Sharbing might sound like a made-up word for people who haven’t heard and to an extent, it truly is. It means shop arbs or arbitrages in a betting shop. It also includes promotions such as acca insurances, free bets, and other special deals. In this post, I will show you how to take full advantage of sharbing.

Sharbing (shop arbing) is simple in theory: Simply place a bet in a betting shop when the price available is higher than what it is on the exchanges.

Unfortunately it isn’t always as simple as that as limits on the amount you can place can be imposed, or the prices that are printed on the coupons are not always available when you attempt to place your bet!

Sharbing Coupons

The main tool that we have at our disposal when sharbing is the football ‘coupon’. These coupons are A4 pieces of paper that are available in all shops, and show all the upcoming games. These coupons are printed 4/5 days before the games so you can imagine the price changes that can occur in that time, this is where the sharbs are thrown up.

There are many different coupons available in the shops, all with different types of bets.

The main coupons are the ‘Midweek’ coupon, which is available on Mondays and cover all games Mon-Thurs and ‘Weekend’ coupons are available on Wednesdays and cover all matches Fri-Mon.

Although pretty much any market on any coupon can be sharbed, the vast majority of the time we look to place bets on the match betting (1×2) markets. There are three reasons for this: the bookmakers are more likely to honour these prices despite price moves on the exchanges than they are on other markets, the best liquidity on the exchanges is found on the match betting market, and bigger bets of £100 or more do not look out of place simply betting on a team to win.

Coupons are filled out in the same way as a lottery slip by striking a mark in the 1, X, or 2 box next to the match you are betting on, and then filling in your stake.

All shop coupons are in the fractional format, with the exception of Coral (which have both fractional and decimal coupons). A quick odds converter can be found here.

Although this can be a pain when comparing coupon prices to the exchange prices, you should find that you’ll instantly begin to recognise certain prices the more time you spend using fractional odds.

Sharb opportunities can present themselves at any time, thanks to the constantly evolving prices on the exchanges, so it is impossible to predict exactly when and with which bookie they will pop up.

Best Sharbing Bookies

The best two bookies to sharb are William Hill and Coral.

WILLIAM HILL tend to hold the coupon prices of all Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League games, however you will find that they will often (but not always) have a shop limit of a certain amount that they will take from any one customer. These amount vary depending on the odds of the team. If you attempt to place a bet that is higher than the limits, then the cashier will tell you that you are only able to place a bet up to £X amount and you will have to alter your bet.

Some cashiers do not bother to check the screens when accepting big bets on teams with limits and it is sometimes possible to sneak bigger amounts through if you are lucky / feeling brave!

CORAL are more likely to cut their prices than William Hill, BUT when you do find a sharb with Coral that hasn’t yet been cut, they are likely to accept bigger amounts. There doesn’t appear to be a set amount to which they will accept, so its simply a case of placing a bet and hope that it gets accepted. As a rough guide, I would attempt to bet no more than £300 on bets between 1.7 and 3.0, and no more than £500 on shorter price bets between 1.2 and 1.7.

Out of the other main bookies, LADBROKES have occasional sharbs – and although they are generally quicker to cut prices than Hills and Coral, it is possible to find the occasional gem. When you do find a sharb with Ladbrokes, cashiers can take bets on the 1×2 market of football games without authorisation of up to £200 so it is best to stick to below that amount.

One problem that people have encountered with Ladbrokes is that they do not always honour the price on your slip. One way around this is to simply ask that the price is correct with the cashier before they accept your bet, there is nothing wrong with double checking if in doubt. The other option is to check the latest price on the touch screen (see below).

BETFRED and PADDY’S are very quick to cut their coupon prices and at present I am not spending any time checking their prices due to a number of bets being denied due to price cuts at the counter.

Optimal Access To Betting Shops

The first thing you need to do is organise the whole process of actually visiting betting shops. Unlike online bookies, betting shops require you to actually go to a certain location to take advantage of any offers and place bets.

As you could imagine, this takes a lot of time and time is money. If you want to be successful in sharbing, you should be able to utilise your resources perfectly. There are a couple of things you should always consider:

Do you have a car?

If the answer is no, you should always focus on locations where there are plenty of betting shops close to each other. The city centre is usually a good place. If you have a car, you can visit different locations and take advantage of more shops which means more value.

What’s your daily routine?

Do you go to a day job? Do you drop your kids to school? Find betting shops that are close to key locations include in your daily routine. This will help you quickly visit as many of them as possible.

Use the internet to see what’s available

Fortunately, most of the information you might need can be found online. It would be almost criminal not to take a full advantage of the opportunities you get.

Ideally, you will take a look at the website of each popular bookie and see a map of its betting shops.
Here are the links you can use for that purpose. They will help you find the closest locations:

http://www.coral.co.uk/coral-connect/shop-locator
https://thegrid.ladbrokes.com/en/shoplocator
http://www.williamhill.com/shop-locator/
http://www.paddypower.com/bet/shop-locator
http://betfred.freebetpromotions.co.uk/betfred-shops-list
http://www.stanjamesshops.com/locations/

Organise your schedule

The best approach would be to split all the bookies into different zones and add the address of each. You can use the map of the place you live or even use your GPS to mark down each betting shop.

Create a list of each zone. Add the number of the betting shops available and the bookie that offers them, whether it’s Coral, Betfred, Ladbrokes, or William Hill.

Think about the routes that allow you to go to the most shops. Also, try to synchronize it with your schedule for the day. If you have to go to a certain place, you might have a different route that your standard one. The main target is to spend the least time to visit the most betting shops.

