i apologize. could you please elaborate on what you are requesting? sorry i am not understanding.

yes. there is some truth to that and we are aware of it, but that is not the true intent. the true intent is for the Book to be able to accurately monitor and move the lines to keep things in balance. let's say that a play is $50 from going off the board (or requiring a line adjustment). if there is a per wager limit of $1000 then the Book will accept that wager and be out of balance by $950. the Book would probably not like that. with a per wager limit of $100, the Book will accept the wager, but only be $50 out of balance. then, if the Book wants to move the line, they may do so. the "per wager limit" from the Book's perspective is really the maximum exposure of being out of balance that they would want before moving the line. if the player wants to wager on the same play, it might be done so at a new line if the Book had chosen to change it. so, yes, the player may get around the "per wager limit" by placing multiple wagers on the same play, but he may get each wager at a different line. this mechanism is in place to keep the Book in balance and as long as the Book is monitoring the lines for each play, they will not care what a player does. i hope this answers your question satisfactorily and, more importantly, you understand and agree why it is so. thanks for posting your comment and please tell others about GameDay Payoff.

First off, thank you for stating that you really like our software. We also appreciate lively debate such as what you have coming our way. Also, knowingly, that this is of course in a fantasy setting where I know you and your buddies are playing for some prize at the end of the season. With that being said, let’s see if we can ease your mind about "a Book being highly exposed and out of balance very quickly and very often."

To be a successful Book, you have two objectives and two objectives only in order to stay positive. The first is to properly extend credit to each Player. You don’t want to give a poor guy too much so he can’t pay and you don’t want to give a rich guy too little so that he takes his business to elsewhere. That’s dealing with individual exposure. The second objective is to limit overall exposure. The way to best limit overall exposure is to limit exposure for each play (play defined as same side and wager type, but not necessarily the same line). The way to limit exposure for each play is to get the same amount wagered on each side of a play. Once a play is out of balance by some predetermined exposure amount, the only way to adjust for that is to move the line and make the other side of the play more attractive to wager on. It’s really that simple.

While your point about being caught in the middle of line moves is a valid one, it is also inherently an unavoidable one. A good Book, in theory, makes money by equaling out both sides of a wager and collecting the 10% juice from the losing side. While being caught in the middle can happen, mathematically it will happen much less frequently than consistently taking the 10% juice from losses. How do we know this? Look at the Vegas sportsbooks. They’ve been around for a long time and it’s because they know what they are doing. Their methodology is EXACTLY the same as what we afford you with GameDay Payoff. Both Vegas and GameDay Payoff limit individual wager limits on plays and constantly monitor the sides for line changes. That’s why each sportsbook has their own lines for each play instead of using just some universal source for lines. Each sportsbook is getting different wagers on each side of a play and must move their line accordingly to reflect the level of risk they are most comfortable with.

Just as you pointed out as a possibility in GameDay Payoff, Vegas sportsbooks absolutely get caught in the middle as well. Take Super Bowl XXXI with Green Bay (-14) vs. New England and Super Bowl XXXIV with St. Louis (-7) vs. Tennessee. Both games ended in pushes and both games resulted in losses for Vegas (yes, Vegas lost on these two Super Bowls). Green Bay fluctuated between -13.5 and -14.5. St. Louis fluctuated between -6.5 and -7.5. The middle was hit in both. However, while this did happen and Vegas lost money on these games, do you really think they lost money on the year? We all know that answer. The reason they made money (and lots of it) is because throughout the year lines are moved to equal the amount wagered on both sides of a play and the 10% juice is collected way, way more often than you will ever be burned on getting caught in the middle.

I need to address two more points you made. One point being that a Player with a $1,000 limit could end up having $128,000 in buying power and the other point being that one Player alone could move the line all by himself. The answer to each lies within the mathematics. Yes, a Player with a $1,000 limit could end up with $128,000 in buying power because he is up $127,000 and has a $1,000 credit limit, but it does not matter? Keep in mind that if you are a Book doing this correctly, then the $127,000 that the guy is up was offset by $127,000 that other Players had lost. The losing Players actually paid you $139,700 ($127,000 + $12,700) putting you in the black by $12,700 if you did this right. This happens by default when you balance both sides of each play.

