Taking Arbitrage one step further.

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General, Tips
• Date: Jul 21,2008

We covered the basics of arbitrage the other day, today we are going to take it one step further by looking at some more advanced strategies, and looking in to what makes arbitrage not quite as fool-proof that some may think it is.  Remember, the key to any strategy or system is first becoming an expert without putting any cash down, so learn as much as you can about arbitrage and then you’ll be able to make your own calculated choice as to whether or not it is ‘worth’ it.

We’ll start with the risks.  There are a number of risks in using an arbitrage based system, but the most important ones are the following.

Sports book Rules. This is one of the most important risks of the system.  Different books have different rule sets for what happens ‘if’ scenarios.  For example: – what happens if the game is a draw? What happens if the game gets stopped?  You need to ensure you do thorough research with all your books to ensure that you know what will happen.  It may very well be an unavoidable risk, but if you know it is there, and what it is then you can account for it in your money-management system.

Sports book Mistakes - With the advent of online books, this isn’t quite as occurring as it once was.  However, if it does happen chances are they have the right to cancel any bet at any time in order to protect their profits.  So, if you see some odds that are just too good to be true, and you then take them – chances are if it’s a mistake, your bet will be cancelled.  Running a single bet (non arbitrage system) this isn’t a problem, but when you are running two or more bets simultaneously, then you may very well find yourself in trouble.

Procrastination - Make no mistake ladies and gentlemen, this is not a system where you can plan your moves and execute them slowly.  By all means there is plenty of time to plan, but you must be prepared to make the move and act quickly to make sure you don’t miss out on the proper odds or even miss the entire bet.

Human Error – We all make mistakes, and when you are running an arbitrage, you can’t afford to make any mistakes whatsoever.  Make sure you take plenty of breaks and keep refreshed.  Don’t run this system 12 hours a day 7 days a week because you will get tired and make mistakes.  One mistake could kill a day’s worth of winnings, or heaven forbid even a week’s worth.

To keep up and with the system, you need to make sure that you are reading between the lines, understanding the odds, understanding the rules and understanding the bookmakers – as well as understanding yourself and the game.  You need to spend time to learn the basics before you can successfully Arbitrage it is not as straightforward and sure-fire as it seems.  Remember – just one mistake is all it takes to lose a lot of profit, and when you do – the only person you can blame is yourself sadly.  Take the time to get acquainted with all you need to before trying arbitrage.

They are my risks with arbitrage, now how about some solutions ? What do we need to do to eliminate those risks ?

All about Arbitrage

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General, Tips
• Date: Jul 19,2008

Online sports betting as we all know too well is about placing bets online, and winning.  Sadly for some of us success doesn’t come too easily nor do we interpret our system correctly to give us the success we deserve.

Today we’re going to take a look at a way of betting called Arbitrage.  Arbitrage is all about looking for guaranteed wins but we must admit it is not as easy as it sounds.  Arbitrage may sound like sure-win after we’ve explained it, but it dies carry a significant risk if you don’t take care as you are relying on the bookies not to make mistakes.

So? What is arbitrage?
An arbitrage bet is all about using multiple bookmakers to back the same team.  This gives us a guaranteed profit providing the bet doesn’t get cancelled and the bookmaker doesn’t make a mistake.

What are the drawbacks of online sports arbitrage?

A typical arbitrager will make maybe 4% or 5% at most when they use the arbitrage system, thus to make decent return, one has to invest significant amount of cash to ensure that he is in the winning.  This means you also need a significant start-up capital to learn the ropes and figure everything out.

Let’s look at an arbitrage example bet
we want $100 profit
Football Team1 = 1/5 (1.20)
Football Team 2 = 7/1 (8.00)

($100 / 1.20) + ($100 / 8.00)
    $83.33        +     $12.50        =      $95.83

So in turn – we now know we need to wager $95.83 to make $100 profit as you can see the return on investment is quite low.  But it does allow you guaranteed winnings if you’re lucky!

What do you think about arbitrage?

Are you a Sports Betting Pro ?

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 17,2008

A question we may all ask ourselves at one point is "do I take it to the next level?" What exactly that means can be a mixture of things, but does anyone who asks that question ever really succeed?

Sports’ betting online is a hobby and a pass-time for many people.  For others, it is a livelihood and a career.  I know many people that fund their life around sports-betting and I have to ask myself, "Do they have what it takes?" a lot of the time; the answer is no.  They constantly run their ‘business’ on very tight margins and for many – they are just addicted and waste great sums of money in chasing their losses.

However, there are a few inspirational individuals that really do have what it takes, and we’re going to take a quick look at them and see why they differ from other typical gamblers / cappers.

Let’s imagine this – we’re halfway through a season.  Our bank is positive and we’re up £200.  What do you do?  Take out the £200 or take out the initial investment?

