Best Bookie in SA

i see there's a lot of comparisons between old bookmakers and the current lot of "turf accountants".
As for me, i've been limited by the whole lot of them, to the extent that 1 institute even held back on one of my cash over the counter payouts on which they realised very quickly that they had no leg to stand on, but to pay.
For me , i think that was an intimidating tactic for future play.

However , for us to believe that the previous crop of bookmakers had "balls" is far from the truth.
they were worse that the current lot.
the previous lot had a rake in of about 30k to 40k and even more in some instances for every R100 000 they traded or handled, what a business they had.
why would they want to limit anyone ?
THE MORE CASH THEY HANDLED THE MORE THEY MADE.
Take for instance the match race of Senor Santa and Northern Princess
6/10 and 11/10 the pair.
those bookies on course that day sucked the blood out of those poor punters and yet the punters didn't even know they were being fleeced.
in the old Field St days , every first timer was priced up at no bigger than 7/1.
Those races could even be priced up as much as 160% and more.

for the guys that dont understand percentages , think of it in this way.
You are trading in some commodity and on every rand you outlay , youre making back 40c irrespective of the result.

these days its not so easy,
betting is competitive and with exchanges there is no place for bookies to hide.
Now if they make 5% its a good margin, and hence why I feel with these narrow margins , they start to pick and choose their clients.

@RacingG
There is so much wrong with your post, it would take too long to respond in full.
Simply put, in them days, there was fierce COMPETITION for the punters cash & with bookmakers like Bill Ferguson, Mick Maris, Prinsloo, Andrew Pappageorge, Keith Ho, Vee, Henry Mansell to name a few, good prices & value were always on offer. I was 15 or 16 years old at the time & I clerked & penciled for quite a few of these guys for a number of years.
Loveday street, Bosman street & many other tattersalls had fearless bookmakers who never flinched, no matter the size of the bet.
The smaller rooms with 1 or 2 bookies may have been a different story.
I have also been banned & limited by this current crop of Lily Livered Cowards who have the cheek to call themselves bookmakers.
Today, the punters have a choice to make. Bet with these “bookmakers” lol & get limited after a couple of wins or bet with TAB & take R1.60 when a 11/10 shot arrives.

Once you start winning with any online bookmaker you will be limited. Maybe if you have a personal relationship with a smaller bookmaker then maybe you can get on. I will not put 5k on an even money shot but can put 1k on a 20/1. I am not a big player but have been limited with nearly every online bookmaker. If a small player like me can be limited, there must be plenty others in the same boat.

Hi Tony,
I also pencilled for Som Singh, Gary Freeman, Stel and Bruno Pretti amongst other bookmakers in the late 80's and early 90's.
and to make a book in those days took 10 minutes .

yes competition was fierce but the value you speak off always laid in the hands of the bookmaker.
you recall how frantic it was about 3 minutes before the race and even 1 minute into a race when we were all on the phones trying to buy back.

but thats just the point , the bookies sold for evens and always bought 12/10 and better and in most cases invariably made a round book with a good profit, their inflated % made this possible.

different bookies I worked for had different strategies.

Som Singh for instance was a punting bookmaker, loved to punish the favourites and scooped the lot when he beat them.

Bruno on the other hand was a conservative trading bookie.
made a book to win 2k for example on every race irrespective of the result but whatever method you chose back then, it still doesnt take away from the fact that the made sure that when they priced up and if a punter backed all 5 horses in A 5 HORSE race , he would lose 30% AND MORE EACH AND EVERY TIME

thats because they priced up wrong.

So , hence the competitive nature of the bookie back then and asking if you wanted more after you took a 50k bet.

just 1 more addition to my comments whilst i'm at it.

in the same way we were fleeced with win bets by bookies in the old days, currently the same is happening in place bets.
some of their percentages is atrocious to say the least on fixed place bets.

just to put this into perspective if i parolled R100 on a 5 horse all to come, with the same rules first 3 in every race , on the exchange , i would reach the same amount that you are going to win on a 5 horse place all to come , by the 3rd leg, you will still have to wait for the other 2 to place to win your bet.

dare and behold if theres an odds on in one of your races , you may come even become under .

it has to be one of the current bookies best bets to lay currently.