Always consider the opening and closing times of the betting shop, so there aren’t unpleasant surprises along the way. Include it in your schedule and in the list of the shops. Most of them work for about 12 hours per day.

Additional details

There are other things that could make your life easier or harder, so are worth checking. You answer the following questions and add them as notes to each betting shop on your list. It might be crucial.

• Is parking around the betting shop easy?
• Is the parking free or does it cost something?
• Is there a street side location?
• Is there a double yellow line outside?
• Is it in middle of shopping centre?
• Is it 15 minutes or more walk from nearest car park?
• Is it in a housing estate?
• Is it in a dodgy area?
• Is there an ATM nearby you could use fast?
• Can you get something to eat quickly?
• Is it close to schools for school run avoidance times?
• Is there a pub or social club opposite or nearby where you can do a quick research if necessary?
• Do you feel safe in this bookie and area – would you be happy walking back to your car car with £1,000 in your pockets?

This might seem a bit pedantic, but good preparation is the key to success. If you have the full information, you can plan accordingly and visit a higher number of betting shops. As a result, you will be making money, so the additional research is totally worth your time.

Tackling the traffic

We all know that traffic can be extremely annoying. In this case, it’s even worse as it will cost you money. Make sure to check traffic reports online and visit sites for street views so you can know what to expect. A good example is instantstreetview.com.

You should consider key areas where you can park your car for free and walk part of the way if this could end up saving you time. Remember, you have to be fast and efficient. This means that you should actually skip a certain betting shop if it would screw your whole plan.

Extra tips

If you are using a lot of fuel while going around, you should probably consider getting a cashback credit card like Nationwide select or Amex platinum cashback. It can be combined with other fuel costs in your life and add up quickly.

Also, you should always keep some level of flexibility. The better an offer is, the more effort you could spare. Go longer distances, take more time if it is worth it. At the end of the day, the idea is to get the maximum profit.

Other Details About The Betting Shops

Ok, so you now have a solid list of betting shops, locations, working hours, and other details. You should be able to build a route that’s working and start improving it. As the time goes, you should get even better at finding a minute here and there.

However, this is only a part of my guide to sharbing. There is other stuff you should add to your list and they will help you even more time:

Staff names

As you could imagine, some staff members in each betting shop perform a better job than others. Make sure to check their badge names and find out which are good and which are bad so you know how to avoid them.

The name is one way to remember them, but there are other traits you could even write down. Stuff like male/female, tall/short, age, weight, tattoos, jewellery, glasses … I think you get the picture. Everything that helps you remember works.

This will help you also because the staff gets moved around often. For example, a certain employee may be allocated to another betting shop permanently. Or they could be taking overtime, covering for sick colleagues.

There are plenty of reason one employee may enter at another place. If you can instantly recognise the person and know what to expect, this will bring additional value to your sharbing adventure and potentially save you time.

Try to remember the staff members that work fast and don’t ask any questions. Those are the guys that you want. They will simply complete the task and you can move on to the next betting shop.

It’s a good idea to try and remember when you caught them at work. This will help you improve your efficiency by going to the shop during their shifts.

Documents and other stuff

It’s also crucial to prepare all of the stuff you will be losing while sharbing. You need to have a separate, unique GRID/Connect card for each betting shop. This means that personal details like email address, name, and date of birth should vary. Pick different names and dates, so you don’t raise flags.
Make sure you memorise the correct data before entering a shop. In fact, try to recall them by memory before you actually use them, so you are certain it will go well at the end.

Also, you need to order each card properly. For that purpose, you can get A4 pockets and assign one for each betting shop in your routine. Keep the appropriate card in the pocket for the shop you will be using it for. This is essential, as it saves time and prevents chaos.

You could also go one step further and add a note for the bet amount you intend to place in each pocket. Once again, preparation is the key and you have to be a perfectionist to get the best out of sharbing.

How To Keep A Low Profile

The bookies don’t really like sharbing, as they don’t like any other approach that actually costs them money. This is why it would be a good idea to keep a low profile and not raise any flags. Having different data on each of your GRID cards is a good idea. However, there are many other things that could help you in this regard:

Consistent betting amounts

There are tons of people out there who have a weekly/daily betting budget. For example, the bookies are used to see a lot of people who bet £50 or £20 each time. This is a good reason to follow the same pattern.

Try to place the same amount of money in the specific betting shop. This seems routine and won’t raise any questions.

Collect your winnings from the same place you used to bet

In theory, it shouldn’t be an issue to collect your winnings from another betting shop. However, you use different cards, place different amounts, and this could raise some suspicions.

It is better to always collect from the same shop you used to place the wager. You should have it as a part of your daily routine, so it’s not a big deal. Even if you have to wait a day or two for some reason, it’s still better to stick to this strategy.

Try to blend in

Depending on the location of the betting shop, the atmosphere might be different. It’s a good idea to always blend in and don’t attract too much attention

Don’t be the guy that everybody looks at, as soon as he enters. Your appearance should be casual and ordinary. As you could imagine, tattoos, piercings, weird haircuts, and shiny clothes probably won’t help.

Don’t show your knowledge

If you are sharbing, you certainly know much more than the average guy at the betting shop. You understand how betting works, you know the terms and conditions of the bookie and so on.

Forget about your vanity and try not to show that you’re smart and prepared. This will instantly attract the attention of employees and other gamblers. This is the last thing you need when sharbing.

Don’t fight the staff members

Be quiet and polite. Even if there’s a tiny mistake or the staff is not doing their job properly, avoid arguments. People will certainly remember you and this is the last thing you want. Get in, keep it cool, complete the job, get out. That’s everything you need to do.

