Hit a Pick 3 and site Won't Pay in Full
 

Hi all,

First I'd like to say that I read the site everyday and listen to Steve daily. You all are great and I've learned alot from your posts and the Sirius show.

This is my first post here, under really crappy circumstances.

Anyway, so I put in a Pick 3 today at Gulfstream starting with race 7, on my online betting account with sportsbook.com. My ticket:

1,2,4,7,9,11/3,5,6/4 = $18

Holy crap, it hits. For a buck the payout was $1,495. So I go and check the ticket on my account and see that the payout was only $300. WHAT????? I freak out, call customer service and ask what the hell is going on. They tell me to check the rules and payouts section of their site which says the following;

"Win, Place, Show wagers pay full track odds. All other wagers pay full track odds up to a maximum payout of 300/1 your original bet amount. There are no limits on how much you can place on any one horse or bet type. However, you will see that each ticket has a bet limit (typically $1,000), you simply need to make multiple bet tickets to get to the bet amount you seek. There is a $20,000 limit per betting ticket."

Can someone please explain what this means or if anyone has run into this type of situation before.

To say that I'm pissed off would be an understatement because I've never hit this big before, but I guess I should have understood the site rules before using them.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

Yeah, Sportsbook caps it at 300-1. You never want to place any wagers with them that could pay out more than that. They display it pretty clearly on their site from what I remember.

I use twinspires now. Doesn't cost anything and you get free PPs for any cards you play.

Sorry about that, but hey, at least you know that you did a nice job on the pick-3.
Including the 1 horse in the seventh, and playing what I think was a fairly gutsy single in the ninth, was a nice bit of handicapping.

That really hurts.

Dude, I feel your pain. I only play Pic 3's & an occasional DD's.
Your best bet is go to the OTB or to your local track & play.
Screw the convenience of being at home!!

You NEVER NoW WHAT THE FINe PRINT WILL SAY!!

I guess I just don't understand the 300-1 cap. Is there a simple explaination?

they cap the payoffs at 300 to 1, so if your pick three paid more than 300 for $1 at the track, sorry but you only get paid $300.
like they say, read the fine print.

Yep...you got f*cked...sorry, read the fine print, nice job cappin' it though.

yes they ****ed you.. they dont co mingle pools id assume.. good job though

go to diamond sports.com. rebates and full track payouts......or wager in us

Is it a post and play account? Or is it a true illegal book? Always play WP and standard exactas(under 100 bucks) with a reputtable illegal book; with the boys can get you as much as 25 back with a red if you give them a ton of play

Agreed, I should have read the fine print, but man this sucks!!!!!

An other good sites out there. Its hard to get out to the local OTB on weekends with 3 kids.

I have been happy with NYRA account.

celeb endorsment..lol

And this " sucks " because.......?

It's an illegal bookmaking site. Nothing you bet there gets returned to racing whatsoever. People use these sites for different reasons, in general selfish, which is fine, but not knowing the deal you have made doesn't mean you got screwed.

I'm not making a judgement. Everyone is free to make whatever deal works for them. But I don't understand how you got screwed.

I never said I got screwed. I should have read the "fine print". I understand that. I used the site because I could play some poker, bet some football games and play the horses, all on one site.

It sucks when the wager you placed pays $1400 and you only get $300.

Anyway, i've closed my account and need some advice on which site you think would be best.

Thanks

You honestly have a lot of easy options. I'll let other people recommend sites.

This is part of the problem that has
brought racing down. It is in essence parasitic.
The track puts on the show, they should get
a piece of the pie. I guess the fed. gov. played a role
in pushing the money out to these spots.

This situation has been replayed so many times...
drugs, etc... I never took economics but I think
I have some concept of markets. People like to bet.
Dont drive it away. We cannot save people from
themselves.

i would recommend you go to legit sites, who work as partners with the tracks. that way you get the right payouts, and the tracks who put on the show get their rightful cut.

Twinspires is OK, free PP's any time you make a wager on that track.

