Assassin Fulldog
Bet365 is probably the most popular "recreational" sportsbook. Pretty crazy seeing them advertise at Yankee Stadium these days. Their offerings are vast and second to nobody. Out of the gate, I'd say their limits are the largest amongst European sportsbooks. If you can avoid detection (and that's a big IF) you can go on 6-figure runs at good ol' 365. They also use an automated live betting program, which has it's fair share of pros and cons. I'll write a piece about automation in sports betting in the near future.
Now the cons and back to that big IF. Avoiding detection as a winning bettor is very difficult at Bet365. So much so, their nickname industry wide is Bet 3.65 - referring to your max bet limit once they label you as a winner. If you bet a line that's erroneously off, forget it, you're gone. If you start kicking their ass on exotic bets, props for example, forget it, you're gone. It's a frustrating game of cat & mouse, but if you can avoid detection, this is definitely one of the more beatable books out there.
Trader Beanfield
World class live betting platform that is very easy to use. When Fulldog calls out a play, entering bets at 365 is quick and efficient. They are the King of variety on player props and future bets. Most books are asleep when it's time to update props & futures, not 365, they're always on time. I really like their Live offerings. During high season, I'm impressed with how many Live NCAA football games I can trade. Much more than any of the other sites we use. Helpful hint: Yes they offer a lot of player props, but you're going to want to play something other than just props to prolong your life at this sportsbook.
Payout Pisky
Hey Bet365, it's 2021, can you accept crypto payments already?! Definitely one of our favorite books to play at, but trying to get in/out with large amounts remains a challenge. Their website advertises hefty deposit limits, but the deposit methods for those hefty amounts are not ideal. 200k max bank wire - great, but we all know how much banks enjoy gambling transactions. 50k max credit card deposit - good luck finding a credit card provider that will support your gambling journey. 10k max Instadebit deposit - this used to be our entry of choice until Instadebit became more stringent with their own limits and outlawed carrying an in-house balance for more than 30 days.
As Fulldog mentioned above, we've have some pretty epic runs at 365. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever in this industry. The usual goodbye letter consists of something along the lines of: we're showing you to the door because your account is deemed to be "financially unprofitable." I have some official goodbye letters saved somewhere; I'll be sure to post them as soon as I come across them.
In closing, I want to quickly discuss this bullshit phenomenon of "recreational" sportsbooks. This cowardly label translates into "We only want customers who lose!" HOW is this fair? HOW is this even legal? (In some countries it's not, more on that in a future post). Someone with a gambling addiction can go into one of these "recreational" sportsbooks and piss away their entire life, yet two hoodlums from Chateauguay that put a little time and effort into the process regularly get the boot? Nah, F that. Of course the financial gains of beating up on these guys is great, but the injustice mentioned above is what keeps us hungry and continuously coming back for more.