How badly do you miss Pinnacle? Not as much as this bettor!

[SBR Lou]

Posted by Amsterdam at another board.. Too good not to share.

Dear Pinnacle (from Stan)

My tea's gone cold I'm wondering why I..
got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window..
and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'll all be gray,
but your picture on my wall
It reminds me, that it's not so bad,
it's not so bad..


Dear Pinnacle, I emailed but you still ain't replyin
I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom
I sent two emails back in oh-seven, you must not-a got 'em
There probably was a problem at the help desk or somethin
Sometimes I scribble my bets too sloppy when I jot 'em
but anyways; **** it, what's been up? Man how's your overseas markets?
My new sportsbook accepts Thai Hockey action too.
Me? I'm bout to be a father, if I have a daughter,
guess what I'm a call her?
I'm a name her Pinny
I read about the UIGEA too I'm sorry
I had a friend kill himself went he couldn't bet online and got barreled in.
I know you probably hear this everyday, but I'm your biggest fan
I even bet your Womens Swedish Badmitton second halves
I got a room full of your betting logs and your printouts man
I liked the seven-cent MLB lines too, that shit was fat
Anyways, I hope you get this Pin, hit me back,
just to chat, truly yours, your biggest fan
This is Stan

Dear Pin, you still ain't called or wrote, I hope you have a chance
I ain't mad - I just think it's ****ED UP you don't answer fans
If you didn't wanna book my action from inside the states
you didn't have to, but you coulda given a credit account to Matthew
That's my little brother man, he's only sixteen years old
We waited outside Western Union in the blistering cold for you,
four hours and you just said, "No."
That's pretty shitty man, you're like his ****in idol
He wants to be a bookie just like you man, he moves on air more than I do
I ain't that mad though, I just don't like bein lied to
Remember when we met in The Isle of Man - you said if I'd email you
you would write back - see I'm just like you in a way
I was never able to turn down sharp action neither;
My players would bet huge round robin moneyline parleys and teasers
I can relate to what you're saying by the way you book
so when I have a shitty day, I drift away and bet the board
cause I don't really got shit else so that shit helps when I'm depressed
I even got a tattoo of your name across the chest
Sometimes I bet both sides of a game at -110 just to see how much it bleeds
It's like adrenaline, losing vig is such a sudden rush for me
See everyone of your numbers are sharp, and I respect you cause you hang it
My girlfriend's jealous cause I talk about you 24/7
But she don't know you like I know you Pin, no one does
She don't know what it was like for sportsbettors like us growin up
You gotta call me man, I'll be the biggest client you'll ever lose
Sincerely yours, Stan -- P.S.
We should book together too

Dear Mister-I'm-Too-Smart-And-Sharp-To-Write-My-Customers,
this'll be the last package of cash I ever send your ass
It's been six months and still no word - I don't deserve it?
I know you got my last two emails;
I wrote the deposit and account numbers on 'em perfect
So this is my cassette I'm sending you, I hope you hear it
I'm in an online casino now, playin blackjack on the freeplay
Hey Pin, I just put half my bankroll on black, do you dare me to let it ride?
You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night"
about that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning
but didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?
That's kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from going all in
Now it's too late - I'm on a -1000 vig ten team parlay now, I'm drowsy
and all I wanted was a lousy teaser or a call
I hope you know I ripped your 1-800 bet line off the wall
I love you Pin, we coulda been together, think about it
You ruined it now, I hope you can't sleep and you dream about it
And when you dream I hope you can't sleep and you SCREAM about it
I hope your vigorish EATS AT YOU and you can't BOOK without me
See Pin; [ *screaming* ] Shut up Mitch! I'm tryin to talk!
Hey Slim, that's my local bookmaker screamin in the trunk
but I didn't slit his throat, I just tied him up, see I ain't like you
cause if he can't book squares he'll suffer more, and then he'll die too
Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the bridge now
Oh shit, I forgot, how'm I supposed to send this shit out?
[ *internet connection hangs* ]
[ *brief silence* ] .. [ *NO CARRIER* ]

[Red_Sux]

loser. i don't miss pinnacle at all

[Louisvillekid1]

Ha,

Great stuff . . .

[gambleballs]

I think that just made my year.

