Arbitrage betting

[Cunchy]

Anyone had any good or bad experiences of arbitrage betting? Seems like a steady source of income if you can be bothered......I'm expecting a large inheritance soon (lucky me) and thought I would try 2-3% a day instead of the paltry 3% per year the banks pay! Too old and too wise for risking it on anything else....

Cath

[PunterProfits]

Hi Cunchy

its certainly interesting in theory and I have done a fair bit myself.

its not as risk free as one would initially assume however.

There are a few things you should be aware of.

1 - odds moving after you have placed one side of your staking.

2 - bookmakers cying "palpable error " and voiding your bet leaving you with a potentially big loss.
often they will wait till after the event is over before deciding if it were a palpable error or not

3 - My experience of odds watching is that bookies about to go bust / out of business often take a gamble on a major event. They post up very good odds on certain contenders ( sometimes too good to be true ) .. attract in a lot of high stakes arbers etc.
If their gambles works they can stay in business a bit longer.. if not ..well they were going bust anyhow. Bust bookies do not pay out
Major ante post markets good for this sort of trick as they can take in cash ( to help keep them afloat ) and are not expected to pay it out for some time.

lesson: stick to big names who have been around for some time.

4 - bookies are not generally very keen on arbers. Get perceived as one and they may quickly limit your account. This is now one of my own major irritations.
If I could start all over again with the bookies I may do so with a slightly different attitude.
One that asked the question of how to get max cash / profit out of them over the lifetime of the individual bookmaker account.

Anyhow don't let the above scare you too much.
Just wanted to make sure your eyes were open.
Take care who you bet with.
Also consider splitting up your bank and not putting the lot into one arb in case a bookie does not pay out etc.

Bookie versus betfair on horse racing is a reasonably interesting avenue to pursue.
Odds change quite a bit in horse racing during the day as bookies adjust early prices
as what they perceive as smart money comes in for horses.

Each way opportunities there also throw up a few interesting possibilities.

Good luck with it and best wishes
Mick

[Cunchy]

PunterP,

Thanks for this....I've been getting 'free' arbs on a trial basis from an arbs finding source. There are easily at least 5 per day, and up to 15 per day, paying back typically 2-10% each but sometimes up to 30%. All are with what appear to be relatively large bookmakers, worldwide. Cost for the service is quite modest, and I work at a computer all day so I can get online immediately for the bet.

I'll have about £10k to play with and the idea is that I'll be betting on 1 - 10 per day at a total of £1000 per bet......should earn a total of at least £100 per day, possibly much more. Won't dive in at the deep end first though, my initial bets will be more like £100 total each so I can get used to the system, each bookmaker's site etc.

So I'm not too worried about the possible dodgy bookmaker scenario and I won't be betting on long-term bets. Biggest potential drawback is having an account closed or limited.....any ideas on avoiding that? Can't really think of any......

Cath

[PunterProfits]

Hi Cath

if you are a consistant winner not getting your account limited can be tough

one idea I had myself was to try and mirror more closely the behaviour of a mug punter.

eg instead of making big singles on obvious arbs .. seek to place smaller stakes doubles.

obviously you need to find two good prices at a single bookmaker

you also need a gap between event times to allow you if necessary to lay the second arm of the double. ( only necessary if the first arm wins )

its a more complicated sort of game.

they key upside of the theory is bookmaker account extension via more closely matching mug punter behavior.

[PunterProfits]

ps there is a spreadsheet on my site to do the calcs for arbing doubles.
email me if interested and I will send you a copy.