They will serve you well and be responsible for a healthy bottom line at the end of each punting year across your betting accounts.
Using these methods can however over time attract the ire of corporate bookmakers who don’t want to be taken advantage of.
A corporate bookmaker has the same goal as punters, they want to make a profit and they will not achieve this by keeping winning accounts.
They react by making those winning accounts ineligible for bonus offers and placing restrictions regarding the size of bets which can be placed.
Nobody wants a restricted account however the success you have by employing the tactics discussed in Betting 101 will make them inevitable.
This said, punters who play it smart can delay the inevitable for years by employing a few clever and also rather simple tactics.
Round your stakes
Don’t bet awkward amounts. Wagering $48.57 on an event opposed to a stock standard $50 makes it blatantly obvious to a book manager you are arbitraging or betting to a formula.
Don’t take advantage of blatant errors
Sometimes, genuine mistakes are made.Those looking for arbitrage opportunities will on occasion come across markets which have obviously been affected by a clerical error.
Take this as an example for the 2017 NRL Grand Final, a match where the Storm were always considered favourites.
When putting up the odds for the match, Bookmaker 2 has accidentally flipped the market.
|
Options
|
Storm
|
Cowboys
|
|---|---|---|
|
Bookmaker 1 Odds
|
$1.35
|
$3.80
|
|
Bookmaker 2 Odds
|
$3.80
|
$1.35
|
While the potential of a 90% arbitrage no doubt has you salivating, whoever takes it will have their accounts flagged by the book managers and quickly.
If you placed the Storm bet online with Bookmaker 2, you will likely be informed within a short time the bet has been cancelled and your stake returned.
This leaves you with an open bet on the Cowboys with Bookmaker 1 and your account will also be flagged.
If you manage to place the Storm bet over the phone with Bookmaker 2 a corporate will have no choice but to honour the bet. It will however likely be the last chance you have to bet with Bookmaker 2 before being restricted so make the most of it.
Don’t bet into obscure markets
Please, even if there are arbitrage opportunities at the Billabong Pro in Tahiti, don’t take them. Your bet will likely make up a majority of the funds they are holding on the event as nobody else bets on these sorts of markets.
It won’t take long betting on surfing, badminton, darts or Kenyan Premier League Soccer until you’re labelled a sharp and your account is restricted.
Online Tracking
The big bookmakers have large teams dedicated to monitoring betting activity.
Keep a static IP per account/identity. A lot of corporate bookmakers state promotions and sign up bonuses are offered to just one account per household or IP address.
Bets from different accounts on the same IP address will often result in both accounts being flagged.
Using incognito mode in your browser is also advisable as is disables tracking cookies allowing bookmakers to monitor their users more closely.