How To Find Shops With Higher Limits

The bookies have one target only – to make money. They are smart in their approach, but in this case, it works in your favour. You simply have to think like them.

For example, betting shops that are closer to casinos usually have higher limits. The same applies to clubs, pubs, and bars. Obviously, there is a chance that someone in a gambling mood or under the influence will come in and place a large bet. That’s what the bookmakers want and they are more than ready to rip such people off.

With this information in mind, you now have a good idea how to find a betting shop that has higher betting limits.

Final Steps – Cash And Betting Slips

I probably will get a bit annoying by saying this again, but preparation is your best friend when it comes to sharbing. This is why it’s a good idea to get the money ready before you start your trip.

Determine how much would you be betting and add the cash to the A4 pocket you have for each betting shop that’s a part of your route.
As for the moment you walk out of your car to the bookie, I have a couple of other tips and tricks. Don’t waste your time using a wallet for larger amounts of money. You will probably have to use a bag or poly pocket.

Another thing you should do is keep a bunch of betting slips for all bookmakers you use at home. Make sure to carefully fill in everything you will be using before you start your journey. It’s faster and more efficient that way.

Since you don’t want to raise many flags, it’s probably a good idea to try and vary with your handwriting, your stakes, and even the pen you use. These might seem like simple details, but could go a long way in protecting your sharbing opportunities.

Again, the bet slips should go in the appropriate pockets for the betting shops you intend to visit, alongside the money for the stakes.

Final Words

As you can see, there’s a lot you can do to improve your sharbing strategy. The good news is that experience counts and you will only get better. This will allow you to find more opportunities and make more money.

There is another way to instantly improve your profits. The Profit Maximiser site covers all sharbing bonuses including shop acca insurance and has a dedicated forum thread were active sharbs are shared. Instead of searching for the deals yourself it’s much easier to be alerted to them by our website. This will save you time and you can instantly take advantage. Click here to take a risk free trial of Profit Maximiser now.

The post Sharbing Guide Written By A Professional Sharber appeared first on Mike Cruickshank.

If you have never before used arbing software you might wonder what it is. The fact is that it could turn out to be the key to making money with no-risk bets. This might sound too good to be true. Yet, many people have already taken advantage of the betting loophole that makes this possible. In this article, we’ll be going through the best arbing software.

Arbing comes from the term “arbitrage bet”. This means that you place a wager on all possible outcomes. This is done in such a way that you can’t possibly lose no matter what the outcome is. You can read the basics about how arbs work here.

There are a number of ways of giving yourself this unfair advantage over the bookies. For instance, you could spend endless sleepless night trying to crunch the numbers. Will you find the bets that guarantee you a win eventually in this way?

However, a far more convenient approach is to find arbing software to use instead. Thankfully, you are spoiled for choice in this respect. Therefore, you just need to find the best arbing software to make your dreams comes true. Disclaimer – I own Each Way Sniper & the arbitrage software.

Best Arbing Software for Horse Racing – Each Way Sniper

 Have you just recently discovered that arbing exists? There is no reason to rack your brains trying to work out which bets stack up. Help is at hand when you opt for an automated solution like this.

If you have never heard of arbing software before then you might want a beginner’s product. This will let you get going easily and with total confidence. You will soon understand everything that you need to know about betting with no risks.

You can expect this type of software to be incredibly simple to use. After all, it is designed for people who know little or nothing about arbing. Even someone who has never betted before can use it without any worries.

Each Way Sniper has proved to be massively popular with people from all types of background. It gives you a gentle introduction to this sort of bet. You can then start making money right away with no risk.

Each Way Sniper

URL: http://eachwaysniper.com/

Unique Selling Point: Step by step guide and training videos. £1 trial gives 14 days of access. Covers all horses and all races.

Little Bit about the Service: The Each Way Sniper site sets out in the clearest possible terms what it is all about. Even if you don’t know one end of a horse from the other, this is the arbing software to use. It covers all horses and all races to give you a comprehensive service.

To get started, you can go through the instruction videos and guide. These make is very easy to understand the concept. You will be amazed once you discover how much sense it all makes.

The concept behind it is so clever that you will wonder why you never heard of it before. Each bet that you make comes with a win for you.

As for the software itself, it is fully automated to make life easy. You don’t need to go hunting for bets or bookie’s deals. Instead, you just sit back and let Each Way Sniper do the hard work.

You just need to look through the list of available arbs and choose the ones that best suit you. It is incredibly satisfying to use and simple too. You can make as many or as few bets as you want to each day.

The software

Another good point is that the information is real time updated. In this way, you can be sure that you are always getting access to the latest bets. Don’t forget that these offers can sometimes be available for a very limited amount of time.

This system also has all of the information and links that you could need. Therefore, there is no need to jump back and forward between windows. You can find out all about the horses and the race in just one place.

All of this makes it ideal for making your first safe, guaranteed bets. If you still have any doubts about how this works then Each Way Sniper will quickly remove them. Even your very first bet is guaranteed to turn you a profit.

The trial offer on this arbing software is also extremely well thought out for newcomers. With 14 days of service for £1, anyone can give it a try. You can then work out whether you invest in the annual contract. It should be an easy decision to make.

The reported profits for existing users means that you can expect to get some juicy wins. It is the kind of betting system that you should win a very decent amount every time that you use it. There is no luck involved, just good maths.

Choosing this as your introduction to arbing is a sensible move. There is no need to do any other research or buy other products. Just start using the software and you will soon see the full power of arbing at its best.

This is the sort of betting solution that could work for anyone. Give it a try and you will say goodbye to losing bets and hours of research.

