Limiting Your Players: Avoid Problems Down the Road

To avoid problems down the road, limiting your players is a necessary part of business. This is the final lesson in our financial chapter – you’re making great progress in the academy.

One of the owners here has a saying we want to share with you today. “You can skin a sheep weekly, but you can only gut them once.” How does that relate to bookmaking? Well, bookies control limits and it’s better to win a consistent amount most weeks than to win big once.

Here’s an example:

Player #1 has no credit limit and loses $2000 in a week. He has to set-up a payment plan with you, as he was betting above his means. Once he settles up (if he does), you’ll often lose that player.

Player #2 has a $300 weekly credit limit, loses it all, pays up and his livelihood isn’t impacted. If this player lost every week (won’t realistically happen), they’d lose $15,600 in a year.

As you can see, winning smaller consistent amounts is always better than one “big” win.

If you need a refresher on player betting limits and credit limits, study Chapter #2 (Lesson #2).

Today, we’re going to talk about a necessary evil – limiting or blocking player accounts.

First off, here are some reasons why you would limit/close a player’s account:
• Player Wins too Much: Some guys are sharp bettors and win consistently. There’s no sense in continually letting a sharp eat into your weekly profits, simply restrict/ban them.

One immediate way to identify a sharp bettor is that they’re always beating the closing line.

Another way is through your pay per head (PPH) reports.

Under the “Figures” tab, there’s a “Player Analysis” report. You can select any player that’s on your betting sheet to bring up a table showing you how a player is doing.

The player analysis report includes the bet count, wagered amount, win/loss amount and the hold percentage. The data can be shown in one week, one month, three months, six months or yearly intervals. However, we don’t recommend waiting a year to limit a sharp bettor.

• Arbitrage Players: Bookies don’t want players that are arbitrage bettors (arbers). This type of player bets all outcomes of a bet to guarantee a small profit at multiple bookies.

This is another reason why partnering with a legitimate PPH is so important.

PPH services set the betting lines and keep them updated 24/7. Arbers often look for stale lines at bookies where they can find an arbitrage opportunity. These players take free shots at bookies.

Sure, you may win some of these bets, but generally, you don’t want arbers on your betting sheet.

One way to determine an arbitrage bettor is through their wager amounts. They often wager weird amounts like $313.35 instead of just betting $300, so keep an eye on this type of activity.

Check the bet ticker once a night to see what your players bet that day.

• Unprofitable Players: Some players are simply going to be unprofitable. A player that bets $5/game and only a few times a week isn’t going to make you anything after PPH fees.

This is why we have taught you to vet every new player before opening them up an account.

It’s easier to learn about a player beforehand. Ask them what they plan on wagering on and how much they bet on average. While some guys will lie, most will be at least somewhat honest.