How is BetFirstClass?

Mudcat · 02-20-09, 12:13 PM

Much to my surprise, they still exist. If they're still in business around the start of next football season, I may even take a look at what they offer.

They have a rep, Michael, who has done everything he can to scare people away. Comes across as the very last person in the world you would want in decision-making position with your money - but he is actually high up in their heirarchy. I forget his exact title. Haven't heard from him for awhile. If they have any sense, they gagged him. Worst PR guy of all time.

Based on my experience I still expect them to fail but the fact is, I have not heard of any complaints. Big surprise to me.

Bill Dozer · 02-20-09, 02:16 PM

What they are doing isn't scalable but there are some pretty sweet deals for guys who are okay with the higher risk. Forum veterans know to get in and out with new posting board advertisers early on if they are going in at all. BFC doesn't have any experience in post-up and the result is doing business with people in debt and former owners of scam books. It's an uphill battle for any new book today unless it's a BetPhoenix putting in Millions just to get started. We can say BFC hasn't mistreated any of the few post-up guys they have and they paid a $600 debt to a clerk their software/server guy stiffed at his last book.

Bread · 02-20-09, 02:21 PM

Oh man those posts by Michael were hilarious. I miss him almost as much as Aussie Punter's rapping.

sickler · 02-20-09, 02:35 PM

Guy was a public relations disaster.

Funny stuff

katstale · 02-20-09, 02:44 PM

I am sorry, I liked the dude. he was funny as could be and so far he seems to have been on the level. I would have deposited with him if he had ewallets. I chatted him up on the phone one weekend and was very close to partying with him in Panama.

True enough, Mud, if I was him i might have left out all those parts abt the ex's etc. But it was almost as good as the guy with the kid older than himself losing money at BJ.

We need comic relief on here once in while.

fiveteamer · 02-20-09, 02:46 PM

I think I know who you are talking about, and he attacked me on the forum here.

unreal.

Bread · 02-20-09, 02:50 PM

What? But you're such an upstanding kinda guy 5t! I can't believe this news.

Mudcat · 02-20-09, 02:52 PM

Actually there was one complaint about them - but it was bogus. Speculation was it was AK getting up to some shenanigans, demanding money so that he would not take a complaint to the forum, they told him to screw off, yada-yada-yada - we ended up with a ghost with a laughably full-of-holes story.

Oh Barrywoode, we hope you're okay!

They actually had me defending Michael/BETFIRSTCLASS.

katstale · 02-20-09, 02:55 PM

Mud I just noticed they got MB now. Doesn't help me but you might jump on that sweet fp deal. Suck that fp right out!! lol

junkman773 · 02-20-09, 03:02 PM

They pay out very fast

Mudcat · 02-20-09, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by katstale

Mud I just noticed they got MB now. Doesn't help me but you might jump on that sweet fp deal. Suck that fp right out!! lol

No. Dozer was right on the money. If I was going to do it, I would have gotten in and out fast right when they started their forum campaign.

To my way of thinking, now is not the time.

Good luck to players and book though.

no chance in hell · 02-20-09, 04:32 PM

I played there quite a bit, never had any problems. Got quick payouts too. Very happy with them.

Their lines are a little different too which is a nice bonus

chance · 02-20-09, 04:56 PM

The BFC rep did come across as a bit if a Jeckle and Hyde character. One day I would think he was a stand up guy I could trust money with but then he would do stuff which reminded me of Mark Del who was a lunatic behind the failed betcamelot who used he do crazy things on the forums. He is an entertaining poster though but not sure I trust $$$ with BFC

The Judge · 02-27-09, 11:48 PM

Nothing but the Truth!

I would like to respond in a general way to the numerous questions and doubts about BetFirstClass’ reputation and trustworthiness. Prior to making this post I have communicated with Bill Dozer and The General and have been assured that my response would be welcomed here at the SBR Forum. While many SBR posters may not be familiar with me, I have been a long time poster and forum moderator at CappersMall who simply made a decision to hitch my wagon to BFC. The following is my story and rationale behind that decision.

BetFirstClass is a relatively new (two years) post up shop that is owned and managed by a man with huge experience on the credit side. Michael’s Midwest based US business encompassed a five state area with literally hundreds of clients. A little over two years ago, he decided to circumvent any potential legal issues and make the move to Costa Rica to lessen the chance of losing everything.

Subsequently, Mike opened an office in San Jose and had a beautiful home built in Escazu. His biggest mistake was that he thought that his past reputation would carry over to his post up business.

Not so fast, Mikey.

Michael came onto the forums with an attitude that has seldom been seen before. He seriously had never experienced the kind of deep seeded, yet valid skepticism that he encountered when he foolishly decided to become a forum poster. If you think about it, I am pretty sure that most of you reading this can relate to that scenario.

