If you want to know everything about sure betting, you have come to the right place. When sports arbitrage betting, or arbing as it’s also called, you cover all outcomes of a match and win every time. This creates steady and substantial profits with no/little risk.

In this Ultimate Guide to Sure Betting, you’ll learn:

  • How sure betting works

  • Step by step how to start making money on Sports Betting

  • Different bet types (AH, EH, OU etc)

  • The risks of sure betting and how to avoid them

  • How to convert bonuses to free money

  • Advanced tips and tricks to optimize your ROI

  • And much, much more.

Introduction to Sure Betting

What is sure betting / sports arbitrage betting?

“Arbitrage” is the process of finding and taking advantage of price differentials.

In sports terms, arbitrage involves betting on all possible outcomes of a sporting event, exploiting high odds from bookmakers to guarantee a profit. The situation occurs when two or more sportsbooks have sufficiently high odds on each side of an event. You place a bet covering all outcomes of the match, which is easy when using a sports betting software, and are guaranteed a profit no matter how the match ends.

These sure betting situations happen regularly, thousands of times every day. Online sure betting has existed for more than a decade, and a lot of people have made and are still making good money from it. You can do it too!

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How does sure betting work?

The easiest way to explain a sure bet is with an example.

And the simplest example is an event with only two possible outcomes, such as a tennis game, a basketball game (with no draw option) or an ice hockey game that includes potential overtime and penalties. In all of these events, there will be a winner.

Let’s take an example of a 2-way hockey game. Team1 at Bookmaker1 has the odds 2.05 and Team2 at Bookmaker2 has the odds 2.05. If you bet $500 at both bookmakers, you win $25 regardless of which team wins. You have placed a total of $1000 and you will get $1025 back, no matter the outcome of the event. You´ll find a more detailed explanation of this further down in this e-book. Meanwhile, check out the short video below:

Why isn’t everyone doing it?

The tools that existed before 2008 were very difficult to use (and to be honest, often of poor quality). Primarily, they were ill-suited to the time-sensitive nature of a sure bet. A sports arbitrage opportunity (or just an ‘arb’ or sure bet) doesn’t exist for very long, usually between 1-10 minutes. Some sure bets are around longer, but that’s more of an exception than a rule.

This means that it’s crucial that you get as close to real-time odds as you can from the bookmakers when engaging in sports betting arbitrage betting. It’s not much worth getting “free sure bet text messages” for instance. By the time you receive the text message to your phone, the sure bet is long gone and the sportsbooks have lowered their odds.

But then, back in 2008, RebelBetting was founded and it changed everything. Suddenly, making a healthy profit on sure betting could be achieved by anyone. And since then, more than 130,000 customers in over 120 countries worldwide have tried the user-friendly, profit-making services. RebelBetting turns sports betting into investing.

Earnings – how much money can I make?

You can expect to make around 10-30% per month of your total bankroll. The exact percentage stands in direct proportion to the time you invest. A goal of 15-20% per month is however realistic for anyone who puts his or her mind to it. Feel free to use the sure betting profit calculator and see for yourself what your profits could be.

Sure Betting Bankroll

The minimum starting bankroll for sure betting is about $2,000. Anything less than that and you will have trouble keeping the different bookmaker accounts funded and “ready to go”. To be able to make a decent profit on sports arbitrage trading, you’ll need a bigger starting bankroll. For instance, if you aim for a profit of 10% per month, a $2000 bankroll will make you $200/month. For some people this might be enough, but for others it’s just not worth the effort.

This is key to why everyone isn´t doing it – the ROI seems too low in relation to the effort. But think about this for a second… 10% per month?! That’s a huge interest! Compare this to any other financial savings account out there. They pay maybe 5% per year, if you’re lucky. Why should you put a few thousand dollars in your savings account with an interest of less than 0,5% per month when you could invest them (and have fun while doing it) by betting on sure bets and more than double your bankroll in a year? This is a question very few people have asked themselves.

Time

Another reason why everyone isn’t doing it is that learning how to sure bet requires some time and dedication. The bulk of this time lies in the beginning to fully understand how it all works. It’s like everything else really; you’ll have to learn it to earn it!

