[todd73nj]

Does anyone besides me take pre-game positions at Matchbook in a game that will be left open for live trading? I did it twice today - right before two of the bowl games - and when the lines came back up live - they had changed the totals. I take those positions pre game bec its much harder to start out on a specific position once a game starts because the markets are definitely thinner. The totals they had posted had been up since early this morning so I assume most of the action was on them. They were both also trading at exactly 50/50.

Below is my email to them, and I will post their response to it - if they bother to respond.

Subject:Changing all the live lines at Kickoff? How stupid.
Date:1/1/2011 2:20:53 P.M. Eastern Standard
To: Info@matchbook.com


Matchbook -

Why do you continue to do the same stupid shit?

Not once, but twice today - you changed a main line that you had listed in a game that was going to be left open for live trading.

At 12:55pm, the main line (which is the one that should become live) for MichSt/Alabama total was 51.5 - and the prices were 50.7/49.3
At 1:20pm, the main line for Mich/MissSt total was 59.5 and the prices were 49.8/50.2

So obviously in both of those games, you had lines that were priced at exactly 50/50. Sounds good right?

But as you switched the games over to live trading - you go ahead and change BOTH lines. Do you realize that people take pre game positions with the intention of trading them in game? You brag about your smart balance system - to help maximize balances. Well all of that goes out the door when you do something stupid like change the lines that people have been taking positions in for the last few hours.

I have emailed you about this twice before - and of course - no response to it. Take a look at your live total markets in those two games - NONE. But the game that you didn't change the total, TexTech/NW has a great market. And that game is on the channel that less people have - with the much less high profile teams.

The games that are not being left open for live trading dont matter because you keep all lines posted, then all lines come down at game time.

Use some logic for once. Pick the line that is going to be live - make sure it is clearly marked - so that your customers aren't left holding an un-tradable position.

I will be posting my email to you in forums, along with responses - or lack there of.

Todd

[Chuck Sims]

Live betting line sometimes change from the closing line. Rarely though. For example: -3 may change to -2.5 or 3.5. This is done to avoid a push after 3 hours of trading during a live game.

[Chuck Sims]

How successful are you at pre-game positions? I see quite a few games go back and forth which would be ideal. But what about those games like Mich St/Alabama...NW/Texas Tech? Blowouts from the start.

[andywend]

I have never seen anyone complain as much as Todd73NJ.

EVERY SINGLE TIME he posts in internet forums its to submit a complaint about a sportsbook/exchange.

I remember him from the old TradeSports days where he complained on a daily basis.

Since he is clearly so unsatisfied with the services provided by these sportsbooks/exchanges, then its high time he stop using them.

[Monte]

Well but he is correct, they are acting unprofessional. A push on a total is very very unlikely anyway.
For example on 2nd halfs, why the fvkk do they not offer an alternate spread when all the major sportsbooks have let's say +-0.5 for the spread, they just offer the pick em ML even if it should go as high as +140.
There are ppl who do not want to bet that, but the other thing...!

Now ofc the way the OP expresses it, i can see why they don't bother answering...
but one thing is for sure, MB rarely changes things that would do them good.

[notsosharp]

I hate this too! I wish they would leave up all the lines. Part of the value of matchbook is trading live in game.

[David]

Sometimes you have to guess which total they will leave up for in game betting. Maybe if you contact them ahead of time they can tell you which one they are going to keep up.

[Doug]

Matchbook is run by idiots. They could have put almost every book out of business....now the keep getting worse.

[todd73nj]

Sorry wasnt on for a few days...

But 1st, Andy, you need to pull your nose out of every book makers ass. If you go back and review my posts to Trade Sports, you will see all my points were valid - and were even part of the reasons they themselves said they were no longer goig to operate.


Chuck- The problem with matchbook is - it is their standard to change the line. They almost always use a 3.0 or a 4.0 - instead of starting out with a .5 line. Like I mentioned in all other games they can change/add lines whenever they want. As far as success in those games, I had under in Alabama/MSU (and TTU ML which was not a line that changed). The problem was I needed to use another line to attempt to cover (Bama game) in the end of the 3rd quarter, Early 4th quarter when the projected score actually turned to under. In alot of cases - when the line that is active is the line that you have - you can average down - and when your position moves back into favor you can get out. Im not saying that it even has to move to a projected cover. But if you started out with x amount of under at 50 (using % odds) in the Bama game. There was a good 1 hour of real time that you could have purchased under at about 20. If you have double your original play at 35avg - when this game moved towards appearing it was an under - you could have then profited very easily. I honestly find baseball totals the most profitable in live trading with an opening position.

