SBRtv Interviews with Pinnacle Sportsbook: Episode 1 - Intro Q&A with a Senior Trader

[SBRPicks]

SBRtv is happy to introduce a series of interviews with a Senior Trader at Pinnacle, John T., who will give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the inner workings of Pinnacle, arguably the most influential offshore sportsbook in the world.

In this first interview, SBRtv host Peter Loshak asks John T. some basic questions about John's background, line movements at Pinnacle, and the basic operational model of Pinnacle in general.

In the rest of the series of interviews, Loshak will ask questions posted on the forum, so if you have any questions for John T., or any topics you'd like him to talk about, ask away! Post them in this thread! If there's anything you've ever been curious about regarding Pinnacle Sportsbook, this is your chance to find out.



Part 1: Background and Bio of a Senior Trader
To kick off his series of interviews with John T., a Senior Trader at Pinnacle, Loshak asks about John's background and bio, and how he wound up working at Pinnacle.




Part 2: Opening Lines and Line Movements
Loshak asks basic questions about how Pinnacle opens their lines, and how they move those lines up until game time.




Part 3: "Sharps" and Account Profiling
In Part 3 Loshak and John T. discuss how Pinnacle profiles their accounts, how they react to sharp/winning accounts, and why they are ok with taking sharp action.




Part 4: Goals For A Typical Game
To close out the first interview in this series, Loshak asks what Pinnacle's goal is in terms of betting action for the typical game they hang lines for.

[Dank_Fire]

Nicce joooob sbr....this will be great can't wait to get outta class and listen to this!!!!

[SBRPicks]

SBR posters,

If you have any questions or topics you'd like to have addressed in the next interview SBRtv will be doing with John T., post them in this thread!



Thanks!

SBRtv Staff

[minet123]

SBR posters,

If you have any questions or topics you'd like to have addressed in the next interview SBRtv will be doing with John T., post them in this thread!



Thanks!

SBRtv Staff

Can I get the over/under on how many
"why you leave the US market and when you will be back"
I will take the over

[jjgold]

I would like to know what type of action they get on all sports, kind of like a breakdown from tennis, to golf, soccer, etc

Also have they ever thrown a player out or limited a player because of too much money won

[FreeFall]

I would like to know what type of action they get on all sports, kind of like a breakdown from tennis, to golf, soccer, etc

Also have they ever thrown a player out or limited a player because of too much money won

I'd like to know as well if they have EVER thrown out a player that won too much as well?

[usernametaken]

pinnacle

Does this mean that they change lines based on how we bet? Example if we bet the Boston Celtics every time they play that they change the spread?

[gafl]

Interesting interview. Since Pinnacle has basically left the US market, what percentage of money do they now take on the major US sports, pro and college, compared to when they were active in the US market?

[RealSlimShady]

A few questions:

1) Pinnacle lean- Is that generally a result of a trader taking a postion on the game to begin with when he puts out a line or is it because of action pushing it one way?

2) Buying/selling points - What is the ratio of people who buy vs sell points? Assuming there are lots more people who buy rather than sell, are the buy and sell prices adjusted for this(ie overinflate the cost of buying). For example, say it costs 8c to buy and you get 2c to sell on the Pinnacle model for a particular game. Is fair value really 5c or is it lower? I assume there is much more buy action than sell action generally, so is the midpoint considered fair value or is the buy-sell market on Pinnacle adjusted for the ratio of buyers vs sellers?

3) How can I find out if my account is considered relatively sharp or square?

[Dark Horse]

Nice!

Question: Can you please tell everybody when you change dealers?

[illfuuptn]

What exactly is their hold percentage for each sport and how much is bet on a typical game in each sport?

[Pete0]

doublepost ****

[pjesnik24]

why the hell they leave soccer lines "offline" for several hours?

[Pete0]

how does pinny take a lean ? obviosly they cant have a different spread than most books. so the "wrong side" is offered at +100 or better ??

oh and thanks SBR.tv for these great interviews. very insightful !!

[Ruifgalmeida]

I would like to know how much money pinnacle takes in bets in major sports in a single game?

[Unicorn7]

Impressive addition to the forum. Would love to see them back in the US market

[wrongturn]

It does not apply to me, but do they block high refreshers?

[Salamander]

Nice job thanks for the insight, looking forward to more.

[vanzack]

Wow.

This is really fantastic.

Thanks SBR

[bztips]

Very informative, thanks SBR.

What it says to me is that "beating the Pinny closing line" is not and should not be the be-all and end-all of sports betting. Most (but not all) of the time, Pinny is just trying to get relatively balanced action; and as the interviewee said, many times they get sharp action on both sides of an event. So the idea that just because you beat the closing Pinny line doesn't automatically mean that you made a good bet, and vice versa as well -- just because you bet and the Pinny line moved against you doesn't automatically mean you made a bad bet. (Justin7, are you listening???)

[Le_Donk]

would like to know why they have so much problems with their webpage

[Yi]

Great Video!!!

[Dark Horse]

Question: Pinnacle is a betting operation masquerading as a book (with Computer Group roots). What percentage of your dealers would fit this profile? And what percentage of your overall volume is invested accordingly?

[dvsbmx]

Great video. Please keep them coming!!! Thanks sbr!!!

[specialronnie29]

Question: while there is not a clear division between sharps and squares, what would you guess is the percentage of 2nd half action for NFL and NBA is square action and what percentage is sharp action?

ronnie

[fido007]

As an American can I move to someplace where you accept action and wager for baseball season?

[sharpcircle]

Great vids thanks.

How many people do they have working on major market games?

[robzilla]

Best informative interview on SBR yet.

[Domestic]

I would like to know what type of action they get on all sports, kind of like a breakdown from tennis, to golf, soccer, etc Also have they ever thrown a player out or limited a player because of too much money won

Also very interested in this.

[onizuka]

Exciting to watch this, SBR please do the same thing with others bookies

[byronbb]

What percentage of pinnacle's handle for an NFL game is "sharp" versus "square"?
What percentage of users are there just to look at the dynamic lines change?

[jjgold]

Loshak was high as a kite in this video and that is why he did a good job on it

Coke is your friend if you know how to use it right

[JoeVig]

Q: Limits on NCAAB have been drastically reduced since leaving the US Market. How much action do they typically book on a:
a) Top 10 game and 1st half
b) Small school game and 1st half

[brettels]

do they offer white label solution?

[lukahh]

Q: How many markets (games) is one trader responsible for? How stressful does it get? How much vacation do you get?
Q: Is he responsible for all aspects of that game (O/U, sides...)?
Q: What does it mean when we see "offline" mark during peak trading? (too many people making bet, crisis management... ?)
Q: How many active traders does pinnacle have?
Q: How much $ does a trader make? How much does it depend on results on his markets?
Q: have you ever approached a bettor to become trader for pinny?

thanks, great interview!