[gambleballs]

I liked the six-cent NBA lines too, that shit was fat

[WileOut]

What if in a dream world type of situation another book popped up that wouldn't limit winning players, had 3 cent basketball lines on sides and totals, and had 3 cent lines on baseball..even runlines. And was backed by WSEX so you are guaranteed to be payed? The only downside would be no parlays. They would even offer live game action and accept USA players. Well guess what? This place already exists. Welcome to utopia.

http://www.matchbook.com/

[SBR Lou]

What if in a dream world type of situation another book popped up that wouldn't limit winning players, had 3 cent basketball lines on sides and totals, and had 3 cent lines on baseball..even runlines. And was backed by WSEX so you are guaranteed to be payed? The only downside would be no parlays. They would even offer live game action and accept USA players. Well guess what? This place already exists. Welcome to utopia.

http://www.matchbook.com/

commmmissionnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn obviously...

[jjgold]

Pinny really slipped when they lost the big money in usa market.

[WileOut]

commmmissionnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn obviously...

The numbers I posted included commission. I never quote matchbook numbers without including commission.

The Celtics Detroit game yesterday was +100 -101 which is really -102 -103 (with commission included) and a 5 cent line. Baseball is 3 cents because they only charge 1% commission on baseball.

I dont understand why people dont understand how great matchbook is. I think the people that dont understand how to figure commission get scared away.

[SBR Lou]

Another factor for many guys is liquidity at all times and various sports.

[The HG]

The only downside would be no parlays.

You forgot a few downsides: no overnights, no team totals, no props, no second half lines, no buying and selling of points, no first half lines (yes they offer them in MLB, but there is negligible liquidity even at peak times), no alternate run lines in MLB, no puck lines in NHL, etc etc.

Those are some HUGE downsides. Those are all essential parts of my betting arsenal that simply do not exist at Matchbook. Actually I would consider the lack of parlays to be much less of a downside than all the others I mentioned.

[SBR Lou]

You forgot a few downsides: no overnights, no team totals, no props, no second half lines, no buying and selling of points, no first half lines (yes they offer them in MLB, but there is negligible liquidity even at peak times), no alternate run lines in MLB, no puck lines in NHL, etc etc.

Those are some HUGE downsides.

really laying the boot down on him here.

[WileOut]

I only play baseball, football, and basketball. On 90% of the lines in these games you can get at least 10k down. Usually you can get 30-50k down pre-game. I dont bet on games early because I always wait for the official lineups to be released. So overnight lines mean nothing to me.

For basketball HALFTIME LINES HG you can get down at least 15k. Usually 40-50k. And the halftime lines are insanely tight.

Lets put it this way, in half the games I bet, I get paid the juice. At the end of the year I have always been paid more juice than I have paid out.

[WileOut]

HG I have accounts at other places for the prop bets and team totals. For straight bets and totals I use matchbook most of the time. They usally offer alternate lines too. Yesterday you had -5.5 or 6 for the Detroit/Celtics game.

Yes matchbook doesnt offer all the variety but for straight bets and ML bets and totals (which represent 90% of the bets made by all players) they are a must have.

[The HG]

I only play baseball, football, and basketball. On 90% of the lines in these games you can get at least 10k down. Usually you can get 30-50k down pre-game. I dont bet on games early because I always wait for the official lineups to be released. So overnight lines mean nothing to me.

For basketball HALFTIME LINES HG you can get down at least 15k. Usually 40-50k. And the halftime lines are insanely tight.

Lets put it this way, in half the games I bet, I get paid the juice. At the end of the year I have always been paid more juice than I have paid out.

Overnights are huge. Without overnights I would lose enormous value with line movements by the time the matchbook lines have liquidity.

team totals are huge.

first half lines are huge. at matchbook you usually see 30-cent spreads on first half MLB lines with $50 bucks liquidity on each side.

buying and selling of runs in MLB is, needless to say, huge.

some of the common props that are offered by books can be great opportunities.

alternate run lines i don't use a whole lot, but when i do use them they give crucial value.

in hockey, puck lines obviously, are huge.

and yes if you don't have pinny, and you dont want to keep accounts at a bunch of books to get the best line, then yes matchbook is great for same day sides and totals. but if you do have pinny, then the extra benefit from the lines at matchbook is not going to be that great. if i had to have either pinny or matchbook, i would take pinny, it wouldnt even be close.

[WileOut]

To me the ability to bet in game live trumps all the stuff you have mentioned many times over. But thats me. If you are betting in game you need to have a WSEX account for emergency purposes in the rare case of lack of liquidity during the game at matchbook and you need to hedge at a crucial spot. WSEX usually has the same games going live and always has odds available to bet on. However you dont want to use WSEX primarily as your live game out because the vig is huge. At matchbook in every game there are 20 suckers that will take just about anything you offer.

matchbook just started with the first half MLB stuff. That will take time to grow.