Best Arbing Software for Newbies

This is another solid choice for beginners to arbing. With the Matched Betting Software you get access to all sports too. This means that you can place no-risk bets on horses, football matches and more.

In this way, it will appeal to newcomers who want to place a wide variety of bets. Whether you want to beat the bookies at snooker, golf or something else, this is perfect. Life can be more interesting when you can so easily win at any sport.

As you would expect, getting started is simple to do. The site is packed with information and tips to get you going.

Equally, the software itself is cleverly designed so that anyone can pick it up in little time. The information is clearly presented and with just the right level of detail.

It has also been packed with a range of time-saving measures so that betting is fast and simple. For instance, the custom search filter is a lovely touch. This is a powerful search function that lets you home in on the ideal bet quickly and precisely.

Matched Betting Software

URL: http://matchedbettingsoftware.com/

Unique Selling Point: One click of a button to calculate odds. Custom search filter. One screen contains all of the important information.

Little Bit about the Service: With Matched Betting Software the path towards betting success is made easy. You get taught everything that you need to know before getting started. If you are unsure about starting then you can even get a 30 day trial for just £1.

Once you get started any fears that you might have had about arbing will quickly evaporate. The layout is so simple and effective that you will feel comfortable in no time at all. Laying your first bet is easy and risk-free.

Everything that you need is all on one screen. Here, you can see the name of the bookie, the odds, the lay odds and more. Then, with just one click you can place your bet. It’s as easy as that.

The Software

Naturally, the biggest advantage for complete newcomers is the chance to dive straight in. Instead of spending hours looking of bets and working out numbers you just get started. All of the facts and figures are worked out for you effortlessly on screen.

This makes it ideal for someone who wants to win money but that doesn’t have lots of free time for it. Getting the best deals is something that can be done in very little time. The powerful software has been designed to make life simple.

Because of this, you can start winning money right away. It is also good to see that it has been designed for people who don’t have a huge amount of time to dedicate to gambling. You can easily fit this money-making approach into any sort of lifestyle.

Another advantage is that the Matched Betting Software can be used on a mobile basis. This is great news for anyone who wants to place bets in a way that suits them. For instance, you could take a look at offers after work or early in the morning if you prefer.

The appeal of Matched Betting Software isn’t limited to use solely by newcomers, though. The power and appeal of this software makes it ideal for anyone.

If you want to take control of your income then this is a sure-fire way to do so. There is no risk involved in doing this and the rewards are very tempting. The trial offer also means that you get a full month of betting for just £1.

3) Best Professional Arbing Software

You will also find that there are also types of arbitrage software aimed at more experienced gamblers. This is usually slightly more complicated to use than the options that we have looked at so far.

You can expect to pay a subscription fee for these services. This can work out as quite a high charge. Having said that, they do offer the chance of getting in a lot of big wins, making this a good investment.

Therefore, this type of option could suit someone who is happy betting regularly. They may also get more out of if they are planning on betting fairly large amounts on these safe bets.

You may not feel comfortable using this software from day one. However, anyone who is used to arbing bets may want to take a look at the following.

BetOn Value

This is a well-established service that arose out of BetBrain. It is a Surebet finder that works with over a hundred bookies. In this way, it lets you pick from thousands of different arbs every day. It will also scour the market looking for the best possible odds.

URL: https://www.betonvalue.com

Unique Selling Point: Odd comparison service.

Little Bit about the Service: With this software you get to compare odds from across the market. The impressive tools includes an odds history graph that can be filtered. In truth, this site is probably best suited to someone who wants to monitor the best odds. BetOn Value may seem a touch overly involved and complicated for someone simply looking for their first ever risk-free bet. Gold members get instant notification of new opportunities while silver members have to accept a 3 minute delay. There is also a free option with a 20 minute delay and fewer bookmakers.

Bet Burger

With the option of live arbs and prematch arbs, BetBurger offers a huge number of bets. The site has been popular for a few years. Their latest figures show that they have over 35,000 users and are still growing.

URL: https://www.betburger.com

Unique Selling Point: Browser based arbs software. Live arbs option.

Little Bit about the Service: With the live arbs option, the fast updates are exciting. However, this may make it too confusing for newcomers to get to grips with. There are a couple of dozen sports covered here and over 100 bookies. The software is accessed in your browser. It can also be used on phones and tablets, as well as PCs and Mac computers. Extensive training material can help first-timers to get up and running. However, it is probably best suited to more experienced punters anyway. The Arbs Helper add-in from Chrome is handy in re-directing you to the bookie’s site with no hassle.

OddStorm

This site promises to help you turn gambling into investing. It does this by giving you access to a nice range of arbs on easy to use software. The software is football focussed, with 64 bookmakers, 162 leagues and thousands of arbing opportunities.

URL: https://www.oddstorm.com

Unique Selling Point: Football focused.

Little Bit about the Service: OddStorm is a fast and efficient arbing option. It works in your browser or mobile device. There is also a downloadable option too. You can bet in a number of different ways with this software. For instance, they offer Surebets as well as Middles and Polish Middles. The option of in-play betting is another welcome touch. While it only looks at football matches at the moment, the variety of games covered makes it versatile and interesting.

RebelBetting

This RebelBetting software is widely regarded as being one of the best choices for expert punters. With reported average profits of up to 15%, it is a sound option. Certainly, plenty of people have already benefitted from it.

URL: https://www.rebelbetting.com

Unique Selling Point: Regularly updated software.

Little Bit about the Service: This is a fast and reliable arbs service. Importantly, you can use it just about anywhere and on any type of device. A lot of work has gone into both the arbs software and their training material. New features are added regularly to make it work even better. RebelBetting is widely used and offers different types of subscription packages. There site reports that over 100,000 people have tried this software to date.

