MasterShakes
08-17-2005, 03:29 AM
Lots of people don't spend a lot of time when searching for a sportsbook. Lots of people make poor decisions even when they do shop around. The best suggestion I can give you if you are searching for a sportsbook(s) is to find a REPUTABLE book that deals reduced juice.
There are plenty of sportsbooks out there that are currently dealing juice at -107 or less.
The importance of not giving up this juice cannot be overstated. Over the long haul, it is certainly better than a bonus that you have to clear at -110.
With -110 juice, you're fighting a 5% house edge. With -107, edge is reduced to 3.5%. With -105, edge is reduced to 2.5%. These books are offering to do some of the edge reduction work for you, and you should definitely take them up on it. With line shopping over at least a couple of books, this edge can become negligible or non-existant on many games (especially in college sports).
Regardless of who you decide to go with, always check out what sportsbookreview.com has to say about them.
Here's a list of those that are trustworthy (from what I have read):
1) Pinnacle (-105)
2) Hollywood International (-107)
3) Canbet (-107)
4) Mansion (-105) - Mansion is a relatively new sports exchange, which also has a sportsbook. You almost surely will not find anything of value in their sportsbook. However, they are currently dealing all football games at -104 juice in their exchange. On wins, Mansion charges a 1% "exchange fee". When you make an offer that is accepted, you are not charged that exchange fee when you win. Even if you never have an accepted offer, you are essentially getting juice that is just a little more than -105. Despite how new this place is, they appear to be VERY financially secure and SBR gives them a B rating. You will find some very good shops at this exchange, especially in college football, from what I have seen thus far.
5) betcascade.com (-105) - I picked this one up off an ad at Fezziksplace. Judging by the ad, it is for new signups only, and it is something that you take in lieu of a bonus. Their current policy says that you have to specify that you want this at signup, all bets must be placed online, the -105 is no good when the game has off odds (i.e., if a side is listed at -115 on one side/-105 on the other in football or basketball), and I think I was also told no bets higher than $1000.
6) iisportsbook.com (-107) - I think these guys are associated with skybook, who is rated a B+ by SBR.
There are some other books that are currently dealing reduced juice that are not as reputable as the rest, but haven't had many, if any, major complaints about them. A couple of these places are relatively new. Again, always keep up with who is good and who isn't at SBR.
1) megasb.com (-104) - From what I have read, they are a Pinnacle "clone," meaning tht they stick with the lines that Pinnacle has posted, but they are NOT associated with Pinnacle. This likely means that you won't find any good shops here, but -104 is better than -105. They currently get a C at SBR. There is NO information on them there.
2) Guardian (-105) - This book has been around for a good while. They offer a "-105 club". This club is something that you can take in lieu of a bonus. You may only bet up to $500 when laying -105. I also think you have to make all plays online, but I might be wrong. Just contact the book by phone or email for details.
3) betbbb.com (-107) - This is a VERY new book. They appear to be associated with Heritage in some way. However, from what I have read, they do not appear to be financially backed by Heritage. In addition to the -107 juice, they also offer very good parlay and teaser odds. 14:5 on 2 team parlays, 6.5:1 on 3 team parlays, and even money on 2-team 6-point teasers. SBR says that they giving them an initial rating of C+, and that they will be completing a more thorough review of their stability.
4) betwsc.com (-107 on NFL and NBA) - I had never read about these guys before today. They are not listed at SBR from what I can see. If anybody has info on them, I would appreciate it.
Again, between these reduced juice books and line shopping between them, you should be looking at having to defeat a negligible to non-existant and possibly scalpable edge.
There are plenty of sportsbooks out there that are currently dealing juice at -107 or less.
The importance of not giving up this juice cannot be overstated. Over the long haul, it is certainly better than a bonus that you have to clear at -110.
With -110 juice, you're fighting a 5% house edge. With -107, edge is reduced to 3.5%. With -105, edge is reduced to 2.5%. These books are offering to do some of the edge reduction work for you, and you should definitely take them up on it. With line shopping over at least a couple of books, this edge can become negligible or non-existant on many games (especially in college sports).
Regardless of who you decide to go with, always check out what sportsbookreview.com has to say about them.
Here's a list of those that are trustworthy (from what I have read):
1) Pinnacle (-105)
2) Hollywood International (-107)
3) Canbet (-107)
4) Mansion (-105) - Mansion is a relatively new sports exchange, which also has a sportsbook. You almost surely will not find anything of value in their sportsbook. However, they are currently dealing all football games at -104 juice in their exchange. On wins, Mansion charges a 1% "exchange fee". When you make an offer that is accepted, you are not charged that exchange fee when you win. Even if you never have an accepted offer, you are essentially getting juice that is just a little more than -105. Despite how new this place is, they appear to be VERY financially secure and SBR gives them a B rating. You will find some very good shops at this exchange, especially in college football, from what I have seen thus far.
5) betcascade.com (-105) - I picked this one up off an ad at Fezziksplace. Judging by the ad, it is for new signups only, and it is something that you take in lieu of a bonus. Their current policy says that you have to specify that you want this at signup, all bets must be placed online, the -105 is no good when the game has off odds (i.e., if a side is listed at -115 on one side/-105 on the other in football or basketball), and I think I was also told no bets higher than $1000.
6) iisportsbook.com (-107) - I think these guys are associated with skybook, who is rated a B+ by SBR.
There are some other books that are currently dealing reduced juice that are not as reputable as the rest, but haven't had many, if any, major complaints about them. A couple of these places are relatively new. Again, always keep up with who is good and who isn't at SBR.
1) megasb.com (-104) - From what I have read, they are a Pinnacle "clone," meaning tht they stick with the lines that Pinnacle has posted, but they are NOT associated with Pinnacle. This likely means that you won't find any good shops here, but -104 is better than -105. They currently get a C at SBR. There is NO information on them there.
2) Guardian (-105) - This book has been around for a good while. They offer a "-105 club". This club is something that you can take in lieu of a bonus. You may only bet up to $500 when laying -105. I also think you have to make all plays online, but I might be wrong. Just contact the book by phone or email for details.
3) betbbb.com (-107) - This is a VERY new book. They appear to be associated with Heritage in some way. However, from what I have read, they do not appear to be financially backed by Heritage. In addition to the -107 juice, they also offer very good parlay and teaser odds. 14:5 on 2 team parlays, 6.5:1 on 3 team parlays, and even money on 2-team 6-point teasers. SBR says that they giving them an initial rating of C+, and that they will be completing a more thorough review of their stability.
4) betwsc.com (-107 on NFL and NBA) - I had never read about these guys before today. They are not listed at SBR from what I can see. If anybody has info on them, I would appreciate it.
Again, between these reduced juice books and line shopping between them, you should be looking at having to defeat a negligible to non-existant and possibly scalpable edge.