BestLineSports...any good?

[austintx05]

I saw the article on another site and it stated that it was the best suited replacement for Pinnacle...when you sign up under promo code they have -105 pricing across the board....

SBR rates them a "B"

anyone use them before?

Is your money safe there?

Will I get paid?

[bigboydan]

There part of BLS International group, and bestlinessports was just recently upgraded a few days ago.

1/13/2007 10:26:00 AM
BestLineSports upgraded from B- to B

They have made some good progress as of late in the customer feedback category I've noticed over the past few months. However, I sure would not recommend them to professional bettors, because they will probably close your account real fast.

[austintx05]

they just told me that they had $500 limits....

but overnight lines...they cover neteller deposit fees and 1 free neteller withdrawal per month of $300 or more...

I'm just curious if my money would be safe..I don't bet $500 a game as of now....so their limits are not that much of a concern for me at this time...I guess the fact that they had -105 across the board...is what got my interest

[bigboydan]

They have been around since 1991, so I feel your money would be safe there bud.

[TLD]

I played there for a month or so early this football season.

Before I signed up, I did a search here and asked a couple of questions. I think the consensus was that in the past they had been aggressively anti-sharp, but that in the present they were more middle of the pack in that regard. Which is to say neither a “take-on-all-comers, anything goes” book, nor a book that is likely to find excuses to steal your money once you show you are betting at positive EV.

I actually talked to them at more length than most books before I signed up. I talked to the customer service clerk and her supervisor, and also e-mailed with them. I told them flat out that I was confident that given what they offer, I’m more likely to win than lose. I cited specifically their reduced juice (actually no juice on certain parlays), and I asked what would happen if I play just the stuff like that where I can almost certainly gain an edge. I said if they don’t welcome players who do that, I’d rather know that now rather than trying to sneak in or mask my play or engage in some other cat-and-mouse games with them.

They consistently responded that they have no problem at all with someone just playing their favorable offerings like that. I doubt that’s literally true, but I wasn’t so much trying to find out “Can I play at your book forever at positive EV?” but more “Can I play for a decent amount of time at your book at positive EV and will I be paid in full if and when you decide you no longer want my action?” And I was mostly satisfied with what they told me on that score.

As I say, I was only there fairly briefly. Probably 80%-90% of my action was on their no juice stuff. I ended up slightly ahead over that time period. I pulled out right around when the recent infamous bill passed, after asking about them here and SBR John saying they aren’t a book he’d recommend being in during a period of industry uncertainty like this.

If anything, with the Pinnacle bombshell and the probable end of Neteller shortly, I think the degree of uncertainty and instability offshore is even a little higher today than the day John posted that. So I haven’t felt comfortable enough to get back in Bestline yet.

I think in ordinary times I’d put them above the risk/reward line of places it’s worth being funded by my subjective criteria (though certainly not with the books at the very top), but today I put them slightly below that line.

I had no negative experiences though. They paid me in full when I pulled out.

The one thing they did do, which some might find a bit creepy, is try to talk me out of withdrawing. They called me when I put in my Neteller withdrawal request and said they noticed I was taking out my entire balance and they wanted to know if there were any problems or anything. I said that I was concerned about the offshore situation in general because of the law that had just passed, that I was pulling out the bulk of my money from all my accounts, that I was going to observe for awhile and then once the dust cleared in maybe a month or a few months I’d consider resuming playing offshore, and that everything had been fine with Bestline itself. (I was overstating how much I was drawing down my accounts in general; I didn’t want to say I was pulling out of just their book and one or two others because of safety concerns and what I’d read on SBR.) The guy who called me said that I could do as I like but really my approach didn’t make sense because the law didn’t take effect for 270 days, and so if I was going to temporarily pull out like that at all for my own peace of mind I should do so just before that 270 days was up and not now. We went back and forth a little—he wasn’t particularly unpleasant or anything about it, more of a salesman approach than a hostile or argumentative approach—but when I said I respect his opinion but I’d like to move forward with my withdrawal, he sent me my money with no further objections.

[Stumpage]

I was with them for a while, and the experience was basically average except for one glaring exception:

They locked my account and refused me access to it until I agreed (Over the phone) to start "Mixing up" my wagers. Essentially, it was a supervisor's belief that I was making much larger wagers on half-time lines than "regular" game lines. The only way for me to unlock my account and access my funds was to agree, so what could I do?

While this was true that most of my wagers were on NBA Halftime, I still found this action to be very bizarre, and in my experience, unprecedented. That was enough for me to get the hell out.

[austintx05]

thanks guys

[TLD]

And now I see Shrink has announced he’ll “guarantee” the Bestline accounts of anyone who e-mails him. Don’t know how much his guarantee is worth, but I’ll take him up on it if I decide to play there again. It’ll either make it more safe to play there or have no effect whatsoever (if he’s full of it and has no intention of honoring any such “guarantee”); it can’t hurt you.

[Justin7]

I recently handled a dispute with Bestline. They handled it professionally. In one instance, they made a misstatement, and they later corrected it (even though it hurt their side) when no one could dispute their version.

My impression of their management is that they are trying very hard to do what is right (the dispute with them was a complicated one involving possible chargebacks, where the facts I had suggested they did everything proper, so it was not reported).

[TLD]

I talked to Bestline today and got a little more information. Initially they said the –105 and bonus are only for new customers. Then a supervisor got on the phone and said he’d switch me to the –105 if I wanted, even though I have a small “red figure” (i.e., I’m ahead of them). So evidently it’s negotiable.

But a couple things to keep in mind. One, the –108 is being discontinued. So if you don’t switch to the –105 you’ll end up with –110, not the –108 you’ve been getting. All the more reason to switch if allowed.

However, on the other side (and the reason I likely won’t switch if I choose to reload there), if you take the –105 you no longer get the no juice parlays. Parlay payments for the –105 customers revert to the more conventional 6-1 for three teamers and such.

[Yoshi]

They will kick you out if you place a few bets they dont like.
Book for small players and squares only