The bookie business is a tricky business, it's a fun business and highly rewarding . . . if you play your cards correctly.

There are tricks and secrets to becoming a successful bookie and everyone that wants in should come well-armed with information. The day-to-day duties of a bookie are much more involved than most people may think, not only do they eat, sleep, and live the bookie business, they must do the same with sports. In the gambling industry, everyone wants to beat you. They want to beat the pants off of the bookie and never let him win. It’s the bookmaker's job to outsmart the player and to do that, bookies had better come well-armed. There are not many industries in the world today that can boast every client you have, every client you want to keep, and every client that you hope to recruit - those clients all want to break you, and they will do whatever it takes to accomplish exactly that.

Budget
You must have a good one if you want any level of success in the gambling business. Every wealthy bookie saved the first penny they earned, and they keep a tight budget and are religious about not breaking it. The first and foremost way in which bookmakers must budget is with "players limits".

Qualify players 
Qualifying your players goes hand-in-hand with budgeting. When you qualify your players you are determining exactly how much they can spend on any single bet, parlay, teaser, "future bets" or any bet that is available to them.

Be organized
Keep an electronic ledger of every bet in, every bet out, every dollar in, and every dollar out. You must keep impeccable records as to how much you have lost and won. You must know at all times what bets are pending, what bets have been paid, what bets are owed but have not been paid and if anybody owes you money.

Credit
It's tempting to give credit, but think about this; how many of the "big boys" of the online sportsbook world can you dial-up right now and play with them on credit? We are not talking about a bonus or free play. We are talking about credit. Credit is when you give money (cash) to a player and they can beat you or lose to you. The rule of thumb is to never give credit.

Lines/Odds
Know them and know them very well. You will need to set them every day and you must not deviate/stray drastically in one direction or another. You must know what games are worthy of what lines and what games that you need to move the line or risk taking a beating.

Online Presence
You must take your bookie business online or you have nothing. You probably know a lot of players and you may have a decent-sized client list; you want more. Your goal should be to get more and recruit more players. Find as many as possible. You need "cross action".

Grading bet slips
You must grade games/events within five minutes of the ending. Players want to make new bets, they want to play, and they want to play their winnings. When players do not see a graded bet slip, they will jump to the next online bookie – the click of a mouse, it’s that easy.

Pay Per Head
Bookies the world over are choosing the pay per head industry to take care of them. Not only will they take care of you, but they will also do every task on the list above and more. A pay per head is a turnkey solution that will place your business online and give your clients all of the fantastic options they can get with the “big  boys ''.

A fantastic pay per head charges in the neighborhood of $10-$15 per head, per week. The best PPH providers in the industry are offering an extended free trial so be sure to ‘try before you buy’.

You can take this bookie adventure to an entirely new level if you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and give a new concept a try. This PPH concept is easy to use and most of all, it's affordable. Quit killing yourself and start having fun.

Learn more about Pay Per Head:

Pay Per Head Lowers a Bookie’s Financial Risk
Make the Most of the NBA & NHL Postseason With Pay Per Head
Make the Most of the Upcoming NBA Postseason With Real Bookies
Real Bookies Offers Ways to Lower Your Weekly Pay Per Head Costs
Take in Action on Horse Racing With Real Bookies Racebook Solutions