Doesn’t the sportsbooks dislike sure bettors?

There are a lot of questions about this. The short answer is “not really”.

First, look at it from the bookmaker’s point of view. Running a sportsbook today is very competitive and they are forced to compete with having the best odds on the market. If they do not compete with the other books around, they will not be around for very long. If every other bookmaker has better odds, the customers will switch to them sooner or later.

This is why sure betting will always be around, and there will always be new books entering the market, wanting to compete with the more established books out there. Sure, some books do not like “sharp bettors” (like you), and might limit your account after a time, but there are a lot of books around, and plenty of surebets on the market. There are also sharp sports books that doesn’t care about sure bettors – they always accept bets and never limit your account. Check out all sports books covered in RebelBetting products.

Is sure betting legal?

Yes. Betting on sure bets is the same as making regular bets. Sure betting is 100% legal and has been around for a long time. However, it’s your responsibility to verify that online sports betting is legal where you live.

How much time does it take?

As previously explained, the time you invest stands in direct proportion to your potential winnings. And it takes more time as a beginner, as you´ll have to learn the basics first. If you are dedicated to learning the basics, you´ll be up and running in a few days.

The time you’ll spend after that is simply having the sure betting service running on the browser of your device. You will not even have to monitor it, as it will notify you with audio and visual alerts when a sure bet has met your filter criterias.

When you get an alert, you simply click on the sure bet. A couple of minutes later, you’re done and can forget about it. You’ve then probably made 2-5% of your total stake for that match. Because a sure bet is only “alive” for a few minutes, the longer you can have the service running, the more sure bets you will find. It sounds easy doesn’t it? Well, it is!

The math behind a sure bet

At a single bookmaker, the odds of a specific event are calculated in such a way that the sportsbook always has a small edge. This edge is often known as the “juice”. The bigger the edge the bookmaker has, the more they profit from the event and the more you lose in the long run.

You can convert sportsbook odds to probability by dividing 1 with the odds. The odds 2.45, for example, means that the bookmakers odds experts give that outcome of the event a probability of 41% (40.82%) of happening. The odds 1.55 works out as (1/1.55) 65% (64.52%).

When both the probabilities combined exceed 100% (105.3% in the example above) the bookmakers edge vs. the player is 5.3% (or a -5.3% sure bet). The profit of this edge goes to the bookmakers.

A sure bet arises when the sum of the two inverted odds is below 1, for example:

+ = 0.9637

This would be a 3.6% sure bet or ROI, Return On Investment

Example of a sure bet

You bet on a tennis event.

  • Federer to win has odds 1.80 at bookmaker William Hill.
  • Nadal to win has odds 2.45 at bookmaker Gamebookers.

If you place $585 on William Hill for Federer to win and $430 on Gamebookers for Nadal to win, you have placed a total of $1015. The different outcomes of the event are:

  • If Federer wins, your return will be a total of $1,053 (1.8 x $585=$1,053).
  • If Nadal wins, your return will be a total of $1,053.50 (2.45 x $430=$1,053.50).

This means that you will profit $38 or $38.50 depending on who wins the match if you use RebelBetting. Pretty good for one minute of work, don’t you think? And the best thing is that you don’t need to worry about calculating the stakes – RebelBetting does this for you.

Avoiding risks in Sure Betting
Avoiding risks in Sure Betting

Avoiding Risk in Sure Betting

In the section above, we’ve covered the basics of how sure betting works. Now, to the most common question of them all:

What’s the catch?

As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The catch in sure betting is that there are risks in the trade, and you will experience them. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.

But don’t worry; there are a number of ways to avoid them, and to minimize their potential effects. Preparation and vigilance are the key tools of sure betting. Experienced traders make fewer mistakes and always win in the long run!

The four most common risks involved in sure betting are the following:

  • Bet Cancellation

  • Individual Errors

  • Moving Odds

  • Limiting Sportsbooks

In the section below we will walk you through these risks, showing you how to spot them, avoid them, and if the risk occurs, how to mitigate it.

