Question for Justin

[bobby heimrich]

There seems to be alot of bad pay threads related to somebody having two accounts or more than one person using an account at a given book.I don't want to appear stupid ,but if the account has the funds in it,what difference does it make who's playing? .Does this rule only apply to sharps or does this mean if I let my wife make a half dollar play on my account,Im in some violation and they stop letting me play?Thanks in advance and the reason this is addressed to Justin is it seems he handles alot of these.....I am open to any answer from any of the smart people that use this great site!

[Arilou]

I'll take a shot at this one, although Justin will be in a much better position to answer as I don't actually interact with the books like he does. Here's my understanding:

Books have limits in order to limit their exposure if a game moves or if they post a weak line, and overall to keep from having to take a large position they don't want. When you have multiple accounts, you can double bet a line to force the book to take positions that they do not want and their rules are designed to prevent. In the 5Dimes example, the player wanted to bet big on challenger tennis; 5Dimes offers such lines but has no intention of letting players bet large amounts on them. The other side of the same problem is that most books will kick players out for sharp play (and/or winning) and players use other people's accounts to bet despite being banned. In both of these cases, the book has every right to be upset.

That doesn't mean that you can't let your wife bet a half dollar. She can bet all she wants, as long as she doesn't have an account of her own.

[Justin7]

Good observations.

Books have a legitimate reason to keep people from double-betting quickly. If you bet a limit-bet from two accounts in rapid succession (e.g. under 20 seconds), you are interfering with their ability to manage their position. With so much going on, it's often difficult for a linemaker to rapidly adjust... some groups of players even try to time their bets, hitting a line twice or more within seconds.

If multiple accounts are used, but bets aren't made rapidly, the case isn't so clear. What if I use two accounts, but place bets 20 minutes apart? The book clearly has time to react. "Recreational" books often use lines they know are soft, relying on getting more "square" action. SIA's business model is to use faovrite-biased lines, and kick out (or confiscate accounts from) smart players.

Is it fair for a book to confiscate a player's account under such circumstances? Their rules say they can (although SIA's didn't until recently, after the latest wave of confiscations). What do you do with a book that has outrageous rules? Don't play there.