ANYONE play through IRG here?

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by point given

OK, not for me I see. Where have all the Pinny customers gone to now though ? I realize it is a shake out period , but I havenot read much on the subject since the Pinny announcment. Can anyone provide a couple of places with good reps ? Thanks -

The best 2 offshore alternatives to Pinnacle are 5Dimes and CRIS/Bookmaker.

CRIS has moved all its US customers to its sister, Bookmaker.com. CRIS has been considered one of the top 5 offshores for years. They give a straight 8% rebate on exotics, but just 3% on WPS. No rebate on place or show bets playing $2.20 or less. So, they are better than Pinnacle was on exotics (MUCH better for the NY tracks), but not as good as Pinnacle was on WPS.

5Dimes pays a 10% bonus on the total payout for winning exotic bets as well as Win bets. (For example, if you bet a 3-1 horse, instead of collecting $8.00, you would collect $8.80 at 5Dimes.) I showed some time ago that this was superior to Pinnacle's 7% rebate, pretty much no matter how bad you cap. Bad news is that they cut off betting earlier than Pinnacle did. And, if you bet place and show, you get no help at 5Dimes.

CRIS/Bookmaker has a max-win per track, like Pinnacle did. For the biggest tracks, it is $30K.

5Dimes has max odds it will pay, but they are fairly high: At "Major tracks" they pay up to 110-1 for win and 40-1 for place. 165-1 for exactas. Actually, they will pay the first $100 of a win bet at full track odds, even if it is over 110-1. http://www.5dimes.com/RacebookFrame.htm

--Dunbar

[hockey2315]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

5Dimes has max odds it will pay, but they are fairly high: At "Major tracks" they pay up to 110-1 for win and 40-1 for place. 165-1 for exactas. Actually, they will pay the first $100 of a win bet at full track odds, even if it is over 110-1.

165-1 is low for exactas. . .

[cmorioles]

I have heard from a very reliable source that if you win consistently at 5dimes, you won't be a customer for long. Anyone here that thinks this is wrong?

[BillW]

C.,

Essentially they are casinos ("You can play blackjack ONLY if you are dumb enough to lose"), and they act like it.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I have heard from a very reliable source that if you win consistently at 5dimes, you won't be a customer for long. Anyone here that thinks this is wrong?

I saw a reference recently about someone's limit's being reduced dramatically, and it surprised me. I just tried to find the reference, but can't track it down. (thought it was at Fezziksplace.com)

I don't know anyone personally who has ever had a problem at 5Dimes, and I know some very successful sportsbettors.

At any rate, it shouldn't be a big concern. The worst thing they would do is cut your limits or ask you not to bet at all. So you take your money and go somewhere else. 5Dimes is not going to grab your money.

--Dunbar

[JJP]

I forgot to mention that IRG doesn't take Keeneland, in addition to the other tracks mentioned earlier.