Sports Arbitrage Betting - is it really risk-less investment?
As a matter of form there is only one thing that needs to be done in order to make real, no-nonsense profit from sports arbitrage (i.e. Sports-related fixed odds bet).
There are plenty of bookmakers out there, each with his on price for a sporting contest. The variations can be huge – and then you can use the services of several bookmakers, thus betting on each of the possible outcome and picking the best odds for each bet. Following such path, you are going to win no matter who wins the game! This becomes possible because of the over-round reduction even below 0% that occurs when you bet in such a manner – of course, that is, if you’ve really picked the very best odds! As a result, you become what they call ‘a punter with an over-broke book’ and your bet instantly turns into an arbitrage (or surebet). Nothing but victory!
Certainly, one cannot say an arbitrage opportunity is going to come up very often; in fact, bookmakers are generally careful fellows, not too eager to break the restraints of the popular cry regarding the pricing of the event you wish to bet on. Therefore, only one book out of a hundred gets over-broke and has an opportunity to become an arbitrage; perhaps, this value is even too bold and optimistic! However, over-rounds of a couple per cent over are frequent enough, so do not lose hope. And, after all, nowadays the amount of sports events that you can bet on is truly colossal – if you try well enough, you can find several sure win bets a week.
For many punters arbitrage for some reasons looks like some kind of betting scene Holy Grail. It’s like, you find the opportunity, and you get the mother lode, and you’re completely out of the risk zone! However, the last statement is not completely right. Gambling of any kind just can not be risk-free, since risk is what gives it life – and arbitrage betting certainly does not whip the very life out of the fun. Perhaps, this weird opinion came through because of the words ’sure win’ associated with arbitrage; but you must know by now that any such term on the scene ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Arbitrage is difficult enough in many aspects, and these aspects tend to steal some of the profits and, if handled without due care, could even be a cause of disaster.
When you start planning an arbitrage bet, think of the stake size carefully first. Most opportunities of this sort in the best case will give you a few per cent only. Hence, you need to add some real big money in order to assure a nice profit. Here is an example: in order to win £4.31
at one betting place a punter had to pay £100 or so. Simple math suggests that an around £43 profit would take about £1,000 total stakes. If you have got enough cash available, this surely is not a problem as such. But then you get one of those difficult aspects we have mentioned: certain bookmakers on-line tend to set limits for the bets they take. Considering that a punter planning on an arbitrage usually wishes to make a bet considerably above the mean… yeah, this can be a problem! Here is another example: say, a punter bets on Greece at Bookie 1, bets on Ireland at Bookie 2… and finds himself in a situation where Bookie 3 just won’t take his £285.7 allowing for no more than a £200 bet. So the punter does not feel like a ’sure winner’ throughout the match – if it is drawn, he loses £171,2! Where does the story go? Towards 0:0, of course. Sad.
Now let us touch on the deposit/withdrawal costs whose effects can present some crucial in tact problems. Sometimes currency transaction costs go into the same book. Some of the deposit types along with certain international bookmakers currently present on-line can make this costs to be just about anything! 1-5% is the most common number; note that any relatively small profit from the arbitrage can be practically ruined at this point. You can try and restrict yourself from using too many deposits and withdrawals, of course, but you should be aware of the stake sizes and the numbers of bookmakers accounts needed for a notable financial gain. This brings us to a thought: unless a punter is a real moneybag, he can hardly draw the required sum from an on-line account. Most often arbitrage means just over 1, maybe 2%, so if you suddenly find an opportunity to get an arbitrage a day you can hope for about £300 a month sheerly from betting. For this, the number of your on-line accounts must be close to about a couple of dozen, and the spending capability of each account must amount to £1,00 or so. The wealthiest of us, of course, hardly will find it reasonable to limit all their betting to arbitrage deals for several extra pounds.
Another aspect is the currency in which the transactions are made. Most bookmakers available over the Internet normally allow you to choose between several primary currency, such as pounds, US dollars, Euro etc. Others will only allow one currency. If you make several bets in two or more currency in bulk, you need to make some clever and very accurate calculations in order to secure your profit. Be very careful: any small mistake can cause the ’sure win’ factor to virtually evaporate, especially since currency rates are subject to constant fluctuations.
And what of postponed sport events? Sometimes they can be put off for a few days only, and then the bookmakers acts about the bets in accordance with the terms and conditions of his service. Some can void all the bets and start fresh, other bookmakers keep all the bets made – and so you can find yourself, say, with two standing bets and one void. From the moment on, you will be walking a narrow path: unless the set of prices for a new book is about the same, arbitrage becomes dubious at best.
Also, sometimes bookmakers tend to make mistakes in the pricing. If such a things happens, there can be a great arbitrage chance of up to 10% profit. You understand, of course, that this is an extremely rare thing. However, do not lose faith! If you find an opportunity like this, you can count on some financial gain without too much risk. Pay attention, though, to all the aspects this article has touched upon. A punter has got to be totally devoted to the betting scene in order to secure himself a regular arbitrage-based income!
Tags: arbitrage betting, arbitrage trading, arbs, bonus arbitrage, sports arbitrage, surebet