Arbitrage, Match & Value Betting Explained

Arbitrage and other terms explained – The primary enticement of sports betting is that it is the most promising gambling activity when it comes to individuals having decent odds of making a profit. While most think this is possible only through boasting high-end sporting knowledge, veteran bettors know that is not the case. They are wise to the fact that athletic contests are unpredictable in nature and that gubbing gives bookies all the edge they need to stay in the black and not allow their user pool to send them into the red.

For the uninformed, gubbing is a measure operators take to curb potential losses from consistently winning bettors. They do so by limiting users’ accounts. So, that is an obstacle all sports gamblers face at any online bookie, and here are the three most popular approaches they take to turn the tables on Internet sportsbooks. They are arbitrage, match betting, and value wagering. They are detailed below.

Arbitrage

Arbitrage is a somewhat controversial practice in sports betting as it is something that many sportsbooks forbid. In the UK, a few online bookies have gone so far as to come under investigation in the mid-2000s for utilizing spyware named IE Snare to stop arbitrage. But what is arbitrage? Simply put, it is a cheeky approach to wagering where a bettor places multiple bets on the same event to ensure a profit. That should happen regardless of its outcome. The strategy exploits differences in odds offered by sportsbooks and is essentially a form of hedging.

If two bookies offer different prices on a match, a gambler can bet on both outcomes to guarantee breaking even or profiting. It is capitalizing on discrepancies. Moreover, if a coefficient/betting line shifts in a gambler’s favor, they can place a guaranteed profit.

The Challenges of Arbitrage

That said, arbitrage has its challenges. It is not the sure-fire way towards profits some advertise it to be. The margins are small, requiring substantial capital and high betting limits. On top of this, opportunities in the current marketplace are scarce. As mentioned above, bookies will ban or limit arbitrage bettors, and most adjust lines based on market trends. That makes sizeable discrepancies rare. To identify prime arbitrage opportunities, know that services like OddsJam and BetWasp can be super handy. However, even using these, the average bettor may still find it hard to profit consistently.

Match Betting

In online gambling, promotions reign supreme as operators’ main allure that baits gamblers into joining platforms and staying and playing. That applies to the casino and betting side of things. Concerning the latter, free bets are to bettors what free spins are to game-of-chance enthusiasts. These promos are the basis for match betting – something that gets bandied about as betting’s only risk-free strategy. It is a technique where a gambler seeks to cover all possible outcomes of an event. It is an approach relying on back and lay wagers. The first is the one where someone bets for an outcome, and it is the wager gamblers make with chosen bookies.

So, for example, staking a sum of money that Chelsea will win against Arsenal. A lay wager, on the other hand, is betting against an outcome. It occurs at exchanges like Smarkets and BetFred. These platforms play a pivotal role in match betting by allowing users to make lay bets. So, in match betting, bettors back a team to win at a traditional bookmaker and put down a lay wager on the same event at a betting exchange, covering all possibilities.

Match Betting Aids

If going at match betting alone seems like an arduous task. Know that sites like OddsMonkey have established themselves as aids that streamline this process for beginners. Reddit groups also supply invaluable nuggets of info about this process and quality tips on getting started. For those with zero experience with exchanges, it is best to think of them as marketplaces for bets.

The entire match procedure should go a little something like this. A bettor creates accounts with a bookmaker offering a free bet and an exchange. He then places a qualifying wager with the selected bookie to unlock a free bet promo. That is the regular bet. Then comes the lay one on the same outcome at the exchange, wagering against a result, canceling the qualifying bet. Now comes utilizing the one-the-house wager received by the bookie to place another bet on a different outcome and laying down a corresponding lay bet on the same result at the exchange. No matter the outcome, the complimentary wager ensures a profit.

We should mention that figuring out the exact stake for optimal profit may require a match betting calculator. It determines the ideal stake for both back and lay bets. Typically, a profit of 50-80% from a free bet gets seen as an acceptable success. Note that exchanges will likely charge a small commission, usually 0-5%, that should also get factored into calculations.

Value Wagering

The method seeks to take advantage of markets where bookies have not done their due diligence. That is a reference to when they have poorly calculated event probability.

Value betting offers higher long-haul profits, doesn’t rely on bonuses, comes with higher variance, and requires discipline. Hence, it is different from match wagering and arbitrage. It is a procedure that entails identifying overpriced bookmaker odds. Then, making bets with positive expected value. For one to succeed in this venture, without question, specialized software must be used to find and track value bets, and as a rule of thumb, bettors can expect to make two to three times more money with value wagering than arbitrage.

Expected Margins

To fully comprehend this practice, readers must understand the concept of expected value and the bookmaker margin. The EV of a wager is the variance between the bettor’s probability assessment and the bookmaker’s margin. The latter is the gap between the event’s accurate probability and the odds set by a platform. Using a value betting calculator is more or less a must to determine the edge of a bet by comparing sharp and soft bookmaker odds. Soft ones are slow to update in light of new circumstances. After calculating the edge/value to determine the optimal stake, many gamblers use the Kelly criterion, a formula unraveling the optimal percentage of a bankroll to wager on a bet. It considers the probability of winning and the odds offered. The formula is Kelly % = (bp – q) / b. B is the odds received, p is the probability of winning, and q is the probability of losing.

Rebel Betting stands as one of the more respected value wagering services out there, promising a monthly return on investment of 30%. Look into it if value betting seems like an attractive proposition for you.

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