"You got it buddy: the large print giveth and the small print taketh away"
Tom Waits, Step Right Up (Small Change CD)

My favorite song of all time:D

xpressbet has no minimums.

I would guess they hold their action as opposed to putting the money bet in to the pari-mutual pool.


They don't want to get stuck holding a several thousand dollar exotic bet.

If you want a solid offshore site, it's hard to beat Bookmaker.com. They do not cap the odds on any bet, but they do cap the amount you can win from a single race. The amount depends on whether it's a major or minor track. For Gulfstream, the max profit is $30,000/race.

Bookmaker also gives an 8% rebate on exotics and 3% on WPS bets. 5Dimes is another good choice, but read its rules carefully for cap info.

Before sending money to ANY offshore site, you should check out the site's rating at SportsbookReview.com. fyi, Sportsbook.com currently has a D- rating. Here is the most recent entry regarding Sportsbook.com:

"1/11/2008 08:39 PM

Sportsbook.com Group steals $5,677 from player
The player held accounts at Sportsbook.com (SBR rating D-), Sportsbooks.com (SBR rating D-), Sportfanatik (SBR rating D-), and PlayersOnly (SBR rating D-). He was debited for the amounts won over the life of the account totaling $5,677. Sportsbook.com cites "bonus abuse" as the reason for stealing these funds. The Sportsbook.com operation often labels players who have won money and utilized promotions in more than one of the many sister sportsbooks as bonus abusers. Sportsbook.com and sister Jazette books do not have rules against using multiple brands and using their promotions. It is often encouraged through cross marketing and the sales departments which market each website as an independent sportsbook.


Player: I did everything above board and was having a good season of NFL picks and now they've stolen from me. I guess I should have known better since you had it listed as D- but they'd fixed their payout issues over the last few months and I had never had other problems with them over 5+ years of active use. However, I have no email to send you since they didn't even bother to email me."

--Dunbar

I did the same with Bodog...hit a tri and super on same race! Paid 2500, and I got 600 into my acct! What a freakin letdown...but I learned the lesson!

You guys are getting screwed. You should be getting $301 for each $1 you have on the combination.

Hysterical !

:D

I can honestly say that this has happened to me and a friend of mine, as well. My friend was really stung by this when he hit a pick 4 while betting on VIP. The pick 4 paid $4500 or something around there. He too did not read the rules and was furious.

There are a thousand ways to exit a race disappointed and astonished of the outcome and about 3 ways in which a happy ending will occur.

Best advice is, like many said here, join a site like Youbet or Brisbet or others that do not cap.

Sorry to hear about the disappointment though.....know the feeling.

Just join youbet.com....totally legal, and you always get paid the full amouny on ANY BET you make.

Well,I think both sides have a very good argument here(as far as where to bet goes.)The tracks charge too much % take-out on bets made with them.O.K.,it AIN'T NYRA's fault.Let's get that out of the way.They want you to know that.It's the politicians fault that the take-out is out of hand,and people logically flow to find a better deal.People say to give the industry their cut.That's a good point,but they don't care about you enough to cut their % to anywhere near reasonable levels.So, I think they need to meet you half way,and they refuse to do it(or their state Gov'ts.)I can see why the guy made this much of a mistake.I mean it's so absurd to cap at $300/1 that the typical person can't believe they would do something like that.They will lose anybody who didn't get paid what they could at the track.They've lost a customer,right?I don't understand being that way,but scum is scum.Just move on. You should read the rules,but I also think it's not a reasonable expectation,and they love doing stuff you wouldn't even think somebody would do(like cap at $300/1.) Let me tell you where to bet.Bet where you relax the best.Which site do you seem to win at more?It sounds silly,but,yes,some people are gunna do better looking at a dark screen site,and some will do better looking at a light screen site.I do best using TVG's old-style version graphics.There are better places to play(% wise or whatever,)but if you don't relax as well there,then it doesn't matter.Bet where you are most comfortable.

i like nhplay it is strictly parimutuel with paybacks

I closed my account immediately and signed up with twinspires. So far so good. I like the look and feel of the site. You also get free PP's, race replays and live race feeds, which works really well.