The first time it happens you feel proud. You think of it as a badge of honor. The second time it happens you laugh about. The third time and all the times after that, it’s just annoying.
Of course I am talking about betting account restrictions. Have you ever had a betting account completely shut down or had the amount you can stake on a selection severely limited?
This is no big deal when it’s just one account but when bookmaker after bookmaker start limiting your accounts it becomes a hassle and unfortunately this is the reality you have to deal with if you are a profitable gambler.
So what’s the solution? Use betting exchanges instead?
Well not quite, exchanges are a valuable tool in a gamblers arsenal but if you’ve still got some bookmaker accounts open there are somethings you can do to help prolong the life of your accounts.
But first lets look at why it is important to have as many open bookmaker accounts as possible.
Price is King
Having fewer bookmaker accounts makes it a lot harder to get the best available price on a selection.
Having multiple limited accounts could mean only having the option to take odds of 6.00 on a selection that is priced at 7.00 elsewhere. This may not sound like a lot but that sort of difference in odds can be the difference between being a profitable gambler and a losing gambler.
I’ll give you an example, there are two punters, one named Open Oliver,
one named Restricted Ralph, each like to bet £100 a bet. Open Oliver has access to many bookmaker accounts and is not limited. He places 30 bets over the course of a month at odds of 7.00.
Restricted Ralph on the other hand is restricted from many bookmakers and only has a few accounts still open. Ralph places the same 30 bets over the course of the week as Oliver but Ralph only manages to get his bets on at odds of 6.00.
Out of the 30 bets 25 of them lose and 5 of them win.
Oliver loses £2500 on the losing bets but makes a profit of £3000 on his 5 winning bets giving him a total profit of £500.
Ralph on the other hand loses £2500 and only makes a profit of £2500 on the winning bets meaning he didn’t make any money at all.
Now in the example above I kept the odds the same on every bet for the sake of simplicity but the same thing applies no matter what odds you are betting at.
If you can’t take the best price you are missing out on value and that value could be the difference between winning and losing.
This is the main reason why it is vital to keep as many bookmaker accounts open as possible. Now lets discuss how you can go about doing just that.
Chain Reaction
When one bookmaker limits your account it often sets off a chain reaction of bookmaker after bookmaker closing your accounts. This is due to the fact that you will be putting the same amount of bets you normally place through a smaller number of accounts.
This increased volume going through your accounts often attracts the unwanted attention of the traders who will limit your account once they realize they won’t be making any money off of you.
In order to slow this process down I advise that you spread your bets around as much as you possibly can while still getting the best odds.
Betting less at each bookie will make you look more like a regular punter placing the odd bet here and there. Bookmakers don’t want to close accounts of regular punters as they are their bread and butter and where they make their money.
So long as you continue to look like a regular gambler no one will pay much attention to you and you will be able to carry on making money under the radar.
If you have the option of putting a bet through a larger bookmaker or a smaller lesser known bookmaker at the same odds always go with the smaller bookmaker.
Having your account shut down at a small bookmaker isn’t as a big a deal as having one of you big accounts shut down. It is important that you give priority to keeping your accounts with larger bookmakers open as long as possible as this is where you will make most of your money.
Bets that Bookies Love
Bookmakers love people who bet on short priced favorites. This is what your average Joe Blow punter bets on and this is where bookmakers make most of their money.
Now Joe Blow thinks the way to make money from betting is to bet on the winner. But Joe Blow always ends up losing money to the bookies because he bets on the favorite with out taking into account the odds he is getting.
If you bet on favorites who have a 50% chance of winning but only get odds of 1.91 you will lose money in the long run.
Bookmakers always price favorites with a large house edge because they know the average bettor will bet money on it regardless of the price if they think they are going to win.
The only one who wins in this scenario is the bookmakers and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
Now I know what your thinking, this is all well and good but whats this got to do with winning money and keeping accounts open?
You can use these types of bets to trick the bookmaker into thinking your just a regular punter and not a successful gambler.
In order to do this you will need to find a close match between a bookmakers odds on a favorite and it’s lay odds at a betting exchange.
You will then back the favorite at the bookmaker with your regular stake size and lay the bet off on the exchange. (you can use an matched betting calculator to calculate your lay stake)
This will lock in a small loss but it is a small price to pay to prolong the life of your accounts.
I would recommend picking a football team who is usually going to be an odds on favorite and back then with your larger bookmaker accounts week after week for the best results.
Don’t Bet Big
Another main reason why profitable accounts get noticed and shut down is because you are betting to big with the bookmaker.
When you start betting big (£100 and over) the bookies are likely to take an interest in your account and start monitoring it. Now if you are a losing gambler who bets big this would not be a problem. The bookmaker would quickly suss you were a mug and be happy to take large bets from you knowing you will lose in the long run.
But if you happen to be a profitable gambler, having your account monitored is bad news. So how can you avoid this from happening to you?
Bookmakers are fairly comfortable with taking bets up to £50 and won’t bat an eyelid at them. These profitable bets can go mostly undetected and help you stay under the radar.
This give you a couple of options.
1. If you are happy with
only betting £50 a pop then keep your bets to £50 or lower.
If £50 is not enough for you then you should consider option 2.
2. Spread your bets around bookmakers. Say you wanted to stake £100 on Horse A, then you could stake £50 at bookie 1 and another £50 at bookie number 2.
How Long Can I Expect an Account to Stay Open?
Following these steps is no magic bullet and if you are a profitable gambler your account will get shut down at some point. It is just a matter of when. Assuming you are a reasonably profitable gambler and you follow my steps above you can expect your accounts to have an average lifespan of several years.
Some bookies will close your accounts much quicker than that (less than a month) where as others will take a lot longer to shut you down.