Instructions for betting at the house

Instructions for betting at the house
We are at war with the bookies!

We aren’t really, but I thought it would be a catchy headline. We love bookies since they are how we make money football betting! Sometimes though issues can arise between you the punter, and your bookie of choice. You can prefer lớn the free soccer tips site pages!

In this article we want to cover some ways you can state your case and get your way when these issues arise.



The Bookies
No matter who you are, nor where you are, you use a bookmaker. Therefore, it pays to know a bit about your bookmakers, hence us creating this little guide for you. Admittedly, we only have first hand experience of using British bookmakers, but we know people from all over the world who have experienced different things with bookmakers that may be of use lớn you all.

The First Rule of Fight Club… err Bookies is
The first thing lớn remember is that the bookmakers really are a law unto themselves. There are some basic rules that they all have to follow, but aside from that, they will basically do what suits them.

A good example of that is to view the differences between bookmakers as lớn what they do if a game from your accumulator is postponed/abandoned.

Some bookmakers will remove the game and pay out. Some will make the entire accumulator void. Some will wait lớn 24 hours to see if the game is eventually played. Some will wait longer than that. And so on.

Because each bookmaker can decide how it handles these things you can’t assume because the new bookie you’re using will act the same way as the old bookie.

More serious issues
Different bookies having different policies doesn’t seem that bad, but unfortunately it doesn’t end there.

We’ve also had members of ours have their bonuses removed from their account because they’ve won too much money.

Some bookmakers have banned individuals for making too much money, which they don’t seem lớn advertise.

If we were better at marketing ourselves we would probably be shouting that from the rooftops – “Bookies hate us! Here is why” but of course this type of thing sucks, it can leave you feeling helpless and down money that you had already spent in your head- According to the soccer tips guide pages!

Sometimes bookmakers make mistakes
When a bookmaker makes a mistake, they tend to claw the money back. I recall one bookmaker not doing so, which I thought was good of them, but that was many years ago now. Basically, their stream was running about a minute behind mine, I saw a team had scored but the bookmaker hadn’t updated their site, so I took that team to score the next goal and won. That was one of the more pleasant experiences. The majority are very disappointing, though. I remember one instance where they changed the odds after the event had finished, insisting that a mistake had been made at the time they were advertised. I challenged it, but didn’t get anywhere, as they’re a law unto themselves.

Know your minimum withdrawal amounts
Another confusing aspect I came across was that a bookmaker would only let you withdraw your winnings if your balance was +£100. For some of you, that’s probably a drop in the ocean. However, I’d imagine that, for the majority, that’s a lot of money to have in a betting account. As you all know, there are no guarantees that you’ll win upon making your initial deposit, so be careful as lớn which bookmaker you sign up.

As you can plainly see, even if you don’t imbibe all of the T&Cs, it’s still worth collating information for relevant topics so you know where you stand.

Know your markets
Some bookmakers like to mess with your heads by not making things clear. For example, with one bookmaker, a -1 handicap can mean the Asian version, which means you get your stake back if the team in question wins by a solitary goal. However, with another bookmaker, the -1 handicap can mean that the team needs lớn win by two clear goals – or you lose.

They will seldom give you that information, though, because they want you to bet with them and to take your chances. They know that their best source of revenue is via repeat business, so in their eyes, it’s worth them taking the chance on you gambling with them and potentially sticking around either way.



We’ve written about the difference between Asian and European handicaps before, if you’re interested.

Good lớn know!
It sounds obvious, but remember that the bookmakers are only in it for themselves. I’ve spoken to people from Romania, Israel, and most parts of Africa where the leagues they can bet on are very restricted. Furthermore, the number of bookmakers that actually accept their custom are rather few, so their odds tend lớn be really poor when compared to bigger bookmakers.

What can I do if I have been wronged?
If you feel that you have been wronged by a bookmaker, you can take the issue to them.

Personally, I find the most rewarding way lớn do so is via LiveChat – most bookmakers have this facility but don’t like advertising it because they don’t want lớn be overloaded with random queries.

Upon doing so, remain polite, gracious, and honest – but firm.

Explain what happened, what it is you take exception to, and try to be as helpful as possible with the details that they request.

If you keep pushing them, and your request is reasonable/not too expensive, then they’ll generally give in.

So which bookmakers should I use?
That’s a difficult question to answer because I don’t know where all of you reside. Personally, where possible, I would always recommend Bet365. Yes, we have an affiliate program with them, but that’s not the reason I recommend them. I use them on a personal basis, and I have done so for a long time. I use them because they have the most diverse markets, lots of streaming, and because they’re more reasonable than the others when I’ve interacted with them. They’re not flawless – no bookmaker is, really – but they’re the best of a tricky lot, in my opinion.

Success Stories
Do you have any success stories or horror stories with bookmakers messing you around? Let us know in the comments. We’re especially keen for you lớn share any tips that have helped you in the past that may help someone else in the future.