In this article, we'll show you why bookmakers close or limit accounts, what types of bets they get caught out on, and why Pinnacle never does that !

No matter how much or how often you win, you'll always be welcome at Pinnacle. With a unique volume-based business model and the highest odds in the industry, Pinnacle can offer serious punters the high limits they want and allow them to keep betting when they win.

Very few bookmakers feel the same way as Pinnacle. As well as inflated margins that make placing a bet more expensive, as soon as you start winning with the average bookmaker, they severely limit or close your account. Three different types of punters have shared their experiences of how bookmakers have stopped them winning money.

Punter 1: The sharp punter

Punter 1 began his journey when online betting was just starting to take off. He saw his account limited or closed by almost a dozen bookmakers. Betting mainly on football and tennis, among other sports, none of the bookmakers would give a reason for the restrictions and account closures.

Punter 1 would not reveal how he chose his bets, but said he knew the bookmakers were monitoring his betting behaviour because the odds on his selections often changed as soon as he tried to place a bet. Not only did the bookmakers refuse to let Punter 1 bet as much as he wanted, but they adjusted their odds according to his behaviour.

It is quite easy for bookmakers to identify customers who represent a potential 'risk' in terms of profitability. If punter 1's problem was partly that he was selective in his betting, it was also that he was selective in when he placed a bet - by targeting the best prices in the market, it was easy for bookmakers to follow a positive expectation betting pattern and limit or close his account accordingly.

Was it the size of the stakes that dissuaded the bookmakers from accepting Bettor 1's bets? No, the average stake at each bookmaker before the restriction or closure did not exceed €50. In fact, what punter 1 did wrong was that he managed to find value in the market, which is what betting is all about.

In some cases, it only took one bet to be limited to €0.50 per bet, while other bookmakers waited for a total of 33 bets before closing the account completely.

The obvious lesson from Bettor 1 is that if you want to bet when you find value, bet with Pinnacle. Not only does Pinnacle allow you to bet what you want with high limits, they also publish educational articles such as how to calculate expected value and the best betting method to help you make more informed decisions.

Bettor 2: Introduction to arbitrage

Arbitrage betting is popular among punters because it guarantees a risk-free profit by betting on both sides of the market. Arbitrage opportunities arise when bookmakers have a difference of opinion (which they express through the odds), when they are slow to react and move the line or when they simply make a mistake (promotional offers can also give rise to arbitrage opportunities).

These opportunities are perfectly legitimate and you'd think that if a punter finds them, they'd have every right to bet on them. Unfortunately, as our next punter discovered, most bookmakers do not allow arbitrage betting.

An amateur punter for a few years, punter 2 came across an article on refereeing while studying at university. Armed with some basic knowledge and €700 in savings, he invested in an arbitrage service that highlighted the opportunities offered by arbitrage betting.

However, in the space of two months, punter 2 was banned by four bookmakers and severely restricted by seven others. He had made a small profit, but with limited options, Bettor 2's arbitrage betting ended less than 60 days after it began.

Pinnacle welcomes arbitrage bettors and has published several articles on the subject, ranging from a basic guide to arbitrage betting to an in-depth analysis of arbitrage versus value betting.

Bettor 3: find a specialist market

Not surprisingly, it's difficult to make consistent profits from betting. There are different approaches and, while it's difficult to win over the long term, there is no definitive 'right way'.

Sometimes analysing the market and using mathematical models will help you find value, sometimes you can pay for a service that will show you where the bookies disagree so you can exploit it and sometimes, as punter 3 discovered, you can bet on markets that most people (including the bookies) don't know much about.

It's no secret that niche markets often offer better betting opportunities than more popular markets, for two main reasons. Firstly, there is a lack of competition in the market (fewer punters), which means that the odds are not as high. Secondly, bookmakers pay more attention and invest more resources in markets that offer them greater profit potential (Premier League, La Liga1..., NFL, NBA, etc.).

After losing money for a few years betting on Serie A, La Liga and Premier League football matches, punter 3 started betting on ATP and WTA tennis matches. He soon turned his attention to ITF tennis matches and, following positive results from research and data collection, specialised in women's ITF matches.

Three months after placing his first bet on tennis, punter 3 was limited to €1 by the bookmaker he had been using for over eight years. It only took nine bets with the next bookmaker before he was limited and, after a further two months of joining different bookmakers and trying to bet on women's ITF matches, he had exhausted all his options (with the exception of Pinnacle).

It's also interesting to note that when asked for an explanation as to why this restriction had been imposed, punter 3 was told that he could bet on other markets without any restrictions - the high return markets mentioned above were even cited as examples.

How can Pinnacle afford to let people win ?

The reason Pinnacle can offer a unique welcome policy to winners is because of its business model. A low-margin model means that Pinnacle relies on a higher volume of bets to make money. Instead of charging a high percentage on small amounts, Pinnacle charges a very low percentage on the high amounts bet by its customers (which is also why Pinnacle offers the highest limits online).

While the amount of money bet on each market is central to Pinnacle's operation, so too is the person placing the bets. Most bookmakers won't accept money from punters who know what they're doing, because they're taking too much risk. Pinnacle, on the other hand, uses the knowledge and information provided by such customers to make more accurate probability estimates and post higher odds.

This model also shows that Pinnacle trusts its team of expert traders to manage the betting markets and make each side equally attractive to punters so that they can 'balance the books' (take a roughly equal share of money from each side of the market to limit potential losses).