question When you're sizing up a new bookie, what do you check first?

Been doing a bit of a look around for another sports bookie and half the stuff I read is either people saying a site is amazing or they're absolutely filthy because one same game multi got knocked back. Hard to tell what's actually useful and what's just someone having a spray.

The main things I care about are pretty simple - payout speed, whether they get painful with ID checks, if the app turns to rubbish during NRL or AFL, and if the odds still stack up once the shiny sign-up promos are gone. Bonus terms too... some of them are a bit rough if you actually read them properly.

So yeah, how do you lot judge a bookie before signing up or chucking more money in? Do you trust forum posts, mates, those rating sites, or just do a small test and see how it goes? Keen to hear what people here actually pay attention to.

I usually do a tiny deposit and try to pull part of it back out before I even bother having a real punt. Sounds boring but it tells you heaps. I also watch whether their markets freeze up on a busy Saturday arvo, because a fancy app means nothing if you can't actually get the bet on.