Best for smaller operators

What a small book needs

Less than the brochure offers. You need a clean board with the sports your players actually bet, limits you can set per player, a weekly figure sheet you can settle from, and a person who answers the phone when something goes wrong. That is most of it.

You probably don't need sub-agent accounts, because you have no one bringing you players. You may not need a casino, a racebook or a long menu of live markets either, unless your players ask for them. Every one of those is a feature a shop can charge for, so I'd start by writing down what my players bet last season and buying that.

Terms that hurt a small book

The head price is the figure everyone compares, and for a small agent it is often not the one that decides the bill. These are the ones I'd look for:

• A weekly minimum. Say the head price is $10 and the minimum is $200 a week. With 15 active players you owe $200, not $150, which is $13.33 a head.
• A setup fee, paid before a single bet is taken.
• Charges for inactive players, or a definition of "active" that counts a player who only logged in.
• Extras priced per player, such as live betting or the casino, that turn on by default.
• A contract that runs longer than your season, or notice you have to give months ahead.

None of these is wrong in itself; a shop has costs whether you have 15 players or 150. But a term built for a big agent lands hardest on a small one, so ask for every one of them in writing.

The sum you need to beat

Work out what the shop costs against what your players are likely to lose. Say 15 players bet in a week at $10 a head, so the week costs $150. At -110 on balanced action, the theoretical hold is 4.55 percent, so your players have to bet about $3,300 between them that week before the fee is covered.

A small book doesn't hold its theoretical figure every week, because 15 players is not enough action for the numbers to even out. One player having a good Sunday can wipe out a month. So keep a bankroll that can pay your biggest realistic losing week without borrowing, and set each player's credit figure by what he can pay, not by what he would like to bet.

Support counts more when you're small

A big agent is a big account, and a shop will answer him. Before you sign, call support at a busy hour and see how long it takes to reach someone who can fix a grade or change a limit. I'd also ask who my contact would be, by name, and whether that person works weekends. If all you get is a ticket form, you know where you stand.

Price and lines

A small book has less room for a slow line than a big one, because one sharp player is a bigger share of the action. I wouldn't pick the cheapest head price on offer just because the book is small. The under $5 page goes into what a cheap price buys, and comparisons says how to test two shops against each other.

Whatever you pick, read the weekly report every week. With 15 players you can know every one of them, and that is the advantage a small book has.

Shops you can try before you pay

Below are the shops we've reviewed that say they offer a free trial, with the trial as each review records it. It isn't a ranking. It's where I'd start a small book, because a trial lets you test the lines, the agent screen and the support with a few of your own players before any money changes hands. Check the terms in the review before you sign, and use the side-by-side comparison to set two of them against each other.