RacingG wrote:

Take for instance the match race of Senor Santa and Northern Princess
6/10 and 11/10 the pair.
those bookies on course that day sucked the blood out of those poor punters and yet the punters didn't even know they were being fleeced.


for the guys that dont understand percentages
.

you seem to infer that you understand %'s

so, how were punters fleeced in your example? what % did they bet to here? here's a hint - not even close to your "140% rake" - it's very close to the % they have always and probably will bet to in the last 20 mins or so of a race (but slightly lower)

you"re quite right fingers in the match race , my example 6/10 vs 11/10 is quite off the 130/140 % , that i quoted , but realistically SS should be 8/10 to if you want to lay 11/10 NP IN current day betting.

but in full fields those were the inflated margins

Fingers I would say the bookies definitely have a huge advantage.
I don't know the % but either we are bad punters in SA or the bookmakers work their books in a way to make money all the time.
Look at Hollywood bets,they sponsor jockeys,trainers,grooms prizes,soccer clubs,race tracks,cricket teams,rugby teams,stadiums and the list goes on.
How many millions do they make monthly to be able to sponsor all these things?
Most bookmakers also take from the stupid bad punter but will limit the good punter.
No doubt gambling is in the bookmakers favour with their rules,take it or leave it.But because of human nature a lot will play by their rules cause they chasing the big one to change ones life.

RacingG wrote:

you"re quite right fingers in the match race , my example 6/10 vs 11/10 is quite off the 130/140 % , that i quoted , but realistically SS should be 8/10 to if you want to lay 11/10 NP IN current day betting.

but in full fields those were the inflated margins

I'm sorry, but you are floundering - so, 8/10 and 11/10 equates to what %, exactly? - here's a hint - it is lower than the very best % you can find at the very best prices across all bookies on, for example, soccer markets (phone a friend)

durbs wrote:

Fingers I would say the bookies definitely have a huge advantage.
I don't know the % but either we are bad punters in SA or the bookmakers work their books in a way to make money all the time.
Look at Hollywood bets,they sponsor jockeys,trainers,grooms prizes,soccer clubs,race tracks,cricket teams,rugby teams,stadiums and the list goes on.
How many millions do they make monthly to be able to sponsor all these things?
Most bookmakers also take from the stupid bad punter but will limit the good punter.
No doubt gambling is in the bookmakers favour with their rules,take it or leave it.But because of human nature a lot will play by their rules cause they chasing the big one to change ones life.

Xxxcccxcxcccxxxxxxxxxxcccxxxxx
Durbs..... having naming rights to a stadium or racecourse is the norm in this era but it was the true passion for racing that Inspired the old guard to build and establish what is standing today.
I have yet to see any new structure that has been built by the present day books.

durbs wrote:

Fingers I would say the bookies definitely have a huge advantage.
I don't know the % but either we are bad punters in SA or the bookmakers work their books in a way to make money all the time.
Look at Hollywood bets,they sponsor jockeys,trainers,grooms prizes,soccer clubs,race tracks,cricket teams,rugby teams,stadiums and the list goes on.
How many millions do they make monthly to be able to sponsor all these things?
Most bookmakers also take from the stupid bad punter but will limit the good punter.
No doubt gambling is in the bookmakers favour with their rules,take it or leave it.But because of human nature a lot will play by their rules cause they chasing the big one to change ones life.

well, welcome to the real world DURBS
now before you have another bet, learn how to calculate % (that's what anybody should do BEFORE they start gambling)
then try to understand why you cannot end up a winner in the long run

The bookies own private T'c and C's ? - I also want to know how the fucking gambling board can allow it

For betting purposes especially sports WSB for me is the superior online bookmaking site. Hollywood used to be my choice a few years ago however they not in the same league as WSB when it comes to types of bets available nor in running live betting .