what is a wiseguy play?
i have been hearing about this term a lot lately. i just know books don't like it. can someone please explain (with an example) what is a wiseguy play.
thanks
thanks
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Sure..
JJ Gold releases play.
A wiseguy play is betting the opposite side.Comment -
Online Sports Betting - bookmakers vs. wiseguys
Bookmakers vs. wiseguys is the most common rivalry in the online sports betting arena, a true love/hate relationship between the two opposite sides of sports betting.
Bookies commonly identify professional players as "wiseguys"; a wiseguy usually has the right information and consistently "beats the number" thus easily becoming a bookie's worst nightmare.
Having spent two years at the helm of an online sports book I have the opportunity to analyze and understand the typical behavior of a wiseguy.
Readers often ask me how does a bookie sees wiseguys (professional players); Here are my two cents based on my experience behind the counter.
I would first say that there are two main categories, honest pros and dishonest pros.
An honest wiseguy comes in telling the book who he is thus failing to qualify for perks and bonuses (which we should all remember they are offered to recreational players to compensate their lack of betting knowledge).
He doesn't mind having additional collars and restrictions (wagering limits, time within which he is allowed to bet on an event).
In exchange he gets preferential payout timeframes and, most important, he is allowed to bet (remember, books are privately owned business that can refuse taking action at their choice).
Honest wiseguys are usually allowed to wager higher amounts well ahead of time, from a day or two before the event up to several hours.
Linesmakers often use their action to sharpen their lines. It's a fair give and take that substantially rewards both sides.
Dishonest pros can be further divided into two sub-categories;
The greedy and stupid one and the smart and sneaky one.
The commonalities of these sub-categories are that both are bonus abusers (pros aren't entitled to bonuses and perks) and both usually bet within minutes of the event going off the board.
The "greedy and stupid" is very easy to spot; he usually bets higher amounts and when confronted with the truth denies and threatens to go public.
"I'm going to post on all gambling forums and ruin your reputation" a dude once told me.
"Why should you?" I asked. "I'm not revoking the bonus, not cancelling your bets, not confiscating your winnings...so why should I fear you?"
"Either you allow me to keep getting my bonus or I will blast your book on all chat boards!" he contended.
I told him to go ahead and be my guest. He eventually didn't.
The confrontation arose because I used to handle these cases personally. Once risk management identified the account I would personally call the player and congratulate him twice; once for being such a good bettor and the second time for being able to circumvent our bonus policies.
I would then go on informing the player that his past action would be validated and paid however if he wanted to continue to wager the wiseguys rules would apply to his account: no bonus whatsoever, betting collars, time within which we would accept his action and possible not acceptance of bets at our sole discretion.
The second sub-category, the smart and sneaky is much harder to spot, especially when you run an operation with anywhere between 7,000 and 8,000 weekly actives.
The smart and sneaky rarely bets over $200 a pop. Once in a while he throws in some losing bets intentionally just to keep below the radar. He also never allows his balance to run too high, thus remaining invisible.
The smart and sneaky usually takes two or more payouts per month and keeps his balance tenfold his average bet size.
Books eventually identify these kind of players yet they rarely put them under the wiseguys rules because of the limited bet-size. However the accounts get flagged and kept under review at all times.
Books like SportsInteraction would allow these guys to hit a certain amount of winnings and then boot them.
VIP used to squeeze their limits to $20 or $30 and so on.
My advice to seasoned players is to always disclose what kind of player you are with your sportsbook. You will be treated fairly and never get in trouble.
If you go the opposite route and abuse the book's bonus policy you may get lucky and be shown the door with your winnings intact or end up in a dispute that could lead to confiscation of your winnings at best.Comment -
Anytime I've won money beating a book to a steam move etc I donk $100 or so off on various six team parlays to appear like a square. Am I safe Justin?
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