and gambling press
saying?
The safest bet is to simply avoid playing at any place you fear losing your
money. If you choose to play at an unsafe book, keep your balance as low as
possible – only enough to make bets you know you will make.
After the Conference Championships are concluded on January 22, there are two
weeks before the Super Bowl. How much do you need at each book? You want enough
money to bet on the game and perhaps on props as well. If you have already made
your Super Bowl bets or aren’t making any bets at a certain book, withdraw your
money.
Most books in trouble will try making payouts in the weeks before the Super Bowl
as they are still collecting deposits and don’t want to do anything to prevent
those from drying up. If you wait until after the Super Bowl, your odds of
collecting from a failing sports book drops drastically.
There’s another reason to keep less money at individual sportsbooks and that’s
all thanks to payment processors like NETeller. Your money at NETeller is
flexible since you can have it credited at most gaming companies almost
instantaneously. At Pinnacle Sports, NETeller payouts are made seven days a week
and the money is usually in your account within a matter of minutes. If your
sports book cannot offer this same level of service, it may be another sign to
lower your balance to avoid disappointment.
While you’ll want to keep a healthy balance at books you play at regularly,
lesser-played books are best kept with balances sufficient for only a few bets.
If you see an opportunity, you can always re-deposit. It’s one thing to make a
conscious decision to risk money at a weak book with a balance you can afford to
lose. It’s quite another to get blind-sided when your withdrawal request is
denied and the sportsbook’s website disappears. Spend 20 minutes to ensure your
accounts are in order, and you won’t have to worry on Monday, February 6.
You can however rest assured that your money is safe at Pinnacle Sports.
Established in 1998, our low margin wagering offers players up to 60% better
value on NFL sides than other books. This means we are a high-volume, low-margin
shop that always tries to balance action on games. With low minimums and the
highest limits online, we attract both novices new to sports betting and
seasoned pros alike.
Whether it’s the Monday after the Super Bowl or any other time, you’ll always
receive lightning-fast NETeller payouts at Pinnacle Sports. If you don’t believe
me, try us at www.pinnaclesports.com
We still have playoff games before the Super Bowl. Which teams do the wise guys
like? Read below…
Washington (+9) at Seattle
The Redskins’ offense was flat last week. They won, but managed only 136 yards
of total offense. Washington forced three turnovers, including a 51-yard fumble
return for a touchdown. The Bucs had over twice as many yards, but were one for
three in the red-zone. Everything that could go wrong for Tampa Bay did,
although the Redskins still looked lackluster. Washington will need a perfect
game to beat the Seahawks, which boast the top scoring offense in the NFL at
28.2 points per game.
Our opener of Redskins +9 (-113) saw heavy two-way action. Washington is clearly
the public team, with twice as many wagers on them as on Seattle. Overall, the
larger bets have been on the Redskins, but we are still relatively flat on the
game. The sharps are split on this one and have played both sides, with some
buying Washington to +10 and others Seattle to -7.5.
New England (+3) at Denver
Tom Brady is now 10-0 as a starter in playoff games for the Patriots. In
addition to his playoff streak, the Patriots won the final four regular season
games that he started and played the entire game (many Patriot starters were
rested against Miami in week 17). The Broncos are coming off a bye week and
could benefit from the return of cornerback Darrent Williams. How much does that
bye week matter? Since 1990, home teams off a bye week in the playoffs are an
impressive 40-10.
We opened with the Patriots at +3 (-112). Once again, the public likes the
underdog by a 2:1 margin and the wise guys are split. There has been a moderate
amount of point-buying, which makes a 3-point Denver win a bad result for us.
Pittsburgh (+9.5) at Indianapolis
Despite being the only team in the AFC to make the playoffs six times in the
last seven years, the playoffs have been a general nightmare for the Colts. In
the last seven years, they are 2-3 in Wildcard games and 1-3 in
Divisional/Championship games. This Indy team has something those past Colts
teams didn’t – the #1 defense in the AFC, allowing just 15.4 points per game.
This game opened with Pittsburgh at +10 (-111) and saw light volume. A few of
our winning players took the Steelers early at +10, but the sharps have mainly
avoided this match-up. We have taken slightly more Steelers action that has
caused this line to drift down to +9.5.
Carolina (+2.5) at Chicago
This game features the #1 and #2 defenses in the NFC. Chicago allows only 12.6
points per game, while Carolina gives up 15.2. The last time these two teams
played, the Bears recorded eight sacks on Jake Delhomme en route to a 16-3 win.
From a bookmaking perspective, this game is almost a mirror of the New
England-Denver game. We opened with Panthers at +3 -111 and took heavy two-way
action. The wise guys were playing both sides buying off of the “3”, setting up
another reverse-middle situation for us. The line on the game has now settled at
Carolina +2.5 (+105).