07 March 2012
The first step is to understand what a bookie does. The term "bookie" is short for bookkeeper. A book keeper keeps books on the current and upcoming games. Based on your knowledge of those games, the players and the odds, you create a spread covering all of the possible bets.
If you're just learning how to become a bookie, creating the spread can be difficult. Offshore sportsbook companies like RealPricePerHead.com have advanced sportsbook software that calculates halftime lines, money lines, buying points and more. The more options you can offer your clients, the more clients you'll have. The more clients you have the more money you'll make.
And to get those clients it pays to be a people person. Bookies often start out working locally. They spend their time at local sports bars, clubs and arenas. They hang out and overhear things then strike up conversations and make friends.
Then you let those friends know that you takes bets. And you also tell them that you take The Juice. The Juice is a 10 percent - or so - fee that you take on all the money that comes in. It's a surcharge like what a stock broker charges.
When you're a street bookie, the only difference between you and a stock broker is that what you do is illegal. In the United States, it's illegal for a street bookie to take bets on sporting games. One of the benefits of being an offshore bookie is that your operations are legal and you can tell your clients that.
Once you build a client base, never take more bets than you can cover with your bankroll. If you're just learning how to become a bookie, your bankroll is probably small and based on the number of bets you have coming in. You're never really sure how much you can cover until you've taken bets from a number of clients.
Offshore bookies who work with companies like RealPricePerHead.com have a set bankroll. They always know how much money they have to play with. That makes business more relaxed because you never have to worry about losing more than you can handle.
A bookie should end every conversation by telling the client what day he'll pick up all winning and losing bets. If you're a street bookie, collection is the sketchiest part of the job. Most people give it up. More people put you off so you have to go chasing them. Some people don't pay up at all. This is the biggest reason why a lot of bookies choose to work with offshore sites. Everything is online and there's no hassle, no foot work, no chasing clients down.
So now that you know how to become a bookie it's time to decide whether you want the hassle of taking your business to the street or rather you want the ease and convenience of offshore betting through a legal, professional company. The choice is yours.