You’ve just had a losing streak of five losses.  You’re now about to expose 20% of your bankroll in one bet.  Do you place it? Or do you fold?

Your friends a tipster and he just gave you a tip.   What’s the plan do you follow him or follow you?

Do know how much the vig has cost you since you started this season?

Do you have a history of all your online bets, EVER?

Ok, those questions are all pretty basic and perhaps uninteresting.  But read between the lines and they highlight something very real.  Sports’ betting is a business.  Right now it is a business for the books, they are very professional at calculating their take and making sure they get their share from you, and they are also very successful in appealing to your inner demon. If you are an experienced amateur sports-bettor, and you want to evolve to the next level; then you need to be the business. 

Over the next few posts we’ll be talking about taking things to the next level and becoming more professional and controlled in online sports betting.  We’re not going to tell you what to do, but our aim is to have some open debate on the matters that are important in becoming a more successful bettor.

Looking after your Cash. Who to choose?

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General, Tips
• Date: Jul 15,2008

These days, one has to be very careful as to where they put their money, and what they do with it.  Especially with online transactions due to new laws imposed such as the patriot act.  If you are not careful and deposit your money with a less than scrupulous merchant you can find your money disappear, likewise if you use a large merchant and ‘forget’ to verify yourself. 

Either way – looking after your online assets is not as easy as it once was.  Today we’re going to look at some recommendations and work out some conclusions.  We’re writing this story because we are aware that many people have problems with depositing money withdrawing money, and accessing it after it becomes ‘internet cash’.  What is the point of playing an online sports book if you can’t get at your winnings?

So firstly – our first piece of advice. ALWAYS choose a reputable sports book.  Don’t do a Google for "sports betting online" or something like that and click on the first one you see.  Do your research, read some reviews.  Make sure you know the following:

1. How to deposit money.  What methods are available? Do they have a secure server? Do they use a well-known payment-processor? Do they have any specific policies? Is your country ‘allowed’?

2. How to withdraw money & how long it takes. What fees are involved? Do you need to verify any information?

3. How to contact support in-case of problems, Do they have a telephone number? where is their office located, do they have ‘instant chat’ (if-so try it)

You really need to check these out before you start to deposit any amount of cash with any online entity.  I’ll be honest and say that a-lot of books will quite happily take your money if you deposit it and you can’t actually use the service.  Should they pay it back? It was your mistake!
This has been a line I’ve heard a few times.  So be wary of this and make sure you know the rules for the site you are using, as they are all too quick to turn them against you if you fall into problems.

When we deposit with an online book, we either use one of the large brands.  Bet365, Betfair, or if we use a smaller one we ALWAYS try and use Neteller. 

Neteller are one of the most prevalent payment processor for gambling sites and online books, as such the majority of reputable ones will be able to accept Neteller, although there may be some fees with withdrawal.  It’s up to you to find this out, but normally these fees are nominal and they are well worth the added protection from an online payment-processor.

We’ve just scratched the surface here, but it should be enough to get you thinking.  Soon we’re going to follow up with some Internet security advice to ensure that if you can have a relatively safe computer, even if you aren’t a PC Whiz kid.

Good luck!

Sports Betting gone wrong

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 13,2008

We recently read a story about a young 16 year old kid who had found online-poker and been gambling illegally for a period of time unaware to his parents.  initially he had learned a ’system’ and was sports-betting with some success, however the kid was depending on an unreliable tipster service and after a period of time he was in some very big debt.

He had used his parents credit card. 

He had amassed £4,000 in debt in a space of three months during which, for some reason his parents never bothered to check what he was doing on the Internet, or even check their credit card statements.  It turns out that the kids dad was a frequent poker player and his wife was the person who wears the trousers and she had wrote of the debt as "Daddy trying to break even"  You can guess what this did for the marital situation.

As a result, we feel the need to stress our opinion on minors that gamble.  It is wrong.  Kids may and do find gambling attractive, it is colourful social and fun.  However – the sad truth is many kids ( even older ones ) don’t have a real grasp on how much money is worth or what it costs to live, so as a result it is actually quite easy for your child to spend a lot of money without your permission.  How do you prevent this?  I’m going to be blunt.  Don’t give your child a credit card.  Don’t give them a private computer.  Don’t give them carte blanche to spend whatever they want. 

So – to prevent your child from gambling on the net? Control their finances and your own – then you won’t have a problem.  If your child starts playing something like slot machines, make sure you find out about it sooner rather than later.

Did you know that gambling addictions are four times more likely for underage people?  There are an estimated 2.5 million compulsive gamblers in the USA.  Are you one of them ? is your child?

Stay vigilant and protect yourself and your family.  Online sports betting can make a great deal of money, but it can also cost a great deal.