Betslayer

This site is one of the newer entries to the market. The selection of bookmakers is slightly smaller than on some competitor services. However, the on-site information does claim that you can win $1,561 every month with no risks.

URL: https://betslayer.com

Unique Selling Point: Lower monthly fee than competitors

Little Bit about the Service: This software is easy to understand and can be accessed on your browser. So there is no need for any downloading. The cost is reasonable compared to some of the rivals and represents decent value for money. There is also a good community feel to the site and Facebook page. Overall, it is a powerful arbing service that should lead you to some fine wins.

Best Free Arbitrage Software

Of course, some people may prefer to get stated with a free arbitrage service. This type of software will be more limited than a paid-for service. Yet, it could be a way for you to get started before paying for a more comprehensive service. There are a couple of free sites about you might like to check out.

BMBets

The BMBets software gives you simple and easy to understand arbs. You just open the site in your browser and filter by date, by profit or by outcome. This will result in you seeing a list of arbing opportunities right away.

URL: http://www.bmbets.com/sure-bets/

Unique Selling Point: Free

Little Bit About the Service: As you can imagine, the site is a little less sophisticated than those that offer paid services. This means that you will probably need to do a bit more work before placing each bet. However, it is a decent starting point for free arbing. There is a reasonable selection of bets covering a variety of popular sports.

Odds Portal

Another free and fairly basic choice the Odds Portal lists the 10 most profitable arbs around. It is similar to the BMBets service we just looked at. Just click on any of the listed bets to find out more details.

URL: http://www.oddsportal.com/sure-bets/

Unique Selling Point: Free

Little Bit About the Service: This site covers sports such as basketball, hockey and football. The selection is, therefore, varied despite being limited in size. If you want to see more than 10 arbs at a time then the sites directs you to their partners at RebelBetting. To be fair, the small number of arbs means that you probably wouldn’t do much more than just get started on here.

The best arbing software is?

Horse Racing — Each Way Sniper.

Newbies – Matched Betting Software.

Full disclosure, I own both of those products. Obviously I’m going to say they are the best. They are excellent value and will teach you the ropes if you are learning arbitrage betting.

The post What is the Best Arbing Software? appeared first on Mike Cruickshank.

Sure bets, also known as arbitrage bets or arbs, have become incredibly popular. Betting each day without any risk of losing money by the time the game is over sounds amazing. Before you become a sure bettor, it is crucial that you understand all the aspects of this type of betting. In this article, I give you a short overview of what sure betting is and how you can take advantage of it. I also provide you with a few examples so that you can see that sure bets are one of the easiest bets to place.

What is sure betting?

Sure betting is a type of betting where the focus is on the odds variations between different bookies. The idea is to “trade” all the different odds (and outcomes) of a single sports event in order to secure profit. Such betting strategy requires careful monitoring and rapid action, as the odds could change any second.

Sure betting cannot work without the bookies. That said, in order to place sure bets, you will need to have multiple bookmaker accounts. Because sure betting abuses any differences in the odds determined by the bookies and, possibly, the betting exchange, you will never really work with only one bookmaker. Not every sports event can be used for a sure bet, since certain conditions must apply in order for a bet to be “sure”. In any case multiple good opportunities appear each day. Once you detect a perfect opportunity, you will need to run a couple of calculations, which I explain below, and act fast before the odds change. Finally, to ensure high profits, your liquidity – or the amount of money available for betting – should be relatively large.

How do you profit from it?

When you bet on multiple outcomes, you must make sure that the profit you can collect on every single outcome exceeds the total amount of money you invested. Otherwise sure betting wouldn’t really prohduce any profit.

You can place a sure bet on sports with two possible outcomes, such as tennis, three possible outcomes such as football, or multiple possible outcomes, such as horse racing. Let’s look at tennis, for example. There is no draw – someone has to win. If the odds are in your favour, they won’t be too far apart from each other. That way, placing slightly more money on the lower odds, and slightly less money on the higher odds, could make £2-3 per a £100.

But this is rarely the case in tennis. The best sports for sure betting are football and horse racing.

As I mentioned, liquidity is important. Because sure wins tend to be around 2-3% of your overall investment, it is worth considering a bankroll of £50 or £100 at least – all of which you will get back, if you place your sure bet correctly. Evidently, higher stakes would yield more overall profit.

Different types of sure betting

There are two types of sure betting – back and lay betting, which relies on a bookie and a betting exchange market, and the so-called dutching, whereby bets are placed across multiple bookies.

Back and Lay Betting

A back bet is a bet that you place with a bookmaker. With your money, you are backing that a particular outcome will win – let’s say, supporting that Manchester City will beat Arsenal at the odds of 3.0. If you are right, provided that you placed a £100 bet, you would receive £200 of pure profit, plus your stake returned. But what if Manchester City lose, or the two teams draw? You lose your £100, and the bookie profits, it’s as simple as that. When a bet AGAINST a selected outcome, so either supports Arsenal or wishes for a draw, this is called a lay bet.

Sure betting goes against this traditional model where you place a back bet, and the bookie lays a bet. Because betting exchanges such as Betfair exist, you can also take the role of a bookie, and lay off other players’ bets. This is why such a system is also called peer to peer betting. Usually, you can expect the betting exchange to take a percentage commission every time you win.

Back and Lay Betting Example:

A good sure betting opportunity would be where the back odds for a particular event with a bookie are greater than the lay odds the betting exchange offers. Let’s stick to our Manchester City v. Arsenal example. The bookmaker gives the odds of 3.0 on Man City winning. You can place a back bet with them. The Betfair exchange, however, gives the opportunity of lay against Man City – bet that they will lose or draw – at the odds of 2.8.