I agree if you like to bet props and team totals and first halfs you should get other accounts at different places. Simple enough, just open more accounts.

But 90+ percent of all bets made by me and other bettors (even pros) are straight bets, ML bets, and/or total bets. And for americans matchbook is a must have for these kinds of bets.

Pinny doesnt even factor into the decision for me because I am a recreational american bettor. But I know that most american pros have to play at matchbook for a lot of their action. Mainly because they dont limit anyone and they can get paid the juice.

[dwaechte]

Haha, this was pure gold. It may be because I'm actually a fan of the song, but I was laughin most of the way through.

[The HG]

For instance, right now I'm looking at maybe the Spurs money line.

Right now it's -178 at matchbook, which is nice.

but it's -175 at Pinny. It's -178 at 5Dimes. It's -178 at Legendz. Sure I could throw in a line and try to get -170, and maybe it would get matched, maybe it wouldn't. Sure it's better than the other books that have it at -185 and -190.

But my point is, there is a LOT of downside to matchbook, and the upside is good, but not miraculously so.

[WileOut]

-174 now oh with commission lol its 178 right.

[WileOut]

look at the other side too. The only other place that is equal is 5dimes. They have a better price on the Lakers than anyone else other than 5dimes. Its both sides. And you can make an offer that usually gets matched.

I dont know, I love matchbook. I see your point. I will say that matchbook is a must have for americans who bet straight, totals, or ML's primarily and on gameday.

[WileOut]

The main upside at matchbook for many people is no limits and very high liquidity on the main 3 sports. Big time bettors have to love matchbook.

Plus the fact that you get paid the juice in half of your bets. Nobody can match that for americans.

[The HG]

look at the other side too. The only other place that is equal is 5dimes. They have a better price on the Lakers than anyone else other than 5dimes. Its both sides. And you can make an offer that usually gets matched.

I dont know, I love matchbook. I see your point. I will say that matchbook is a must have for americans who bet straight, totals, or ML's primarily and on gameday.

the other side is +167. 5 Dimes has +167, but pinny, greek, jazz, and abc islands are all top books that have +165.

and at matchbook, you can only get down 800 bucks at +167. More than that and you're going to have to take a worse line, at least as of right now.

Sure, other people might make offers later that will be as good or better. You could make an offer that might get matched. But the uncertainty of it is another downside.

I'm sure you have experienced going to matchbook thinking how great the 3-cent MLB lines are, only to see that in fact there's not a one-cent spread on the offers, but in fact a 2-cent spread, or a 4-cent spread. so sure you can wait until a one-cent spread comes up - but then you might have a worse line on the one you wanted to bet in the first place. or you could make your own offer making it a one-cent spread, and yes it might get matched, but it might not if the line moves away from you.

matchbook is very useful, don't get me wrong, but it is far from a panacea.

and yes, of course the magnitude of the downsides and upsides depends entirely on what kind of bets you are looking to make, and what size bets you are looking to make.

[The HG]

wile out, i feel bad. i didn't mean to brow-beat you about matchbook, matchbook is good, i have an account there and i do use it. all i meant to say was that there's a ton of value betting-wise that you can't access at all on matchbook, that if you want to get you have to have accounts at the other places.

Look at Durito, I don't even think he uses matchbook at all, because the lines are tight. He finds his value elsewhere.

[SBR Lou]

wile out, i feel bad. i didn't mean to brow-beat you about matchbook,

Really laid it to him good. Almost like he touched your sister wrong.

[The HG]

Really laid it to him good. Almost like he touched your sister wrong.

Hey, anyone who wants to come on here and talk about how great matchbook is - is gonna have me to deal with. And you don't want that.

[20Four7]

Hey, anyone who wants to come on here and talk about how great matchbook is - is gonna have me to deal with. And you don't want that.

I'll deal with you. What you mentioned is the reasons I don't necessarily play at matchbook. Personally I find value in places that no one really likes to play at or look. It' s out there if you go looking.

Now overnights or having lines available several days in advance is great if your ahead of the handicapping. WNBA several days ago I got a total for tonight of 153 (I was under) and it's now 149.5. Yes I could try and middle it or scalp it.

[Wheell]

Matchbook is at its best close to game time. Pinnacle is pretty strong all around. Matchbook might not exist in its current form if Pinnacle were not around. If I had to choose one I would have to choose Pinnacle simply due to the ease of betting openers.

[WileOut]

Really laid it to him good. Almost like he touched your sister wrong.

At matchbook I end the year getting paid juice for the same lines you pay juice for if you are not betting at matchbook. Yea he got me.