Since Blue Marlin, a former Mad Jack's sponsor, recently collapsed, I noticed some posts in the Offshore Gambling forum talking about going back to playing with local bookies. That is fine. If you want to make that choice certainly that is your right. in my opinion that is an overreaction to this event. Offshore wagering still offers far, far more value than local bookies, but you have to be smart about it.
The main problem I have with local books is that you play on credit. While it may seem like an advantage to play on credit in theory, most gamblers eventually overextend themselves and lose more than they intended on losing because credit allows players to play "on tilt" past the range of their bankroll. The other major problem with playing locally is that there is often no ability to shop for lines. Over the course of a year this often means the difference between wins and losses for many gamblers.
Offshore gambling does offer the two advantages of playing with only money that you can afford to send and giving players the ability to shop for lines, but caution must be taken. There is no reason to keep more money offshore than is absolutely necessary. Laziness or an unwillingness to pay relatively minor withdrawl fees is usually what keeps a player overfunded at a book.
When I play at a sportsbook these days, I deposit enough money to make one day's bets and not a penny more. This may lose me a few dollars in bonus money but then my risk is as small as possible. Obviously my goal will be to win that day's bets and continue playing at the book. If I do win, I generally withdraw out my initial deposit within a few days. This serves two purposes. I am ensuring myself a short term profit at that book and I am also keeping my balance small so that I am unable to go "on tilt" and bet more than I can afford to wager if I become frustrated.
There are many ways to execute a strategy like this. An online payment service like Neteller can allow you to quickly deposit and withdraw funds while keeping an online bankroll. This way only a small amount of money is sunk into each book at a time, and if deposits need to be made of take advantage of a good line they can be quickly moved.
Another note that should be made right now is that this football season has all the signs of being a shake down for offshore books. More than a handful of books will probably close up shop between now and the end of February. Hopefully these shops will find a way to pay their customers but as we've seen with Blue Marlin, not all will. While I would stop short of recommending a complete boycott of smaller books, I do believe that smaller balances should be maintained at small to mid size books. If you are going to maintain a large balance (the equivalent of 3 days or more of bets) then do it at an industry leader. You have choices among Mad Jack's sponsors like CRIS, Olympic and WSEX. Playing at smaller books when a soft line is found certainly can provide some short term value, but you just want to make sure you don't open yourself up to being screwed if the book goes broke.
The main problem I have with local books is that you play on credit. While it may seem like an advantage to play on credit in theory, most gamblers eventually overextend themselves and lose more than they intended on losing because credit allows players to play "on tilt" past the range of their bankroll. The other major problem with playing locally is that there is often no ability to shop for lines. Over the course of a year this often means the difference between wins and losses for many gamblers.
Offshore gambling does offer the two advantages of playing with only money that you can afford to send and giving players the ability to shop for lines, but caution must be taken. There is no reason to keep more money offshore than is absolutely necessary. Laziness or an unwillingness to pay relatively minor withdrawl fees is usually what keeps a player overfunded at a book.
When I play at a sportsbook these days, I deposit enough money to make one day's bets and not a penny more. This may lose me a few dollars in bonus money but then my risk is as small as possible. Obviously my goal will be to win that day's bets and continue playing at the book. If I do win, I generally withdraw out my initial deposit within a few days. This serves two purposes. I am ensuring myself a short term profit at that book and I am also keeping my balance small so that I am unable to go "on tilt" and bet more than I can afford to wager if I become frustrated.
There are many ways to execute a strategy like this. An online payment service like Neteller can allow you to quickly deposit and withdraw funds while keeping an online bankroll. This way only a small amount of money is sunk into each book at a time, and if deposits need to be made of take advantage of a good line they can be quickly moved.
Another note that should be made right now is that this football season has all the signs of being a shake down for offshore books. More than a handful of books will probably close up shop between now and the end of February. Hopefully these shops will find a way to pay their customers but as we've seen with Blue Marlin, not all will. While I would stop short of recommending a complete boycott of smaller books, I do believe that smaller balances should be maintained at small to mid size books. If you are going to maintain a large balance (the equivalent of 3 days or more of bets) then do it at an industry leader. You have choices among Mad Jack's sponsors like CRIS, Olympic and WSEX. Playing at smaller books when a soft line is found certainly can provide some short term value, but you just want to make sure you don't open yourself up to being screwed if the book goes broke.
