hey guys

sorry to get a little of topic but in saratoga's first post he mentioned "line" betting alot. what is line betting exactly?

To add to this discussion, i hope to be able to live of my gambling one day. i predominately bet sports such as soccer league and a bit of tennis but i have a go at horse racing and poker aswell. i dont really have any kind of staking plan. if i like something ill do my research and bet however much i am comfortable with.

The problem with trying to become a fulltime sports punter is monday through to thursday there isnt much at all as i stick to sports i know. soccer and league are weekend sports and there isnt a tennis game on every day and anyway most favourites are at stupid prices anyway. Maybe when im retired ill be a fulltime punter but until then im happy with the extra cash i make on sports betting, helps with loans, bills, etc....

good luck all this weekend
punta

Hi Punta
The line is the points start one team gets to make a bet relatively even. In the following example from Centrebet, the line on Melbourne is -3.5, ie they must win by 4 or more to win. Tennis is more hectic on Monday then any other day and is more active on Monday to Thursday then the weekend. I agree the prices on favs in tennis is horrible.

Win Line

Melbourne Storm $1.67 -3.5 $1.92
North Queensland $2.15 +3.5 $1.88

Sorry Punta. Sometimes I use the American vernacular without thinking it may be called something different down under. Usually I try to use both ways of saying it, if I know the Aussie version. And I see that Karla called our "point spread" a point start. Same thing. We also don't usually put the amount of money you lay or take with said point start because, in American foots, it is almost always -11/10 on a win play on either side, regardless of the "line", "spread", or "start". One of the more popular wagers on NFL, is the parlay. Two teams, both must win, pays back 3-1, but must pay -120 if either loses. I don't like them, but lots of players do.

hey guys,
thanks for your explanations, much appreciated.

It's called a few different things down here, mainly because books use different terms.

Spread, point spread, handicap, start, line, etc are all terms used down here.

Question for full-time, successful punters:

Assuming you bet with IASbet, Centrebet, etc. (anyone other than TAB), and if you are consistently successful, wouldn't the bookies end up restricting your account so that you can only wager small bets, or maybe even ban you in an effort to save their bottom line?

I was just reading how IASbet had a $5.24 million operating loss for the 04/05 year. Just trying to put myself in the shoes of an IASbet manager; wouldn't you at least restrict some of your clients that are winning consistently?

Have any of you had your account restricted because you were too successful? Is this an action that is prevalent, or maybe only something done by the less reputable bookies? If you are very successful, how do you avoid being restricted, or is something that should not be of concern?

__________________
...time held me green and dying, though I sang in my chains like the sea. - Dylan Thomas

Silver, All bookies reserve the right to refusal, but don't really want to use it. However, if the customer consistently wins large sums, then the book would be foolish not to at least make some kind of adjustments (lowering limits, taking certain games and teams off the board, etc.) I, personally, remember one customer that I had to finally surrender to, after about 5 years of him winning. I couldn't take it anymore and just told him the truth, "you're too good!" I couldn't beat him and he was eating away at the profits. I wouldn't judge the book as being disreputable if they have done this, as long as it was done in the correct manner. I wish I had bookies wanting to ban me!!! LOL!

I primarily bet AFL.

Out of season, I bet NBL and Cricket.

Also working on some horse racing.

Mainly stick to HH and sometimes margin or line, but, not very often.

Also doing some work on some new stats.