Arbitrage bets occur when two sportsbooks differ in their estimates of the underlying fair odds for a betting market.
Pre-game arbitrage bets are most often available when new information is made public and this creates volatility in the betting markets.
And… there is nothing more volatile than in-play betting! Due to this the number of arbitrage bets during in-play games are through the roof.
A single live sports game often generates more arbs than all of the pre-game arbs for that day. Live Arbitrage Betting is a Gold Mine!
And just like a real gold mine… it dangerous! Throw the words ‘Risk-Free’ out of your vocabulary now.
Live Arbitrage Betting is anything but risk free. However, where there is risk, there’s also reward.
Arbitrage Betting Live: You NEED to Understand the Risks
Arbitrage Betting is often described as ‘Risk-Free’ or providing ‘Gauranteed Profits’
If you’ve been arbing for a while now. You’ll know that this is not exactly true.
In the world of probability theory and statistics you could try to make a case for using that wording.
However, as soon as you move into the real world and executing the practical application of arbitrage, the real risks quickly become evident.
- Human Error and typos
- Bet stake limitations
- Sportsbooks going down
- Your internet going down
- Your bank blocking a deposit
- The betting markets suddenly moving mid arb
- Palpable errors
- Different House Rules
- Extenuating circumstances during a betting event
- Many more risks
Now with live arbitrage betting take these risks and pump them to the max!
When betting live we have very small windows to get both our bets on. This increases the risk of human error.
Any third party issues such as not being able to deposit quickly removes any window to hedge out our initial bet.
We can also have a situation where we place one side of the arb, a team then scores a touchdown or goal which dramatically alters the odds in the betting markets.
Due to these factors it may be worth Positive EV Betting in-play rather than arbitrage betting. As we only need to place one bet and we can manage or remove all the risk bar human error
Can a Live Arbitrage Betting Strategy Work?
Despite all the risks I’ve laid out in the previous section. Arbitrage betting in-play does work and can net you profit in a very short space of time.
However, we need to plan for the risks mentioned above and stick to a betting strategy that minimizes these risks. You’re going to have to turn down some high % arbs multiple times a game. Here are a few live arbitrage tips:
- Only bet when you have money already deposited in both betting accounts.
- Always have multiple funded sportsbook accounts as backup to hedge in an emergency.
- Try to take arbs during pauses in the game or during periods of low action.
- Accept that your going to have to take some losses on the chin.
- Reduce your bet sizes compared to pre-game arbs.
The reality is that at some point your going to find a live arb, place your first bet and then the market suddenly get suspended for a goal, touchdown or even an injury to an important player.
The market will move against you and you’ll have to eat a loss. It’s almost inevitable so down go arbing with your whole bankroll.
How I Approach Arbitrage Betting In-Play
I prefer to use a combination of both arbitrage betting and positive ev betting during live games.
During pauses in the game I’ll arbitrage bet with higher stakes, but during active play I’ll switch to positive EV betting and lower my bet stakes.
Once I’ve placed a postive ev bet on an outcome, I won’t place another bet on that outcome unless a positive ev bet becomes available on the opposing outcome and I can hedge out my risk.
This helps me manage variance. The arbitrage bets dampen the volatility of positive ev betting.
Live Arbitrage Betting Software
In order to arbitrage bet in-play you are going to need to utilize software. The odds simply move to fast to do this manually.
This software is often more expensive than the standard arbitrage software plans and they’re much harder to create and maintain, but there are a few options.
Oddsjam Platinum Plan
The premier live arbitrage betting software in the USA is the Oddsjam Platinum Plan which includes live arbitrage bets along with browser push notification which will notify you when an arb meets your preset requirements.
The Oddsjam Platinum Plan is currently priced at $1499/month or $14388/year ($1199/month) so it’s not cheap! However, This just indicates how much people are making using the software!
Although, the most expensive. Oddsjam has by far the largest coverage of sportsbook odds in the USA and Canada. Below is the current list of sportsbook odds available in January 2024.
This is currently unrivalled in North America in terms of scope. However, there are some budget options if Oddsjam is out of your price range.
OddsPulse
OddsPulse is a relatively new company specializing in live arbitrage betting for the United States. They provide a browser plugin that displays live arbs within your browser.
Currently they have a much smaller selection of sportsbook odds that cover the main sportsbooks. Such as Draftkings, Fanduel, Caesars, BetMGM, Rivers, ESPNBet, Bet365, PointsBet, BetFred, Superbook and Sporttrade.
A huge advantage of Oddspulse is they are far cheaper than Oddsjam with a current monthly cost of just $99!
Oddspulse are still in Beta phase and you can check them out using the button below
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