If you place £100 on a back bet with the bookie, as we said, your winnings would amount to £200 of profit. You will need to use this figure to calculate how much you need to invest in your lay bet. The Betfair exchange makes this possible with a single click of a mouse.

The Betfair exchange webpage. For each of the three outcomes, the back odds are in blue, and the lay odds are in red.

All you need to know is the amount of money you would like to win – in order to still profit from your sure bet – the odds, and the Betfair commission (5%). The system will work out your lay bet stake.

In this case, at the odds of 2.8 to lay against Man United, and the default commission rate of 5%, you would need to lay £109.09 to make £3.63 what ever the outcome.

To break it down:

Man City Win

You will win £200 win the bookie because you placed the back bet with.

But also lose £196.36 with the betting exchange because of your lay bet.

The difference between your earnings/losses: £3.64 of secured profit.

Man City Draw

You will lose £100 with the bookie.

But win £103.64 with the betting exchange after 5% commission has been taken.

The difference between your earnings/losses: £3.64 of secured profit.

Man United Lose

The same. You lose £100 on the back bet, but gain £103.64 on the lay bet.

The difference between your earnings/losses: £3.64 of secured profit.

In any of the three scenarios, you will win £3.64, and get all of the money you invested back.

Dutching

The other type of sure bets is dutch betting, or dutching. In general, dutching means covering all selection of an event to lock in a profit, regardless of the outcome. Doing all this with one bookie normally won’t work – bookies make this impossible.

However, it is possible to work with a number of bookies in order to cover all selections. In other words, if there are three possible outcomes for a football game, you should place three different bets with three bookies. For this sure betting method, you won’t be using the betting exchange.

What bookies do is build a margin into each bet so that the combined probabilities of Team A winning + draw + Team B winning are greater than 100%. So, if you bet £110 on all three outcomes together, your guaranteed profit would be £100. Such a bet would not be a sure bet. This is why dutching is about diversifying in order to find bookmakers’ odds which, when combined, have an implied probability of less than 100%. You can easily calculate this implied probability by dividing 1 by the decimal odds.

Dutching Example

If one bookie gives the odds of 18.00 on Team A to win, another bookie gives the odds of 4.50 on draw, and the third bookie the odds of 1.50 on Team B to win, your math should be the following:

In this scenario, by using these three different bookies to support three different outcomes, you would create an edge of 5.57% (100% – 94.43%) over the bookmakers. You would essentially be abusing the lack on synchronisation among them and, by staking £94.5 in total on all three selections, lock in some £5.55 of profit – no matter what. Essentially, you don’t even need to care about who is going to win, or even know what the outcome was because your profit is secure.

How to find sure bets?

If all of the info above sounds great, you must be wondering where these sure betting opportunities are hiding and how to find them. One option is to search for them manually. The maths is not that complicated, and there are tools like the Oddschecker where you can keep track of the odds, or the Back and Lay calculator, to do all the maths I’ve just explained. Alternatively, you can create a spreadsheet for the purposes of calculations. Of course, you will also have to have the webpages of all the bookies and/or the exchange market open at all times, and check them regularly. Remember, what you see as a good opportunity can change in a matter of seconds, right before you are ready to place your bet.

Such a method is not impossible, but it is time-consuming and prone to a human error. Alternatively, you can invest in an arbitrage bets piece of software, such as Each Way Sniper. Each Way Sniper identifies good sure betting opportunities for you, updates them each minute, and does all the calculations for you. This is how the online system looks:

With Each Way Sniper, for example, there is also a separate piece of software for dutching, so the overall number of opportunities you have access to is great.

These products come at a really low cost, and can at the same time identify multiple opportunities for you each hour. They completely eliminate the risk of confusing the maths, forgetting to get an update the odds, or misreading some piece of information.

What do the bookies think of sure bets?

The answer to this question is simple: they surely hate them. By now, bookies are well aware that sure betting has become more popular, so they have started to track the players’ activities and identify sure bettors. If the only activity you have with a particular bookie is to abuse those precious opportunities where the odds are out of line, your account might become suspicious to the bookmaker. Clearly, you will become noticed as someone who is not only betting for fun and relying on luck, but applying careful calculations to win every time. If they think you are a sure bettor, it is very likely that they will limit your account or even close it.

For this reason, I recommend that you practice different betting strategies and types of betting to avoid coming across as suspicious and risk losing your accounts.

Sure bets v Matched betting

As you can see, the earnings collected on sure bets are quite low for a relatively large bankroll. This means that you would have to place several bets each day to be able to earn a couple of hundred of pounds each month. If you have heard of matched betting as a possible alternative to sure betting, I’ll explain what it is and why using both is actually best.

Bookies tend to give bonuses to new users in order to attract them to sign-up with them, or in general to make them spend more money. Matched betting is a strategy where you use these bookies’ bonuses to make a profit. In other words, what you are doing is not spending all £10 of the free money on hopeless bets, but keeping around 75% of it (so £7.5 of pure profit for every £10 bonus). Matched betting operates on the back & lay system described above. Essentially, to profit, you will also need to use a betting exchange. Because you are also using free money and not only your own, you can expect higher profits per lower stakes than in the case of sure betting. Of course, bookies’ bonuses are not limitless, but they tend to be pretty standard.

One big difference between sure betting and matched betting is the way the bookies see them.