Certainly not everyone is familiar with recognized posting etiquette but Mike was a poster child for a f*cking train wreck. However, that in of itself does not automatically make him a bad guy. He simply has responded to criticism about his company in a very defensive manner with no understanding about how he would be received by forum veterans. Make no mistake, I also found his entry into the forum world to be comical and hugely counter productive to his goals

I have always been one who has tried to identify new opportunities so when I saw that Mike was doing himself no favors, I decided to fly down to SJO to meet him and spend a couple of weekend afternoons in his shop to just kind of soak it all in. I then left on Sunday after handing him a dime to open an account. I played with his book for six weeks, cashed out for $2800 and then began talking to him about how I could help him dig himself out of the hole he had created with his posting persona at EOG.

I feel that I have identified a ground level opportunity with a new post up book that obviously has a long standing background as a local credit shop statewide. I have talked to several friends in the business who are generally considered to be above reproach, and have been almost unanimously advised that if I am comfortable with the trustworthiness of BetFirstClass, I should take the opportunity.

I did and now here I am.

To date, I have found not a single reason to regret my decision and to my knowledge, there has not been a single complaint of any relevance lodged against BetFirstClass. It is a fact that BFC has consistently paid all withdrawal requests at a pace that greatly exceeds the performance of virtually any offshore portal. This fact simply can not be disputed. We are front and center and answer all questions asked. My job is to protect Mike from himself on the boards and to promote BetFirstClass in the most professional manner that I can. I had no illusions that this would be an easy task and it has in fact, proven to be quite difficult.

While BetFirstClass can not be compared to some of the more established books like TheGreek, BetCRIS, WSEX, Matchbook, etc., I would say that we are slowly but surely making a name for ourselves.

Here are a few of the things that we do very well.

1. We process withdrawal requests faster than literally any offshore gambling portal that I am aware of. We are very proud of our performance in this area and there are many testimonials around the forums to verify that most funds are received by the player within 24 hours of our receiving the request. In fact, it is not at all unusual for the funds to be in the players’ hands in a matter of a few hours. After all, it is not our money and we believe that when a customer wants their funds, it is our responsibility to get their cash to them in as timely a manner as possible.

2. This goes hand-in-hand with our payout track record but I am pleased to say that our Customer Service is exceptional. Michael, the owner of BetFirstClass and I both post on a daily basis and answer all questions from posters. Additionally, you can reach us via PM here at SBR and of course vial email and over the phone. While we do not maintain 24 hour phone support, someone in Customer Service is available to take your call between 9:00 AM and 11:00 PM CST, seven days a week.

3. At BetFirstClass we will frequently allow a player to call in a wager up until a few minutes after a game has started. We can do this because our Customer Service clerks are not just some folks working in a call center but rather trained guys that we allow to use their best judgment. Now certainly we are not going to accept a late wager on a football game after the opening kickoff was run back for a touchdown but we also don’t cut wagers off just because a basketball team might be up 4 to 0. Also, you really want to look into our 2nd Half lines in all sports as they are not the “cookie cutter” numbers that you will find with many of our competitors.

Here are some links to what a just few of our customers from other forums have had to say about their experiences with BetFirstClass. I can assure you that a quick search will turn up many similar opinions.

BFC Payout Experience

My first BetFirstClass payout

BETFIRSTCLASS IS THE BEST

IF YOU DONT HAVE BFC

I invite any questions or commentary about anything I have posted or any questions you might have regarding the BetFirstClass operation. I’m also pretty easy to reach in the event that you would like to have a more private conversation. If you have any questions or need information on funding an account with BetFirstClass, please do not hesitate to shoot me a PM here at the SBR Forum. ...

katstale · 02-28-09, 01:19 AM

Nice post. Will you be getting NT any time soon? i think Mike told me, but what software are you guys using now?

Good luck to you guys!!

MonkeyF0cker · 02-28-09, 01:56 AM

DB, katstale.

unknown Gambler · 02-28-09, 02:09 AM

Judge,
will you guys have 10 cent lines for baseball or will they be 20?

The Judge · 02-28-09, 09:10 AM

Ten cent MLB lines are available to anyone who waives the sign up bonus.

durito · 02-28-09, 09:19 AM

get neteller and i'll sign up

shantystar · 02-28-09, 09:24 AM

Originally posted by Bill Dozer

What they are doing isn't scalable but there are some pretty sweet deals for guys who are okay with the higher risk. Forum veterans know to get in and out with new posting board advertisers early on if they are going in at all. BFC doesn't have any experience in post-up and the result is doing business with people in debt and former owners of scam books. It's an uphill battle for any new book today unless it's a BetPhoenix putting in Millions just to get started. We can say BFC hasn't mistreated any of the few post-up guys they have and they paid a $600 debt to a clerk their software/server guy stiffed at his last book.

hummm!.betphoenix seems stiffing,as they stioff me last couple of days,i post a brief description at wagerline forums,industry talk.

Bread · 02-28-09, 09:58 AM

That was some mighty fine damage control there Judge.