1. Bet cancellation

A bookmaker can cancel (void) your bet, claiming it was a palpable error (commonly known as a “palp”). This can occur when a bookmaker has made “an obvious mistake”, such as reversed the odds of a match or any kind of accidental error made while setting the odds.

What’s the risk?

Every bookmaker can void a bet. The palp rule is very rare, but it happens. Most sportsbooks do not cancel bets, and you’ll soon get to know which ones do and don’t. However, they have the right to cancel a bet at any time. They can void the bet before the match begins, during the match or after. Reliable bookmakers usually don’t void a bet after the match has started though.

Bet cancellation is the single biggest catch in sure betting. Luckily, there are ways to greatly minimize the risks of this happening.

To lower the risk

  • Look out for odds that seem to be reversed. If you see a sure bet in tennis that’s 25%, it’s almost certainly not a valid sure bet. An example would be if Player1 @ Bookmaker1 had odds 2.45 to win, and Player2 @ Bookmaker2 had 2.55 to win. This would probably be a reversed odds situation. If a sure bet looks to good to be true, it probably is.
  • Keep an eye on other sportsbooks odds. If one bookmaker really stands out with high odds on a particular game, they may have made a mistake while setting their prices.
  • Always confirm your bet on the bookmaker that you think is least willing to accept your bet first. For example, bet first on the book that does not show their max stake until you have confirmed the bet. Over time, you will learn which books these are. This way, you’ll minimize the risk of the second bookmaker not accepting your bet (and thus leaving you with an open bet at one outcome).

If it still happens

  • Never leave your uncovered bet open. Cover your bet as much as you can if the bookmaker voids the bet before the match begins. If the bookmaker voids your bet during the match, try to cover your bet as best as you can with live betting (in-play). You might have to lock in a small loss of a few %, but that’s far better than losing your entire stake if you leave your bet open.
  • If the bookmaker voids your bet after the match is complete (which is extremely rare), accept this fact and perhaps don’t use this bookmaker again.
  • Learn from the experience, and don’t make the same mistake again.

2. Individual errors

If you want to be a successful sports arbitrage bettor, you need to keep your cool and double check the details of each bet. Always be certain that you bet on the correct sport, date, event, odds type, odds and the right bet amount. Prepare well, double check everything, and you will not only avoid the majority of personal errors, but also reap greater and more stable profits down the line.

What’s the risk?

Examples of common mistakes are accidentally betting on the wrong team, or if you realize after you have confirmed a bet with Bookmaker1, that you don’t have enough funds on Bookmaker2 to complete your sure bet.

Another example would be if you bet on a match that is about to start in three minutes. If the bookmakers change their odds while you are in the midst of betting, you might end up with an open bet on one of the teams when the match starts. If you have placed your first bet and then take too long to place the second bet, you may be too late to get the correct odds so always try to avoid dawdling.

To lower the risk

  • Always verify your bets before confirming them with the bookmakers. Double check that all the details are correct, such as the participants, odds, time of event, and the stake.
  • Don’t bet on events that will start in just a few minutes. Always give yourself plenty of time to correct eventual errors.

If it still happens

  • Never leave your uncovered bet open. If the bookmaker voids the bet before the match begins, cover your bet as much as you can. If the bookmaker voids your bet during the match, try to cover your bet as best as you can with live betting (in-play). You might have to lock in a small loss of a few %, but that’s far better than losing your entire stake if you leave your bet open.
  • Learn from the experience, and don’t make the same mistake again.

3. Moving odds

Moving odds is the most common risk when sure betting. This is part of the business, and something you’ll just have to accept. However, it’s certainly not a major problem, and if you have to take a small loss of -2% on one surebet, it only takes a +2% surebet to make up for it.

What’s the risk?

It happens from time to time that you have confirmed a bet at Bookmaker1 and the odds have changed at Bookmaker2, making the sure bet small, or even a negative sure bet. These changing odds “traps” will happen less the more sure betting experience you get. You will eventually learn how to spot the risk for this happening.

