Getting Limited: The Badge of Honor Every Sharp Bettor Earns

In June 2024, I tried to place a $200 bet on a random mid-week MLB game. The book accepted $11. My maximum allowed wager on that market was now $11.

I'd been limited.

My first reaction was frustration. I'd been betting at this book for two years, deposited tens of thousands, and now they were essentially telling me to go away. It felt personal.

Then I realized: getting limited means you're winning. Books don't restrict losing customers.

Here's what I've learned about limits and how to navigate them:

Why books limit winners:

Sportsbooks are not charities. Their business model is taking a cut (the vig) from a pool of bettors. Winners extract value from that pool. Too many winners, and the book loses money. So they identify winners and restrict them.

The identification is sophisticated. They track your bet timing (do you bet before lines move?), your sport patterns (do you specialize?), your stake patterns (do you bet max on certain lines?), and of course, your results.

How to delay limits:

Bet round numbers. $100 or $50 bets look more recreational than $127 or $43 bets.

Don't always take the best line. If you're betting a line that only this book has favorable, you're signaling that you're line shopping.

Bet some recreational stuff. Throw in a parlay occasionally. Make a live bet during a game you're watching. Look like a fan, not a professional.

Bet consistently, not just when you see big edges. If you only bet when lines are off, the book notices.

What to do when you're limited:

Open accounts at more books. I now have accounts at 14 different sportsbooks. Being limited at a few doesn't matter when you have options.

Use betting exchanges. Platforms like Betfair don't limit based on winning. The business model is different—they take a commission on all winning bets regardless of who wins.

Consider using friends or family. This is a gray area, but many sharp bettors have "runners" who place bets at books where the sharp is limited. Obviously requires trust.

Accept it as validation. Being limited means you're doing something right. It's annoying, but it's proof that your edge is real.

The betting landscape favors the books, and limits are part of that game. But with enough accounts and enough discipline, you can still find places to put down action. You just have to work harder than the average bettor.