But I must beg with you to let Michael out of the penalty box. I need that comedy in my life!!

The Judge · 02-28-09, 10:06 AM

Originally posted by Bread

That was some mighty fine damage control there Judge.

But I must beg with you to let Michael out of the penalty box. I need that comedy in my life!!

LOL, if you really need the comic relief that bad, he is still posting down the dial.

Bread · 02-28-09, 10:16 AM

If you mean EOG, I visited there for the first time ever yesterday to see what kind of trouble my banished buddy Fiveteamer was stirring up over there. I wasn't impressed.

But either way, tell him I said hi.

Mudcat · 02-28-09, 10:24 AM

Michael really made himself and his company look bad.

I recall his introduction. Someone with a handful of posts posted something negative and Michael came on crying and indicting the whole board for it. "You people this," and, "You people that." I was like, "Dude, a guy made a post on a forum. It happens. There is no need to insult everyone here."

Then he lied about SBR deleting something he posted. He said he posted something pro-BFC and it was gone because SBR deleted it. It was just a lie. I guess he wanted to set himself up as a victim and try to get sympathy or something but all it did was make me think, 'I don't trust this guy.'"

Peep · 02-28-09, 11:36 AM

I did take their deposit $500 get a 50% bonus 5X last week. Found a lot of bettable lines, went on a roll, got it up to $3500 and cashed out.

They don't understand moneybookers yet, so I couldn't get paid that way, they tried to send it moneygram next day, I didn't want that, Canadian exchange problems.

We settled on the $3500 going book to book to Matchbook, where, after rolling over 15% of the transfer, I was able to take out $2500 moneybookers the next day.

I had a good experience with this book. They were fun to deal with, even sending me a congratulatory IM when I won 7 of my first 8 bets lol. First time I had a book do that!

durito · 02-28-09, 11:49 AM

Book transfers to Matchbook? Really? I like that.

katstale · 02-28-09, 02:51 PM

I like the b2b with matchbook also. But neteller would bring me around real quick. and i agree, it couldn't hurt to let Michael post here once in a while. once the "alliance" is tired of hassling Richard, we will need some comic relief. I for one don't mind the top guys posting, i just never figured out how they had time to keep up with it.

Maybe you can come on and ghost as michael and throw in a few references to ex's and strippers and blow and ho. just until the next guy comes in claiming Phoenix reamed him.

The Judge · 02-28-09, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by Peep

I did take their deposit $500 get a 50% bonus 5X last week. Found a lot of bettable lines, went on a roll, got it up to $3500 and cashed out.

They don't understand moneybookers yet, so I couldn't get paid that way, they tried to send it moneygram next day, I didn't want that, Canadian exchange problems.

We settled on the $3500 going book to book to Matchbook, where, after rolling over 15% of the transfer, I was able to take out $2500 moneybookers the next day.

I had a good experience with this book. They were fun to deal with, even sending me a congratulatory IM when I won 7 of my first 8 bets lol. First time I had a book do that!

Thanks for sharing your experience, Peep and thanks for the insight into how Moneybookers works as we are now maintaining a balance there instead of cashing out after each transfer.

SSLP · 02-28-09, 02:58 PM

wow the judge just posed what could be one of THE best damage control posts in forum history.

Great post

The Judge · 02-28-09, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by durito

Book transfers to Matchbook? Really? I like that.

Durito, we offer book-to-book transfers between several shops. Please send me a PM if you are interested in more info.

treece · 02-28-09, 03:21 PM

Originally posted by The Judge

Ten cent MLB lines are available to anyone who waives the sign up bonus.

Place should be called BetCoach.

robertg · 02-28-09, 11:20 PM

i've been a member at cappersmall since 04 and I can definitely vouch for Judge's credibility(and handicapping skils) and I think the fact the BFC has book to book transfer relationships with top-rated books
speaks volumes for their credibility. I'll be giving them a try in the near future.

sickler · 02-28-09, 11:28 PM

Originally posted by robertg

i've been a member at cappersmall since 04 and I can definitely vouch for Judge's credibility(and handicapping skils) and I think the fact the BFC has book to book transfer relationships with top-rated books
speaks volumes for their credibility. I'll be giving them a try in the near future.

And who's going to vouch for your credibility to vouch for someone else's credibility?

Not saying Judge has no credibility, just odd how forum acquaintances will "vouch" for someone they probably don't know much about other than reading their messages on a screen.

robertg · 02-28-09, 11:46 PM

Originally posted by sickler

And who's going to vouch for your credibility to vouch for someone else's credibility?

Not saying Judge has no credibility, just odd how forum acquaintances will "vouch" for someone they probably don't know much about other than reading their messages on a screen.

valid point.......but it really means anything anyone at any forum says, really means nothing.....so wtf is the point of posting over 2000 times
in just over 9 months(that was in reference to you in case you didn't catch it)?

anyway the main point I was making was that the book to book transfers to major books impress me. It means that at least these books trust the integrity of the book.