20 Unanswered Questions

20 Unanswered Questions

By Gary Wise Jul 7, 2014

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Our Head of Sportsbook has now done three Q&A sessions on Twitter, and unsurprisingly, there have been more questions than he’s had time to answer. In this article, Pinnacle Sports (PS) answers some of those questions in the interest of completion. Have a look to learn about betting, from strategy to business.

Q1. From @mkasslatter: Is there a book about sportsbetting you would recommend to bettors and bookmakers?

PS: Though not specifically about betting ‘Fooled by Randomness’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a book every bettor should read.

Q2. From  @J_Chirico: How would you describe your most feared sports bettor and will you move lines because of 1 person?

PS: We have a number of clients who have consistently shown their knowledge needs to be respected. That respect can be manifested in line moves.

Q3. From @8_bakerboi_8: Who holds more sway/power in the office, the compilers, the researchers or the live line ‘inplay’ traders?

PS: This is something of a strange question for us, as there isn’t much of a power struggle to speak of. Our employees each have roles to play and are urged to maintain that specific focus. The efficiency of those parts contribute to the sum of the whole.

Q4. From @SD_Picks: Will lacrosse betting return??

PS: It’s an oft-repeated phrase in our Twitter Q&As, but volume drives our markets. Lacrosse, Cycling, Badminton, Curling, F1 props…the level of interest we see in these markets, as represented by the number and volume of bets, determines the amount of attention we’ll pay to them in the future. If you have a niche sport you’d like to see more of, one way you can help that cause is by submitting a request for it to market-request@pinnaclesports.com. That will ensure that your desires will be registered appropriately.

Q5. From @Pilsudski97: How big will this WC be for you guys compared to previous WCs + Euros, and which teams are good/bad results for u #pinnacle

PS: This question was asked back in April, but we can say now that the 2014 World Cup is the biggest event of all time for sports betting, by a large margin. We pledged in January that we’d offer $1 million limits for the finals because of our confidence in Brazil 2014’s scope; with all four quarterfinals seeing $500,000 limits, we’d likely have seen $1 million limits called for regardless of our promise.

Q6. From @MuckedNuts: How many of your dealers are current/former financial traders?

PS: From our Head of Sportsbook: “None. I prefer training people from the start and not having to work with preformed opinions”. A background in Game Theory or similar topics is a big plus.

Q7. From @JeffreyHahn1: How relevant is market size when considering accuracy of the market?

PS: Very relevant. The larger a market, the more opinions it accounts for. While bettors can sometimes find themselves following the crowd a little too much in those situations, a good general rule of thumb is that the larger the market, the sharper it is.

Q8. From @Terrell_7: What differentiates Pinnacle from other bookies, by them never cutting a punters account, limiting all betting?

PS: You answered your own question to an extent. We’re able to offer the best odds and highest limits while welcoming winners because we’re built around volume and effective market management. Some of our competitors are content to remove risk by offering large margins and shunning smart bettors. We’re happy to have our reputation instead, as this video explains.

Q9. From @basiljh: Will mobile site more closely resemble the site? Right now there seem to be no/few bets on mobile vs www screen

PS: A question from before our pre-World Cup mobile update. We’ve gotten great reviews on our improved mobile site. If you haven’t, have a look.

Q10. From @JMackie4: How big would you say your tennis product is in terms of liquidity and in sports betting? ie, 2nd behind soccer?

PS: Tennis is our second-biggest product after soccer, which is why we’ve expanded our offerings in recent months. We’ve also brought on widely respected tennis bettor/author Dan Weston to share his findings with our bettors in our ongoing efforts to help them educate themselves.

Q11. From @coolmarker18: I bet +2.5 sets in tennis, my player leads 2-0 by sets and their opponent retires in the third…my bet is void. Don’t you think this is stupid?

PS: We took this one to Head of Sportsbook. Here’s what he had to say:

“I can see both sides of the argument here. I prefer voiding the wagers on all retirements, but can see the argument to do it differently. Ultimately though, we feel the rule is fair; as often as it will work against you, it will work for you.”

We feel consistency is what matters most, and the present rules are the best way to offer that.

Q12. From @JSchouwerwou: How important is beating the closing line in NHL?

PS: Regardless of the sport, if you consistently beat our closing lines, you’re giving yourself a great opportunity for wealth.

Q13. From @MrRoyalW: Has PinnacleSports some risk in betting?

PS: Of course. Every bet comes with risks. That said, a large part of our volume-based business model is about managing that risk, something we do well.

Q14. From @drivetimepix: I know that you guys release the percentages of AMOUNT of bets on each side. I was wondering if you have considered releasing AMOUNT OF MONEY as a % on each side to the public? Thank you.

PS: You’ve probably noticed that we’ve given away a lot of secrets in recent years, but volume is too important to our model to disclose those numbers. We’ll keep looking for other ways to help though.

Q15. From @MrRoyalW: Why is Pinnacle Sports is the first site to open NBA lines everyday?

PS: A number of books look to us to assure the stability of their own lines. It’s something we take great pride in.

Q16. From @BartonicekJ: @PinnacleSports Is better way to bet according statistics analysis or according fundamental analysis?

PS: Any information is going to help you make a smart bet. Increasing the number of reliable sources of information you draw upon lowers the volatility of your predictions. In other words, both.

Q17. From @JSchouwerwou: When moving lines, is it strictly about money or does WHO that money is coming from factor in?

PS: Sharp money does help us form opinions, but we ultimately have to make the final decisions on those opinions.

Q18. From @bookierating: Can bettor earn money for long time by betting on sport if relying only on analysis and luck (no arbitrage, etc)?

PS: Yes. We have a number of bettors who do better than that. Our Head of Sportsbook admitted in his first Q&A that there are a number of bettors who average better than $300,000/month betting with us.

Q19. From @Danny_Dimes: Do you set Sharp lines and Retail lines for some markets or is it one price for everyone regardless?

PS: One price fits all.

Q20. From @_GreekWay_: Any plans to include UK horse racing?

PS: Not in the foreseeable future. Horse racing is a big mountain and other bookmakers have already conquered it. Trying to do so ourselves (when, admittedly, we’re not experts at present) represents a huge expenditure without guaranteed results. We’re happy with being the best at what we do; it allows us to keep margins to a minimum, which in turn keeps bettors happy.

*Odds subject to change

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