So unlike sure betting, matched betting makes your account more valuable (and less suspicious) to the bookies, knowing that you won’t always exploit their mistakes. By applying both methods, you will diversify enough to get off the bookies’ radar. For more information on Matched Betting, click here.

Final Thoughts

Sure betting is easy, but time-consuming if you choose to do it manually. With the help of an arbitrage betting software, you can expect to have much more success, error-free. If you choose to combine sure betting with matched betting, you will face much lower chances of harming your accounts, and make steady earnings at zero-risk.

The post Sure betting appeared first on Mike Cruickshank.

Although many people start betting on sports for fun, there is a lot of precision involved. If you are interested in becoming a professional in the field, you need to know how to choose your bets and calculate odds to determine whether they are in your favor or not.

While traditional gambling will always be the number one betting-related activity, a lot of high-profile participants in the industry also dip their toes into the world of arbitrage betting every now and then. However, for a beginner, arbitrage betting can seem confusing and overall way too hard. But it’s quite the opposite once you get the hang of it.

There are a lot of questions about arbitrage betting that need to be answered in order for someone who just found out about it to make sense of what it takes. This article aims to do just that, and by the end of it you too can be an arbitrage expert. Let’s begin.

What Is Arbitrage Betting?

The first important thing that you need to know about arbitrage betting is what it is. In order to understand how something works, you need to define it. Only after that can you truly move on to more in-depth info.

Also known as sure bets or miracle bets to people in the industry, arbitrage bets imply betting on all the possible outcomes of a sporting event in order to achieve a guaranteed profit. This means that you’ve got all your bases covered no matter what the outcome is. The process of arbitrage betting is also referred to as ‘arbing’, while the bets themselves are abbreviated as ‘arbs’.

Even though technically arbing is still traditional gambling, the activity in itself is pretty far from it. Gambling is defined by the element of surprise, among others. With arbing, there is no such thing. You know that you will win no matter what the results are, which makes it more of a mathematical process than anything else.

Arbitrage opportunities usually happen when a number of bookmakers have different opinions on the outcome of a sporting event. Another scenario that creates this situation is that of odd and stake calculation errors. Whatever the case may be, arbs have a short lifespan on the market because the numbers are either corrected or modified.

Types of Arbitrage Betting

So now we’ve established what arbing is. Up to this point, arbitrage betting sounds like a one trick pony. But there are in fact multiple ways to arb in the industry, and you need to be familiar with them if you want to be successful.

The most popular form or arbing is back to lay betting. This involves the same sporting event on two separate betting sites. If the back price is higher on one site than the lay price on a betting exchange, then it’s safe to back and lay the event and wait for profits to come in. No matter the stakes or the outcome, you will be a winner by applying the back to lay arbing technique.

Let’s say that due to unforeseen circumstances, the lay price for a soccer team on one betting exchange is 1.98. While most bookmakers conformed to this and dropped theirs, one still accepts bets for the original 2.20 price. This is a perfect situation for a back to lay bet to succeed.

This is similar to shop arbitrage, or sharbing for short, which consists of creating an arbitrage opportunity for yourself by using coupons from a betting shop and a betting exchange. Due to the fact that online prices shift all the time in order to render arbitrage null. Betting shops on the other hand don’t update prices so fast on the coupons, which means that sharbing is possible.

Dutching on the other hand is the classic form of arbing. It involves betting on all the possible outcomes of an event, or narrowing it down to the most likely top three or five and betting on that. The name ‘dutching’ comes from a real-life New York City mobster named Dutch Schultz, who was famous in the 1930s for devising a failsafe system of betting on multiple horses.

Dutch Schultz devised this system with the help of his accountant, and it involves a rather complex mathematical formula. The formula can be applied using good old-fashioned pen and paper, but there are also calculators for this sort of thing available.

Let’s say that you have two horses. One has odds of 11 to 1, while the other has 3 to 1. In order to calculate the perfect arb, you need to find out what the implied probabilities from the odds are. Then you need to work out the stakes. This formula takes time to learn and perfect, so a calculator can help you a lot.

How to Calculate Bets

While Dutch Schultz has his clever accountant on his side to help him do the math behind the bets, calculating the perfect arb isn’t easy in layman’s terms. The formulas for each type of arb are different and must be accurate in minute details. And as if the odds and stakes weren’t enough trouble as is, you also have to take commission into account.

If it sounds like a brain ache, that’s because it is. This can be especially handy if you’re a beginning at arbing and don’t want to make any mistakes. But with a reliable back to lay bet calculator, as well as one for dutching , you can calculate your perfect bets and foresee the profit you will get by just punching in the numbers.

After a few hefty rounds of betting back to lay and maybe even dutching for a bit, you will know your way around this stuff. But for the time being, stick to calculators and you’re set. And remember, not even Schultz was good at it from the word go.

How to Find Arbitrage Bets

In order to find arbitrage opportunities, you will have to pay close attention to odds and apply what you have learned so far. The best fields for arbing are football matches and horse racing events, so check those out on a daily basis to discover your perfect bet. There are a lot of arbs daily, you just have to know how to single them out and seize them.

The somewhat old school way of finding surebets is to use an odds comparison website side-by-side with your favorite betting exchange. Look at the overall decimals on the odds for any sport (preferably football or horse races, as mentioned before) and see which event has higher back odds than the lay odds on the exchange.

This will take time and you need to be very dedicated to finding the perfect arb in order to pull through. However, it’s also good practice and you will get so used to doing it. You’ll spot good arb opportunities much faster in the future.

If you want to take the short route towards arbing, you can invest in software that is designed to compare the odds for you and show you the best results. Our Matched Betting software finds both back & lay arbs and dutching bets from one platform.

