Assorted sportsbook suggestions:

[HG]

Just some random thoughts on how some books out there can improve. Yes, these are great books to begin with, but we all know that every book out there can get better so hopefully they'll appreciate some constructive criticism.

Feel free to add your comments when you have time.

Pinnacle:
You have to do something about you confirmation process.
Good luck trying to get 3 + bets in anywhere near game time. EVERY single time I try I get the "line has changed" notice and I have to start all over. Even if 1 of the 5 games has changed 1 cent (even against me) and the other 4 have remained the same I can't get anyhting confirmed. Back to square one, and most likely, another "line has changed" notice when I try to confirm by entering my password.
Can you not give us 5-7 seconds to put our password in so that we can get our bets in?
I mean, there are sooo many times when I select my bet, then get the next screen (so the bet is still okay) and then type in my password IMMEDIATELY (and I'm talking 2 seconds thanks to some programmed buttons on my computer) and still no dice- "line has changed" - Utterly ridiculous. Just give us 3-5 seconds once you ask us for our password!!!!
We all love your book but you need to address this issue. Also, how about a live help feature? I know that you don't want people calling you, but you do not answer your emails in good time so live help might be worth exploring.

Cascade:

Lose those f'n pop-ups ASAP. And I mean before college fb!!!!!!!
What a complete and utter nuisance those pop-ups are. 1 book- 1 screen - how's that for a novel idea?
I would prefer to have 12-15 screens open at the same time instead of 30+ screens if all books were like yours.
I love your lines. I love your professionalism. I love the service that you offer. I hate your software with a passion.
Also, how about some consistency with the overnights? Some nights there, some not. Many times I have checked for CFL lines with no luck. Are you going to have them or not?
Also, are you going to offer -105's on bball next year?


New Age Bets:
You're quickly becoming the king of the low juice. Keep up the great work. CFL, WNBA, ARENA etcall at -105 wow.

However, I know that you're going through some changes but you're consistency needs a lot of work.
Some weeks CFL or arena comes up days before the games which is great. Other weeks , there are still no lines on game day. Some games you have 2nd halves for arena/wnba/cfl, other days no. Most nights you have the overnight baseball lines up but the other night you didn't.
Your site seems to go down 3-4 times per week which is incredibly annoying.
Your site times out FAR TOO QUICKLY. I mean it's ridiculous. What is it 7 minutes or something like that? I research a game and then I try to look at your lines and I'm out already. Then I try to log back in and 50% of the time I have to try 2-3 times to get back in.
Also, your props are taken down far too early. I mean for 7:00 est games they disappear at 6:50 sometimes. Then, when I try to call your clerks have no clue what I'm talking about.
I know, I know, it's the move. I understand. I just hope that once everything is settled in your new home that we can expect some consistency with your lines. Please leave the props up until :05/:35 instead of 15 minutes before gametime.
Now that you're the king of low juice, how about having a test run of 1 month to see how you fare with 10 cent baseball totals. Pinnacle can do it so I'm sure that you can too. I wouldn't ask any other book to give it a shot but NEW Age Bets is not any other book. I'm sure that you can handle it. Give it a shot- you are the low juice king.
Finally, I seem to get tonnes of error messages when i try to put in prop bets or matchup bets- "error 800a1386" etc.
This happens all the time and I have no idea why. Does anyone else get these error messages on these bets?
All in all a truly fantastic book that hopefully will continue to iron out the kinks once they've settled in their new home.

Olympic:

Are we even allowed to ask for 15 cent baseball lines?
Do something about the clerks. Everytime I talk to one of them I feel like never playing with your book again. Talk about annoying.


5 dimes:

When you're so nice as to put up 2nd half cfl lines and team totals can you please try to leave them up for more than 90 seconds? There's nothing that I love more than finding a juicy halftime middle , only to bet the hell out of one side and see it disappear in no time flat at the other book. Abd we all know what side wins when you can only get one side of a middle in, don't we?
Why not display the time that the line will be taken down at?
Other than that I have no complaints. You're quickly becoming my favourite book. However, I haven't been with you for hockey yet, so unless you have some tricks up your sleeve, you'll be hard-pressed to surpass NAB and Pinnacle come hockey season - not that you'll care.

Gameday:
I tried to sign up the other night to get a line that you had and the phone # on your webpage for North Americans didn't work all night. Hopefully that was just a problem for that night. I'm not particularly fond of sending $$ to a book whose phone # doesn't work.

SIA:

Can I play with you come NFL season?


That's it for now guys. Feel free to add anything constructive to the thread. The good books will appreciate your suggestions. They can all get better so let's help them adress certain deficiencies before football season.

Later-HG






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[Machiavelli]

hg:

5 dimes has a zillion different hockey options so I would be shocked if you are disappointed. Every game has 4 or 5 different Canadian Lines on each game (fav -1.5, -1, -0.5, ML, +0.5 etc.) 2 or 3 different totals (4.5, 5, 5.5 etc.).

[jjgold]

What I hate are the timeout features and when confirming a bet you get the message "line has changed and have to re-do your bet. These two happen at a lot of books.


