Testing Pinnacle
QUICK FACTS
Established in 1998
Located in Curacao (Netherlands Antilles)
csd@pinnaclesports.com
Their customer service only operates through email (you cannot call them or chat with them). While this may sound like a negative thing, they are very effective. From my extensive experience at Pinnacle, I can attest that they answer queries promptly and effectively. Sure, sometimes it can be annoying not being able to get an answer within five minutes (which would be doable if they had phone lines or a live chat), but generally speaking they are doing a great job in this department.
Pinnacle publishes TONS of insightful betting articles. Lots of tips and advice. (https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-resources/archive#Betting-Strategy)(https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-resources)
pros
If you are worried about your money being stolen by your bookie (which is a pretty common concern, especially among those who are new to the sports betting world), then Pinnacle is a good option because their reputation is unmatched in this business. They have solid financials.
They offer the very best lines on the market, as proven by their reduced juice odds. In plain words, they are taking a smaller commission (also called the “vigorish”) on each bet, which turns out to be a huge factor in their favor.
When two evenly matched teams face each other, most sportsbooks are offering -110 lines (1.91 in decimal format). In such circumstances, Pinnacle usually has -105 lines (1.95 in decimal format). If you are an inexperienced bettor, it may not sound like much; trust me, it makes a big difference in the long run. Instead of having to win at least 52.4% of your bets (110 / 210), you need a win percentage that’s above 51.2% to be profitable at Pinnacle.
The interface is very nice and easy to use. Let me mention two key features: 1) when betting spreads, a drop down menu allows you to quickly buy or sell points; 2) you don’t even need to refresh your browser in order to detect line moves, as odds are automatically updated with color changes that make it easy to spot games where lines movements occurred.
Their wagering limits are enormous, so if you are a big gambler that’s a big positive.
Pinnacle openly accepts winners, which is rare in this business. I have had accounts banned in the past by other sportsbooks (they would ask that I withdraw my money and leave). I have also had betting limits severely limited. Those things are annoying. You don’t have to worry about that with Pinnacle as they have a “Winners Welcome Policy”. Their view on the topic is that successful players sharpen their odds.
They are one of the quickest sportsbooks when it comes to processing payout requests. You won’t wait very long to withdraw your winnings.
cons
The only major negative is their lack of bonuses. If that is an important criterion to you, then you should select another bookmaker. Otherwise, there is nothing not to like about Pinnacle.
Well, on second thought there might be an additional drawback to Pinnacle. Their lines are known to be very sharp, which means they are harder to beat. Other more recreational bookies tend to “shade” lines; on some occasions, they tend to favor certain teams on which they expect to receive more action too much. That provides value for smart bettors who will want to bet the opposing team because their line is artificially inflated. That’s not going to happen at Pinnacle.
Okay, I found a third thing I don’t like so much about Pinnacle. Live betting on MLB (Major League Baseball) is only offered between innings, while many other sportsbooks post lines almost uninterrupted. Similarly, in-play wagering on the NHL (National Hockey League) is only permitted between periods. One more feature that makes me dislike live betting at Pinnacle is their longer than usual delay before confirming live bets (they keep them pending for a while).
- Bank wire
- Credit card
- Skrill
- Neteller
- PaySafeCard
- E-cheque
- ecoPayz
- EntroPay
- iDebit
- Instadebit
- Instant Banking
- QIWI Wallet
- WebMoney
- China Banking
- Bank wire
- Credit card
- Skrill
- Neteller
- PaySafeCard
- E-cheque
- ecoPayz
- EntroPay
- iDebit
- Instadebit
- Instant Banking
- Moneta
- QIWI Wallet
- WebMoney
- Sofortüberweisung
- China Debit Card
- E-Payment
- WeChat Pay
STORY 1
A player, who had made several deposits with Pinnacle over the years, got upset because he was asked to verify his identity upon requesting his first withdrawal. He scanned his credit card bill and his passport; he showed his name and address, but masked other information on those documents with a black marker. Pinnacle responded by asking that he leaves both documents intact. The player got mad and asked “Is this how a top-rated sportsbook treats its customers?”