Monte - My frustration with them is - I have emailed them multiple times about the same thing over the course of the last two years. They dont even respond. The response is "We will forward your response along to the relevant department." I have a whole website dedicated to live in game traders - and in our chat room, everyone expresses the same discontent with their policies. I have explained to them - to create a new rule - that one hour or two hours or 30 minutes or whatever time frame suits them - to finalize which lines will be the lines that are left up for live trading. They have that litte "Green Ball" that the put next to the lines that are going to be used as live, but the issue remains that sometimes they will have a perfect line up ( Selling at 50/50 with a .5 at the end) - and then they make a sudden changes 1 minute before the game and put up a new one with the green ball.

Notsosharp - Im not sure why they dont leave all the games open. I guess maybe dilution of markets? Im just concerned with the live games. I want to know what lines are live early enough to get a position before they take down all the pre game bids/offers.

Doug - 100% right. They have a product that no one else has for US Players. Market trading can be so profitable. They claim they choose the line ahead of time with the "green ball" - but when I trade I prefer to have a pregame position that I feel will be a winnner, and then sell it off as it becomes profitble, and but some of the opposite position to lock in a profit on both sides.


The chatters in my chat room noticed some interesting stuff in the middle of the bowl games where Matchbook changed the lines this past weekend. There appeared some HUGE offers on the lines that had moved - 100k worth, 90k worth - It almost seemed as if other bookmakers were laying off some action. In my two years with them I have never seen that kind of action. 5k, 10k bids/offers are very common pregame - but not ingame. If this is the case - this leads too all kinds of other problems why would book makers be trading in game.

[Monte]

Yesterday nfl 2nd halfs...the whole bookmaking world has o/u 20.5 or max. 21, Matchbook has 21.5.
I wish these guys would hire someone with a fukking clue, how dumb can it get, of course there have not been many offers on that line. But i guess MB doesn't care much about NFL games, right?

[wrongturn]

Well but he is correct, they are acting unprofessional. A push on a total is very very unlikely anyway.
For example on 2nd halfs, why the fvkk do they not offer an alternate spread when all the major sportsbooks have let's say +-0.5 for the spread, they just offer the pick em ML even if it should go as high as +140.
There are ppl who do not want to bet that, but the other thing...!

Now ofc the way the OP expresses it, i can see why they don't bother answering...
but one thing is for sure, MB rarely changes things that would do them good.

Maybe I am mistaken, but one day I saw them offering alternate 2H spreads, but they were created in a wrong direction. For example, starting with +3, while other books moved to +3.5 and +4, Matchbook was creating spreads +2.5 and +2.

[33therizla]

matchbook thinks that this will increase their volume as they expect you to bet again once the line moves.
your funds from your initial bet also get tied up for the entire game.
now when you try to hedge there is also a chance of a push and a loss (or win). which sucks.

[33therizla]

why doesn't matchbook post 2nd half NCAA Basketball lines?! is it that hard?
unforgivable.

[33therizla]

why doesn't matchbook post 2nd half NCAA Basketball lines?! is it that hard?
unforgivable.

[the sink]

Yesterday nfl 2nd halfs...the whole bookmaking world has o/u 20.5 or max. 21, Matchbook has 21.5.
I wish these guys would hire someone with a fukking clue, how dumb can it get, of course there have not been many offers on that line. But i guess MB doesn't care much about NFL games, right?

ye, it is insane how they can have such bad ppl working there...
so many times the line is off...

[Fishhead]

why doesn't matchbook post 2nd half ncaa basketball lines?! Is it that hard?
Unforgivable.

soccer soccer soccer

[jackkkk2009]

why doesn't matchbook post 2nd half NCAA Basketball lines?! is it that hard?
unforgivable.

I've played at Matchbook for years. I have never seen they posted up any 2nd halves for NCAAB.

[todd73nj]

They dont - they never have. Im sure many people have asked; myself being one of them. But they certainly arent the most responsive bunch to suggestions