Every experienced value bettor and BetHawk user will know the feeling of when a bet takes a little too long to go through, and you then get the dreaded message:
"Your stake exceeds the maximum value of £0.02"
You've been stake restricted, also known as gubbed.
Unfortunately, bookmakers don't like to lose money to customers forever. For every customer who makes a profit, the bookmakers will eventually draw a line when they realise you're simply going to keep draining their coffers.
However, they don't ban everyone the second they look like they might be a wise bettor, as they'd have no customers left. It takes time for the bookmakers to analyse your betting history with them and determine whether they'll make money keeping you as a customer. This is the period of time where you can extract as much profit as possible out of your account, and it can last anywhere from a week to as long as a few months.
What does it mean to be restricted?
Restrictions on your account can vary between bookmakers. Some may gradually decrease your maximum stake limit over time, some may hit you with an extremely low stake limit one day, and some even outright ban you from placing bets.
Don't let this discourage you from value betting! Speaking from experience, the profit you can make massively outweighs any inconvenience. If you still want to gamble recreationally alongside your value betting, you could save your favourite bookmaker for that, or even better - do your normal gambling on a betting exchange like Betfair Exchange.
Without having someone on the inside to tell us, we can't say exactly how their algorithms work. At BetHawk, we've instead built up years of knowledge, gone through plenty of accounts, and tried just about everything to make accounts last even longer - so you don't have to.
How can I extract the most profit out of the bookies?
It's best to keep some of these tips in mind if you want to make the most out of your value betting, however it's not the end of the world if you don't stick to them, and accounts can still last a long time regardless.
If there are bookmakers who you already have an account with and have already bet with, we'd recommend starting your value betting journey with them. Accounts with previous betting history tend to last longer once they start value betting, as you'll likely fly under the radar due to previously seeming like a customer they can make money off.
If you don't have accounts with previous betting history, you may want to train them up. This means placing random 'mug' bets over a period of time to mimic the betting of their average customer. BetHawk automates this process with our training system, allowing you to train up your next accounts while you're making money from your current ones. Learn more about training up accounts here.
For more experienced value bettors:
Once you're 20, 30, or 40 accounts in, we have some more tips which may help.
If you plan to do value betting on a bookmakers account when another has already been banned from them on the same WiFi network, take measures to prevent them from making the connection between the two accounts. You'll likely have the same IP address, so make sure you use a different WiFi network or use mobile data on the device you'll be using BetHawk on.
Some other websites may recommend using a VPN - we strongly advise against this. Bookmakers can tell when you're using a VPN as the IP addresses they use will already be flagged as being used by a VPN, and this is an immediate red flag to them as it indicates you're trying to hide your identity.