To lower the risk

  • Think twice about placing a sure bet on the event if there’s a lot of movement in the odds. Some sportsboooks are faster than others when changing odds, and you could end up getting “caught in the middle” when betting on these events. That is, you could successfully place the bet on Outcome1, but when you confirm your bet on Outcome2, the odds may have changed.
  • Avoid getting “caught in the middle” by always confirming your first bet with the bookmaker you think is least willing to accept your bet.

If it still happens

  • Never leave your uncovered bet open. If the bookmaker voids the bet before the match begins, cover your bet as much as you can. If the bookmaker voids your bet during the match, try to cover your bet as best as you can with live betting (in-play). You might have to lock in a small loss of a few %, but that’s far better than losing your entire stake if you leave your bet open.
  • Learn from the experience, and don’t make the same mistake again.

4. Limiting sportsbooks

Sportsbooks will limit you eventually if you use your betting account solely for arbitrage trading. This is simply a fact you’ll have to accept. Ultimately, it isn’t sure betting itself that they don’t like. Bookmakers are like casinos in the US – if you consistently win, they will limit you sooner or later, or close your account.

What’s the risk?

Some sportsbooks limit you after three or four large bets, some after weeks, months, or even years. Some sportsbooks limit you faster if you consistently bet on palpable errors. But there are also sportsbooks that never limit you.

Check out the video below with all our best beginner tips on how to avoid bookmaker stake restrictions.

To lower the risk

There are a few theories of how to avoid being limited by sportsbooks, yet none of them can be categorically confirmed as “true”. Avoiding being limited is just a guessing game, although some common sense will take you a long way. There are a few things you should consider:

  • Round your stake. Try to round your stake as best you can to the nearest multiple of five. So instead of betting $237 at a single bookmaker, bet $235 or $240.
  • Do not bet on obvious palps. This is a sure way of getting limited. Sure bets over 5% should immediately raise a warning flag.
  • Protect your identity. It’s a very good idea to keep as much privacy as possible when trading on several bookmakers. The longer it takes for the bookmaker to label you as an “expert”, the longer you can bet. There are also rumors of bookmakers that are working together to identify unwanted players. Get a VPN, it’s a cheap way of staying under the radar longer.
  • Do not make unnecessary withdrawals from a bookmaker. Do not withdraw funds from bookmakers if you do not have to. Keeping withdrawals to a minimum is good.
  • Think twice about betting on low tier, foreign leagues. Some books might raise an eyebrow if you bet a lot of money on a third division basketball league in a foreign country.

If it still happens

  • The bottom line is that you never know when a book might limit you. The only thing you can do is to accept the limitation of your account and move on to the next bookmaker. There are lots of sportsbooks out there. All you have to do is to move on to the next one.
  • Learn which bookmakers you like and trust, and use these ones. Again, this all comes with experience.
RebelBetting scan millions of bookmaker odds every minute finding profitable situations whwre you have the edge

The Bookmakers

There are a lot of online bookmakers around. Sports Book Review has a list of online sports books, totaling about one thousand. However, you won’t use anywhere near this number. Most bookmakers are honest and reputable, and you’ll soon learn which ones you prefer to use. There are a lot of good bookmakers out there, and a few sportsbooks we recommend when new to sure betting.

Get familiar with the bookmaker websites

There are a few key things to know about online sportsbooks. One thing to keep in mind is that some bookmakers might not accept customers from certain countries. But the most obvious is, of course, that they have different websites. It takes some time to get familiar with a new bookmaker, and we recommend that you get used to the different layouts, account settings, betting procedures and so on, before you start placing bets on the bookmaker.

Also the more sportsbook accounts you have, the more arbs you will be able to place.

It’s always good to be prepared if you need to make a quick deposit with a bookmaker, so you don’t have to start searching through the webpage when you’re in a hurry. The most important differences are listed below:

Sports and Leagues

Different bookmakers have different bets available for various sports and leagues. The better known a sport and league is, the more bookmakers that will offer bets on it. For instance, almost every online sportsbook offers odds on the English Premier League, but not many bookies offer odds on the Korean Third Division.

