Does Betting Arbitrage Work?
The arbitrage betting strategy is something a lot of people will have heard of, and something many people will have used from time to time in order to put themselves in a very good betting position. But does arbitrage betting actually work, and can you make good money from it?
In my opinion, the answer to this is yes, although making a lot of money needs a big betting balance and also a lot of patience, this is a long term strategy. You won’t make it large, but this can be a steady earner for you.
If you want to make arbitrage betting work then you can, but you must follow the rules closely. Make sure you have a lot of time spare to find potential arbitrage bets, and watch out for changes in the betting markets, these changes could stop a potential arbitrage bet from working.
What is an arbitrage bet?
When you place a normal bet, it is a match between yourself and the bookmakers. You put your cash down, in the hope you have backed a winner but realistically there is risk attached and there is a chance that your bet would lose, giving the money to the bookmaker. Arbitrage eliminates that and puts you in a position where there is not chance that you will lose money. It is a guaranteed no lose bet regardless of what happens and it is all down to the position you put yourself in by manipulating the odds offered by different bookmakers.
Arbitrage betting is getting more and more difficult due to the bookmakers becoming more clued up on it, but with so many new bookmakers opening online, you do still have a chance to take advantage. This is not easy, and takes a lot of work, but with so many bookmakers out there it is still possible to put yourself in a great arbitrage position that even a schmuck couldn’t mess up.
How to Find an Arbitrage Bet
The bookmakers all set odds on any event based on what they thing will happen in the game or race. When pricing up the event, the favourite will have the shortest odds and this is normally the same outcome with all the bookmakers. However, with so many bookmakers available, from time to time they will have a difference in opinion about an event and that is where they create an arbitrage bet for us to take advantage of. To place an arbitrage bet you need to have several different bookmaker accounts and you need to place specific amounts of money on different outcomes to leave yourself with a guaranteed profit.
The easiest way to work out an arbitrage bet is to use decimal odds and with the majority of arbs being found online, I would recommend using decimal odds when looking for them.
Below is a basic example of how to place an arbitrage bet, I will use a football cup final as an example.
The betting below is based on a two way market, to win outright and the two outcomes are the only two possible outcomes in this market.
Team A vs Team B in the cup final
Bookmaker 1 fancies Team A to win the game, who are the favourites
Bookmaker 2 Fancies Team B to win the game, even though Team A are favourites
Bookmaker 1 prices the game up as follows:
Team A 1.50
Team B 2.50
Bookmaker 2 prices the game up as follows:
Team A 1.727
Team B 2.00
The odds on offer are different enough to create an arb and this is where you need to calculate how much money to place on each selection to give you a guaranteed profit.
The calculation you need to do is to divide 100 by the decimal odds on offer. This will show you how much you need to spend to win £100 on the event. Always make sure you take the best odds from each bookmaker so in this example, back Team A with bookmaker 2 and Team B with bookmaker 1.
Team A calculation – 100 / 1.727 = £57.90
Team B Calculation – 100 / 2.50 = £40
In this instance you would have a successful arbitrage bet and you would gurantee yourself a profit on the event.
The market is two way so the only outcomes available are the two that you have placed a bet on. If Team A wins the game you have won £100, if Team B wins the game you have also won £100. Your total outlay for the two bets is £97.90, so regardless of what happens when the event takes place, you will have a guaranteed profit of £2.10. Obviously this is only a small profit, but if you start placing more money on these events, which are risk free, then you will quickly build up a nice betting bank.
In Conclusion
Arbitrage betting is not a quick method to make money and it takes a lot of time to find potential bets, but when you do you know you are betting risk free, even if it is only for a few pounds. Patience is the key if you want to do well using this method of gambling and also a good eye for prices. A wiseguy like you should know all of this already.
Make sure you are fully clued up on the different odds available and you can quickly work out returns from a bet, this will enable you to quickly get on at the right price to land your arbitrage bet. Making a mistake could prove to be very costly so before throwing a lot of money on a bet, make sure you know 100% what you are doing. If you don’t then arbitrage betting could become a very expensive lesson for you and cost a lot of money.
Arbitrage betting does work, and it can work for you, but this is not as easy as some people make out. Arbitrage betting takes time and hard work, sometimes to make just a few pounds in profit. If you are happy with this, and you want a long term plan then arbitrage betting may be for you.
Make sure you don’t eat alone, go tell your crew about this.