Your second point about one Player being able to solely move the line does not matter? You stated, “I want to monitor the action on as many opinions as possible before deciding whether or not to move a line.” There is no discernable or mathematical difference what so ever with 1 Player, 10 Players, or 50 Players being able to move the line. There is only one factor any Book should be concerned with regarding when to move a line and that is the total amount taken on each side of a play. The composition of how that total is reached is mathematically irrelevant. If you were to continue with your theory, then there would be some explanation you could offer to also differentiate between 2, 3, 6, or 10 Players being able to move the line versus maybe 20, 30 or 40 Players. I cannot imagine that one exists whereby the bottom line would be affected. So logically, only the total taken on both sides of a wager matters and it does not matter how many Players get you there. Even going to your example of wanting as many opinions as possible before moving the line, once you move the line because of 1 Player or 10 Players, the opinions of those that have not placed yet might begin liking the other side and place their wagers there. That’s what you want. That’s how Vegas does it and that’s how a Book should do it.

In rebutting your statement of “… I think as a book I'd be highly exposed and out of balance very quickly and very often.”, we respectfully disagree. For the reasons I have stated above, GameDay Payoff actually provides you with the opposite. If you set credit limits with each Player as you see fit and adjust/monitor your lines to meet whatever exposure you feel comfortable with, you will find that you would not be highly exposed or out of balance quickly or often, if ever. GameDay Payoff gives you unprecedented management and control to deter what you mention and actually gives you the power to make sure that what you mention never happens.

Sorry for the long answer, but you raised a lot of points and I wanted to be sure that I covered them all. I hope this satisfactorily answers your question and we look forward to assisting you further with this or any other issues should you continue to use our product.

Your points are valid. One interesting statement you made was that, “the book (not on credit) must try to balance the game or gamble with the player.” In my 20 some odd years of being involved and around sports wagering from both a Book and a Players perspective, I have realized that 100% of the time wagers are coming in so damn fast that the Book does end up gambling with their Players. Books rarely, if ever, have both sides of a wager balanced. The theory for a neighborhood Book is that they are winning half the time (two sides to each wager) and they still have the 10% that puts them up overall considering every play over the course of time. Between that and off-loading, they do ok.

If I may make a recommend, it would be this. If you are the Book, you’re still in charge and calling the shots. Without Gameday Payoff, the Book tells their Players what they can and cannot do (rules, odds, limits, offerings) and it shouldn’t be any different with Gameday Payoff. If you are truly desiring that an actual “per play” wager limit be in place, just tell your Players that. Let them know that due to limitations in the software, the software may accept it, but it is not a legitimate wager that will be honored by you. They’ll play by your rules and it will be an easy resolve to the issue you are presenting.

Finally, with regard to the baseball game that was cancelled or postponed, you will need to do a workaround. Please understand that it was a very conscious decision to not allow a direct connect wager to be deleted. A direct connect wager is similar to that placed on an internet sportsbook, in Vegas, or even with a local neighborhood Book (once you hang up the phone). Those wagers are permanent and cannot just “be taken back”. This, however, is a legitimately voided wager, which I do understand. I would suggest the following workaround. Both sides (Player and Book) should go to the Record Wager screen and place the exact opposite wager (opposite team, same money). When the wager comes in, just make a manual adjustment in the Balances screen for the juice that will be added for the losing side. If you feel it to be necessary, raise the Player’s overall limit to adjust for these wagered amounts until the game comes in. You could also just leave the wager there and make a manual adjustment when it comes in. Sorry for this workaround, but it will solve the problem and is a fairly rare occurrence.

In case you were curious, the reason we do allow deleting Record Wager’s is because this screen more so mimics a notepad. A Player may have phoned in his wagers and then came home and entered them into Gameday. Just like you have the ability to erase a mistake or correct something on your notepad, you would on the Record Wager screen. The Record Wager screen is more about record keeping while the Place Wager screen is an ACTUAL WAGER directly taken by the Book. Again, that’s why a Place Wager cannot be manipulated once placed.

Could you please tell me how you found out about the software? Thanks.