A Tale of Two Sportsbooks
Different Shops for Two Different Types of
Players
You’re on a budget. You’re NOT
a shop-til-you drop type of person. Big, expensive purchases
are not what you’re after. So, you are more likely to
be seen at WalMart than at Neiman Marcus, right? Right. But,
you’re probably asking yourself, “What does this
have to do with sports betting?”
Well, the fact of the matter is, just as
there are two different types of stores for two different
types of shoppers, there are two different styles of sportsbook
for two very different sports bettors. Professional bettors
have a distinctly different set of requirements than do recreational
players. And, there are books ideally suited for each of these
two kinds of gamblers.
Sportsbooks that target the Recreational
Bettor (Square) are typically defined by lower limits,
larger bonus offers, and relatively standard lines. Shops
that cater to Professional Gamblers (Sharps)
have higher limits, smaller bonus offers, and more opinionated
lines than their recreational counterparts. And, there are
sometimes less-noticeable differences as well.
Shops catering to the recreational player
typically have little patience for sharp action. In other
words, should a player exhibit betting patterns indicative
of a professional or expert gambler, the sportsbook may invite
them to take their business elsewhere. Or, they’ll simply
reduce that player’s betting limits. And, they also
have a low tolerance for “bonus whores” –
players that post up strictly to profit from a shop’s
bonuses with little intention of risking their deposit. Is
it wrong or bad for a sportsbook to operate this way? It often
depends on who you ask.
Sharp players tend to take offense to having
their limits cut, or to being booted for beating a shop. And,
they are usually the loudest voices on the forums –
complaining and condemning the recreational sportsbooks for
these practices. To us, however, this is a bit like
that Neiman-Marcus shopper complaining because there’s
no caviar at WalMart.
We believe that these practices are actually
a benefit to the recreational player –
who, by the way, makes up the largest percentage of the betting
population. The sportsbooks catering to the general public
are able to maintain their financial stability in part because
they just won’t allow expert gamblers to take big shots
at them. This means that recreational bettors, like you and
I, are left with a book that will have plenty of funds on
hand to pay us on those occasions when we win. And, we won’t
have to worry about the recreational shop’s solvency
during weeks when the public beats the books, because they
refuse the kind of action that puts them at risk.
So, the “Neiman-Marcus” types
should stop whining about the “WalMart” sportsbooks
of the world. There are sharp outs and there are square outs
… two entirely different offerings for two entirely
different players.
Good luck, whatever style player you may
be.
JoeWager.com |