SOURCE: http://www.covers.com/postingforum/post01/showmessage.aspx?spt=35&sub=102164748
ANALYSIS: Many users from the forum mentioned it was standard procedure in the sports betting business. It is sometimes called the KYC procedure (“Know Your Customer”). This complaint was not founded at all; you need to expect this to happen to you, even before you request payouts in some cases.
STORY 2
A player wanted to withdraw $9000, but Pinnacle forced him into 6 separate payouts of $1500 each over 6 days.
SOURCE: http://www.covers.com/postingforum/post01/showmessage.aspx?spt=27&sub=102307803
ANALYSIS: I understand it can be frustrating to realize it’s easy to deposit large sums of money, but much more complicated to withdraw. But to me, that’s not a big issue; the player still got his money fairly quickly. As one of the forum posters said, that was probably done so as to avoid raising red flags both for the bookie and the player.
STORY 3
A guy from Australia started a thread asking about other players’ experiences with Pinnacle. He wanted to make sure they won’t run off with his money. Here are some answers:
- “Always a good experience.”
- “Yes, I have withdrawn plenty of times, they just do the usual verification. Also they give you one free withdrawal per month, the next they charge you.”
- “Best bookie in the world. Have fun!”
SOURCE: http://www.covers.com/postingforum/post01/showmessage.aspx?spt=82&sub=102402720
ANALYSIS: If you go on any sports betting forum and ask opinions about Pinnacle, that’s the kind of response you will usually get.
STORY 4
A guy made a $500 deposit via eCheque. After winning over $8000 thanks to a 4-team parlay, his winnings were confiscated. Why? Because Pinnacle claimed the deposit was not successful. The player swears his bank information was right and that the account had enough to cover the deposit amount. Two days later, the same person confirmed the issue had been resolved. His winnings were back in his account with Pinnacle admitting it was a technical error.
SOURCE: http://www.covers.com/postingforum/POST01/showmessage.aspx?spt=25932&sub=102020567
ANALYSIS: I understand the player for getting a sense of panic; it’s not a good feeling when you win big, only to realize they are trying to take it away from you. As you can see, the problem was solved in a couple of days. Bookies admitting errors are few, so hats off to Pinnacle.
STORY 5
When you place live in-play bets on Pinnacle, they keep them pending for a certain amount of time before accepting them. A player says the delay seems to be inappropriately long; he claims he placed a bet on a soccer game when the ball was not in a danger zone at all but it still took a minute before Pinnacle confirmed the bet.
SOURCE: http://forum.bettingadvice.com/showthread.php?t=103068
ANALYSIS: I have personally experienced this situation on tennis live betting and I’m glad someone raised the issue. When you place a bet on a game that’s in progress, all bookies have a certain delay before accepting or voiding the bet. They want to protect themselves in case an important event occurs before they have time to adjust their lines. I can deal with that. But Pinnacle is taking significantly longer than others to accept live bets. Sometimes it does feel like they accept the bet if things have gone their way, otherwise they void the bet. For this specific reason, I have been more reluctant to do live betting with Pinnacle.
I have had an account at Pinnacle for around 15 years. Whenever I get asked to name just one sportsbook to recommend, the first answer that pops up in my mind is Pinnacle. No doubt about it. Sure, there are some drawbacks like their lack of bonuses or the fact that their lines are hard to beat considering how sharp they are.
However, I would argue they are #1 in terms of reputation, they have high odds that favor the players, they have large betting limits and they don’t care if you beat them on a regular basis (they still won’t limit you).
Any serious sports investor should have more than one account, though, because line shopping is extremely important to your long-term success. Therefore, I would advise to open an account at Pinnacle and a few bookmakers that offer bonuses or that aren’t as sharp as this one.