Bad line at Olympic Sports?

[Alexander]

Did anyone notice the haltime line on the Kansas/Texas game at Olympic Sports? I first saw 68, which I thought was a little low. I checked again a couple of minutes later and saw 73. Did anybody else notice this?

I bet $200 on the over at 68. I lost, but I am not here to bitch, before anyone (Ayce, in particular), calls me a crook. I'd just like to know if this was a bad line, and has anyone ever bet a bad line at Olympic and won their bet, but later had it cancelled after the results were in.

Although I thought the halftime line was low at 68, this was pretty much the only game going on, so I had a hard time believing Olympic could make such a careless mistake. If anybody has read my opinion on sportsbooks cancelling bets, then this may be what I am talking about.

If this was a bad line, then Olympic should have cancelled all bets on it, regardless of whether you bet the over or under. Unless, people here can vouch that Olympic never cancels wagers on bad lines.

To sum it up,
I have no problem losing if:
a) it was not a bad line
b) Olympic honours their mistakes on bad lines, and doesn't cancel wagers

I have a problem if:
a) it was a bad line, and Olympic always cancels winning wagers that take advantage of that bad line, but when the other side wins, they don't cancel the wagers anymore

Does anybody have any kind of experience betting a bad line at Olympic? Did they cancel your bet? I know that there are a lot of people here that are afraid to admit that they have taken advantage of bad lines, but if we could all reserve judgement, maybe I could get some valuable input on this.

[AYCE]

Are you a kid? Has this became something personal?

Please, leave my name alone and move on.

To tell you the truth though, I saw the line at 68 and I remembered your challenge and then I put a dime on the UNDER. What an idiot I am.

Whew, that was pretty close!



Peace.

[Alexander]

I talked to a line manager at Olympic, and he told me that he knew that the halftime line was 73 on the Kansas/Texas game. But he liked the under so he personally opened the game at 66, everyone kept betting the over, and it ended up at 73. So it was not a bad line. So I asked him the next time I think a line is off, can I bet it with the full knowledge that my bet would be honoured, and he said yes. I wanted to ask him some more questions, but he said he was really busy, and simply said he had to go.

Please, if anybody has any comments on this, but is afraid to post here, especially after the grilling that Krackman got for betting on bad lines, please e-mail me at [email protected]

[Jeff]

Again, this is another example of the need to define a "bad line" or an obvious error.

We all know Olympic is as solid as they come, and god bless em for putting an opinion in a number. We need more of that in this industry.

But what about the less than reputable? Will this allow someone like that to throw up a number, take a shot, and if it falls their way, great, if not, hey, we posted a bad line, sorry.

[BigMoney]

This is a good example of the "gray region", as I've called it. Until a book clearly spells out their policy on cancelling wagers, I suppose the best thing to to is just ask them.

Do you know if Olympic has that typical phrase in their rules about canceling plays on obvious errors?

[Alexander]

I haven't read Olympic's policy on cancelling bets, but I will. I have e-mailed Spiro, and am waiting for his response.

I really have a hard time believing that a line manager would open up a halftime line (66) that is 7 points lower than other books (73) because as he told me "he liked the under". Sportsbooks don't usually take big risks like this. I have never seen halftime lines move by 7 points. But if what he told me is the truth, then Olympic doesn't really have a true defense when they say that they put up a bad line. If the line manager can move lines that many points at his discretion, then all lines must be honest ones even if they appear to be bad.

If that was an honest line, then by all means, take my money. I just want Spiro's word that if I ever see a line that I think is way off, I want to know that my bet won't be cancelled if I win. I have stated many times that sportsbooks cancelling bets after the game in question has been completed can be used to the sportsbook's advantage. I am not accusing Olympic of anything until I get all the facts from them.

I have no reason to make this up, I have been paid by Olympic ($3000), and the one and only problem I had was quickly resolved by Spiro, so I will again just wait for Spiro's response. I want to send them more money, but I definitely want to know what will happen the next time I see a line that is off. Will they honour my bet? The line manager told me himself that "a bet is a bet".

[Alexander]

This was the response that I received from Olympic:

Hi Michael,

First of all, half time lines are very different than game lines. Lines on the game do not vary more than a point or a point and a half between books. (Especially since we are on Don's Best screen) If you see a line off by more than a couple of points on a game period, you should really question it as valid.

In many cases we make our own half time lines depending on what we need for
the game. For example, if most people bet on the under for the game, and we
didn't get the buy back, we might put a lower half-time line out to attract bets on the over to balance out the game a little more.

Even if the total was put out in error, we would not have cancelled any
bets. Our policy is very fair when it comes to bad lines. If we put out a
line that is a few points off by mistake, and it is bet, we honor those
bets. If however, we put up a wrong favorite, for example a team is favored
by -6 points, and we have them up at +6 by accident, we will cancel any bets
if they are made.. regardless of win/loss results. (99% of the time we will
catch a mistake like that pretty quickly, and the bets deleted before the
event begins)

The only other reason we will delete a bet is when our computer system keeps
an event open long after post time. Every once in a while, for example, we
have a first half line up all the way until the first half is over. On
these mistakes we will honor all bets taken up into the first 10min or so of
the period, and delete all other wagers (regardless of the result)

I hope you will agree with me that this is a pretty fair policy. If at any
time you have a question about a bet, or a line, don't hesitate to ask. We
are honest and fair people, and will treat our customers the same way.

Mike
Olympic Sports

[Cons]

Like I said, call them up and tell them that you want to place a bet but that you think that they have a bad line. Ask them to verify that it is in fact the correct line.

If they double-check and tell you that it is a good line, bet it.

If they then cancel your wager, cancel your account with them...

[cashusking]

Haven't we all had a little beef here and there with one book or another? Emotions run high in this hyper competitive game.

There was an instance where a bet of mine was canceled but it was an isolated case and way before post. Still have to give Olympic an A+ for customer service.

[BigMoney]

I like Olympic's response. In fact, since they've gone on record with some kind of policy, they're a long way ahead of other books (some of which cancel wagers based on unwritten rules at their own disgression).

What I hope comes from this and the other really long thread is this: I'd like to see books post something in their rules that addresses this, more clearly than most do at present. The more specific, the better.

[Alexander]

BigMoney,

Right on BigMoney, Olympic has come up with a reasonable explanation of their cancellation policies. Hopefully, other sportsbooks will do the same.

[PEPOCAS]

olympic had the sixers -10 at game time. is this a bad line?

[Alexander]

Sixers -10, I thought they were -6 at most places. Good question, there is no reason for them to have a bad line on that game. They post their NBA lines pretty early, so they have all the time in the world to notice something like that. Besides, if you read my earlier posts, their line manager seems to be pretty bold. I would be very surprised if they didn't honour that line.