Oh wait probably the most important flaw, the books that steal your money by rounding off the the nearest dollar. There are some big name books that are still doing this but will I not mention them and rip you off on parlay bets. I can not believe software is written this way. Every single sportsbook should be going to the exact penny but some are still stealing from us.

[miaplus3]

pop up windows are a pain!
time outs also.
can relate to the pinnacle line change - once u complete a three team parlay & get a line change its, a wasted 3 minutes out my life.
not a bad rant dude!

[mjh218]

I hate time outs...I can understand if the book let you choose if you wanted time outs...but there is no way to opt out of them and it leads to hours of logging in and out. I loved cascades old software...I dont dislike their new software, but I liked the old much more.

[nostaw1952]

Excellent observations and suggestions by HG!

[Big Jerk]

jj-- it's a bother if the line has changed, but its even a bigger bother if the line has changed, and no particular mention is made--- at Olympic this can easily happen and go unnoticed when I'm in a hurry....... same thing used to happen at All World.... BJ

[Machiavelli]

I agree with Big Jerk here, sometimes the "Line has changed" message is too discreet (or doesn't exist).

However, I don't think Pinnacle should adjust their policy (and create a password-entry grace period) unless they want to get double and triple popped at each number. It was extremely easy to make bets at Aces after their line moved on Don Best, as long as you got to the final confirmation screen prior to the line move. That was a stupid way to set up the software and had to make the task of booking even more perilous for them.

Along these lines, I think WSEX's online system is the most fair way to operate. The bettor can always get a small amount without approval, but a full-limit bet stays in limbo until it gets approved by the supervisor. Provided that the book does not abuse their veto power (that is, they only use it to protect themselves from multiple hits at the same number and not to skip bets from sharp players), it is a very fair and efficient system. In my experience, WSEX has approved at least 95% of my bets, with the only disapprovals coming during steam situations. This leads me to believe that they are indeed just using the approval to avoid multiple hits.

[Comp Fan]

Great rant HG. I have to come up with some of my own pet-peeves. You have already touched on several.

Hopefully the sportsbooks will not take offense but use this opportunity to LISTEN to their customers and IMPROVE their sites/process for the better. This feedback should provide valuable info for all SB owners that care about their business/customers. It seems to me that in this business that you either improve/evolve or many of your competitors will pass you by.


Comp Fan

[alysheba88]

My pet peeve is the long time it takes certain books to grade wagers.

I am not one of those who bet down to a zero balance and count on the gradings to make additional bets. But it is annoying when the event is 10 hours old or so and it hasn't been graded.

Olympic is great with their grading. As was Camelot. Can't say I see many other books who excel with this.

[Comp Fan]

My pet peeves :

1) Not taking NETELLER or SECUREBUXX as a deposit method. I give preference to books that have both, then to books that have one or the other. I am unlikely to sign up if they have neither.

2) Moving the $$$ instead of the # in FB.

3) Not returning my eamail within a couple hours if my question is not too complicated.

4) Not using this forum to promote their product - in turn allowing me to get a feel for the shoppe.

5) Being put off by clerks when I call to speak with someone of authority. I (somewhat [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] ) know what I am doing and many of my questions are complicated enough where I do not want a vague or "maybe" answer form a clerk. The best books have open communication with their clients.

6) You have my email....use it! I WANT to get news, contests, promos, come-ons from you guys. I may/may not take advantage of same but appreciate the effort that goes into MARKETING. Hire someone to solicit your present customers.

7) Rude, mis-informed, or lackey clerks. Fortunately most mid-upper tier books have very well trained clerks.

8) Anything above minimal charges to receive a payout. I would like to see at least 1 free withdrawal method per week/month.

9) Unclear or incomplete rules sections. I understand that you can't cover every situation but if this section is not well thought out I develop some mistrust right away.

10) Lines that change in the middle of me confirming the bet. It especially irks me when they have changed and I don't notice until after I have confirmed the play. There should always be some kind of red-flag that pops up to tell you that the bet you thought you were confirming is now at a different #. ROYAL does a great job with this. After your play is in you have 20 seconds to hit the confirm button to be done at that #.

11) When betting parlays - having to go back through the WHOLE process for every bet. Many times when I play parlays I want a round-robin with 3/4/5 teams/totals. ALLWORLD does a great job with this as they "save" your recent bets where all you have to do is check off the ones you want and you have another wager.

12) Fast (less than 10-15 minues) time-outs. Very frustrating and a major annoyance to a big segment of the customer base.

13) Slow/cumbersome software. Invest some talent and $$$ to giving your customers a nice storefront to do business at.

14) Not being informed of downtimes/upgrades/etc. Many of these things are known of ahead of time and I think a decent courtesy to your customers would be an email giving a heads-up. Why not???

I hope that these knocks are taken in the spirit they are meant - to improve the way business is done for the best of both sides of the counter. If a customer is happy he will tell others and the books will prosper. There is a good reason why the top books are the top books. Much of it is in listening to the customer's needs and desires and doing your best to make continual improvements.


Regards,
Comp Fan