What is Arbing or Arbitrage Betting?
Arbitrage betting offers users the opportunity to guarantee profit through strategic sports betting. Sports betting arbitrage relies on understanding the market and finding opportunities to profit through specific arb betting. By fully understanding live arbitrage betting strategy, bettors are able to take the chance out of sports betting.
Often labelled as “risk-free betting” or “sure betting”, Arbing/Arbitrage betting is one of the most effective strategies around. But, what is arbitrage betting? In this betting guide, we’ll break down how to make the most of arbitrage betting, detailing how to place bets and execute the strategy effectively.
The rewards are there for all to see. If this kind of bet is placed correctly, there are opportunities to get huge payouts. This article will discuss the various betting options available, such as moneyline or totals bets. For each betting market, there are only a few possible outcomes, which we’ll explain how to spot and how to create a bet designed to maximize profits.
Online Sports Arbitrage Betting
Arbitrage betting is basically about finding opportunities in the betting lines in order to ensure the user receives a payout. When the oddsmakers set the odds, there is obviously no exact science about the validity of the odds – in sports almost anything is possible. This is why we always see slightly differing odds from one sportsbook to the next, as although there is a clear formula used to calculate odds, it’s never the exact same with the human element involved.
In order to be successful arbitrage betting, it’s important o capitalize on numerous odds on the same event as two sportsbooks. The bettor should then look out for any discrepancies in the odds across the various sportsbooks and then look to wager on every possible outcome of a game. This method will ensure bettors profit from the wager, no matter the outcome.
There is no need for an arbitrage betting calculate here, bettors just need dedication, time and practice to find success. While there is a broad range of betting strategies out there, arbitrage is certainly one of the best when it’s done right.
The bigger the bankroll the bettor has, the more effectively they can arb bet. It’s like hedging, except in this case the user is wagering on all outcomes at the same time. It differs from hedge betting, as you set yourself up to make a profit no matter what – but this isn’t for the faint-hearted!
How does Arbitrage Betting Work?
The reason Arbitrage betting is possible is solely based on the fact each sportsbook assigns their own odds to events. Through these slight indescrepencies bettors are able to make huge profits. Top online betting sites, will always offer their own version of vegas betting odds, as they have their own team of oddsmakers.
However, in order to find success bettors must be willing to go line shopping. Line shopping involves looking through the various betting options available and trying to find errors in the odds. Another reason arbitrage betting exists is because all bookmakers have different opinions on the probability of events, so line shoppers should keep an eye out for this. And finally, something we discussed in our guides before, bettors are always adjusting odds in order to attract equal action on both outcomes, which presents another opportunity.
The third point is the most common thing to look out for when line shopping, as this happens all the time on all kinds of betting markets. Much like matched betting, it’s all about taking your time being patient and looking for opportunities to pounce on.
How to Recognize Arbitrage Opportunites
People often wonder how is arbitrage betting legal – an understandably so, as it’s so easy to recognize using American odds, it seems unfair. Simply put, there are two quick ways to spot arbitrage betting opportunities;
- When the positive odds are higher than the negatives odds
- When the implied probability calculated of two outcomes is less than 100%
We explained before the value of calculating implied probability and it’s particularly valuable when trying to arb bet. Alternatively, simply looking for a market where the positive (“+”) odds are higher than what is displayed as the negative (“-”) odds, there is an opportunity available to users.
Making Money using Arbitrage Betting
Let’s use a brief example to clear up any misunderstandings that may have cropped up so far throughout the article. So take this for example:
- Sportsbook 1 – Dallas Mavericks +110
- Sportsbook 2 – Phoenix Suns +110
In this situation, a bettor could place $100 on both teams and if the Mavs win at Sportsbook 1, they would make $110, and lose $100 on the other wager. If the Suns win at Sportsbook 2, the bettor would net $110 and lose $100 on the Mavs. This will ensure the bettor receives a profit of $10.
This is an unlikely event, as finding a guaranteed 10% profit via arb betting is a rarity. However, margins are more realistically somewhere between 1-5%, meaning that bettors have to wager a lot of their bankroll to see sizeable profit – much like we saw with hedge betting.
For a seasoned bettor with a huge bankroll to play with, profits are going to be higher as they can lay down bigger bets. It’s all about steady calculations and sticking to the methodology, this will bring in the profits.
Related Vegas Betting Guides
- Betting 101
- Legal Betting Sites
- Props Betting Guide
- How to Read Odds
- Moneyline Betting
- Matched Betting
- Safest Betting Sites
- Sports Betting Strategy
- Round Robbin Betting
- Vig Betting Explained
- Futures Betting Explained
- Over Under Betting Explained
- Bankroll Management
- Kenpom vs Sagarin Rankings
- Betting Glossary
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