You can think of this as an investment for your future. By picking good arbs, you will be making a lot of profit soon enough and you’ll get the most bang for your buck for sure. At the end of the day, finding arbitrage bets is a matter of how you choose to proceed. You can go the old school way, which is very time-consuming, or the newer option of arbitrage betting software which you have to pay for.

All About the Wins

When it comes to describing to arbitrage betting wins, they all have one universal trait that is true for all of them: they’re sure to happen. Other than this, win amount fluctuates according to several factors that influence most bets in the industry.

First of all, if you bet a small amount, your profit will also be smaller, while betting bigger brings your more money. Even though the win will be at the same percentage, it’s all about what you are willing to invest into an arb.

Of course, odds are very important as well. Even though you are sure to win something, it depends on what you are betting on. But at the end of the day, you are still winning. After all, this is why arbs are also known as surebets.

If all you do on your accounts is arb, you will raise suspicions and will be monitored in no time. Unfortunately, bookmakers don’t like arbing. And speaking of bookies…

Do Bookies like Arbitrage Betting?

Although arbitrage betting is a legal activity, most bookies disapprove of it. The reason behind this is simple enough: they aren’t making money off of it. There are a few bookies out there who openly accept having people place arbitrage bets.

The truth is that most of them frown upon this practice, although you are allowed to do it in theory. Why? Because your wins through arbing are costing them money. You’d want to stop someone from ‘stealing’ your money too if you could. This is why the majority of bookies do all that they can to stop people from arbing. But how will they know that you are arbing?

Well, if you keep on winning time after time, your bookie will surely get suspicious and start tracking your activity. In this way, he can discover whether or not you are arbing in no time at all. And most bookies restrict or close the account of potential arbers, so beware. Although they claim they’d never do this because arbing is legal, most of them do, and they do it without prior warning too.

Therefore, if you want to keep your account up and running, do as previously mentioned and try regular betting as well. It’s not only more challenging, but it will also keep you from looking like a professional better. Bookmakers won’t snoop around and you won’t lose your right to perform this activity.

There are some bookies who don’t close your account without honoring your bets, but still disapprove of arbitrage betting and want to put an end to it. These bookies will alter the stakes of bets, which will result in a faulty arb. You can actually lose money like this, because your arb will turn into nothing more than a simple bet where you can either lose or win.

Due to this situation, a new form of arbing has developed in Britain. Its legal status is questionable, but it works. Several prolific arbers employ low-profile betters to bet on their behalf and get a small percentage of the win in return. These people are key figures in the betting world that don’t want to risk their accounts being banned, but they still want to make money.

However, such a system is dubious to stay the least, and it acts in a manner that is very similar to crime rings. The simple and civil way to avoid being caught and marked as an arbitrage better is to not exaggerate with the amount of bets that you place in a short time frame.

The Risks of Arbitrage Betting

While placing arbitrage bets is a sure way to win some many with little risks, the risks are still there, especially when you start doing it at a higher level. For one, making and managing multiple accounts means that you will be giving a lot of private data away.

On top of that, there is always the human error factor. Even a seasoned arber are still human at the end of the day, which means that he or she can make mistakes. Due to the excitement and fast-paced nature of placing arbs, you can miscalculate odds or enforce some other type of erroneous judgment in a similar way to people working in trading stocks.

You also need to consider that a perfect arb has an average lifespan of 15 minutes. Constant betting modifies odds and stakes, so if you’re not quick enough or attentive enough, your arb will vanish. Once the arbitrage vanished, the risk-free bet turns into a regular gamble.

But high street bookmakers publish odds days in advance and rarely change them. So if you’re looking for arbs with a longer lifespan, you can try there instead. However, they aren’t as exciting. And even those last for just a few hours, so the difference isn’t that considerable when you draw the line and do the maths.

One final risk of arbing that needs to be discussed so that you will be prepared for whatever will happen is the risk of bet cancellation. Bookmakers are allowed to cancel bets at their discretion if they consider that a palpable error has been made. These situations are also known as ‘palps’. If the odds they have set were miscalculated and the payout is too high, bookmakers have the liberty to cancel the bet.

If you’ve already placed your arb on those odds because it seemed like a certain juicy win, having the bet cancelled will cost you money. And because these situations are entirely up to the bookmakers, they might cancel bets that have arb potential just to mess with people like you that are fishing for sure wins.

Arbitrage Betting – Worth It or Not?

The final question that we need to answer is: is arbitrage betting worth it or not? Unfortunately, there is no black and white answer here. On one hand, it can be said that arbing is completely worth it because you always win. On the other hand, always going for sure bets can even get your account closed or suspended by bookmakers.

At the end of the day, the decision here is up to you. If you are willing to put in the effort to become an astute arber, and if you remember to not rely solely on it, then give it a go. But if you think that arbing is not your cup of tea, you’re probably better off doing something else with your time.

Arbitrage v Matched Betting

Both are very profitable but overall I would recommend sticking with Matched Betting. Your accounts last a lot longer and overall it’s much more profitable. Bookmakers are very sensitive to arbitrage bets, in many cases I’ve heard of people having their accounts banned after 2 bets.

With Matched Betting, you will keep your bookmaker accounts open a lot longer and therefore make a lot more profit. I’ve got some accounts that I’ve hammered for over 10 years. You are lucky to last a few weeks with arbs. Matched Betting doesn’t just rely on bookmakers, you also have casino, bingo and spread betting companies you can hit. Spreading your bets out more keeps the profits rolling in. If you’re interested in learning more about Matched Betting, click here.

The post Everything You Need to Know About Arbitrage Betting appeared first on Mike Cruickshank.