Markets

Different bookmakers have a wide range of different odds types to bet on, such as 2-way, 3-way, Asian Handicap, total points, set betting, and correct score. These will be explained further later on in the guide.

Deposit and withdrawal differences

About 80% of the sportsbooks out there have free deposits and withdrawals. Some books offer, for example, only one free withdrawal in a specified time frame (i.e. one withdrawal per fortnight). Also, there are some differences in deposit methods, but most of them support VISA and MasterCard, as well as E-Wallets like Neteller and Skrill.

Account security

Some books need verification documents before any withdrawals are made. These documents are often a photograph or scanned copy of your passport or driving license, a recent utility bill (such as an electric bill) on which your name and address is shown. The bookmakers have these security measures to verify that you are actually who you claim to be. Some books even require this verification to be made within a timeframe of your first deposit.

Maximum stake information

When you are in the process of placing a bet at a sportsbook, some of them show the maximum stake you can place, and some don’t.

For instance, if you hover your pointer over a bet at Pinnacle, you often see the max stake that can be placed on that event. At Gamebookers for example, you have to click on “show max” after you have placed the match on your bet slip in order to see the max stake for that event. There are also books like Bwin for instance, that don’t show the maximum amount until you confirm your bet. This means that you don’t know if you can place a certain amount until after you press confirm. Only then will you know if your bet will be accepted or not.

The betting procedure

Different books have different betting procedures. Because there are a few different variations, it’s important to get to know all of them. The best way to do this is to practice, first without actually placing money on an event, and later on with small sums to get to know the bookmakers’ different steps.

Example

Let’s take Pinnacle and Bwin as examples of the various betting procedures in a 3-way event (1X2).

  • At Pinnacle, you enter your wager amount into the wager box under the “Money Line” column (you also see the max stake on the same page). After you have entered an amount to bet, you press “Submit Wagers” and you are directed to a confirmation page. This is the page where you can review you wager (check that you’ve chosen the right event and confirm your wager amount) and see if the odds have changed since the last step.
  • If the odds haven’t changed, you click “Confirm”. This will direct you to another page, where you can see if the bet has or hasn’t been confirmed. In effect, there are two steps to place a bet at Pinnacle. The “enter amount”-step and the “confirm”-step.
  • At Bwin you click on the outcome you wish to bet on. This adds the event to your bet slip. Enter your wager amount in the box on your bet slip and click “Next”. This takes you to your bet slip confirmation step. If you click “Place bet”, your wager will be processed. There is a catch here though, Bwin doesn’t show the max stake or max winnings on a specific event until after this step, which means that you may have to lower your stake and confirm the bet again if it gets refused the first time.

Crucial information

The two steps above (maximum stake and betting procedure) are crucial to know about when starting out with sure betting.

It means, for example, that if you are placing a sure bet between Pinnacle and Bwin, and you confirm your bet on Pinnacle before you confirm on Bwin, Bwin might have a maximum stake on the event and you´ll be forced to wager a smaller amount than you need to. Avoid this issue by confirming on Bwin before Pinnacle. Always confirm your bet on the bookmaker that you think is least willing to accept your bet first.

We recommend you carefully test the bookmakers betting procedures before you start betting with larger amounts.

Bonus offers

There are a lot of bonus offers out there that are very valuable to you (and your bankroll) when you start your sure betting career. If you don’t have any accounts with any bookmakers, there are potentially thousands of dollars of bonuses out there for you to grab. Different bonuses have different requirements, based on the amount you deposit, the amount you wager and so on.

Read the requirements on each bookmaker thoroughly. When sure betting, your turnover will be big – making the bonuses potentially large, and relatively easy to collect. This is explained in detail in the “Taking Advantage of the Bonuses” section later on in this guide.

Rules

The bookmakers have different rules from one another on certain sports. Tennis matches are the most common sport to have different rules on. There are 4 different tennis rules on the market today, and they can be categorized as follows:

  • Ball Served
  • 1 Set Completed
  • 2 Sets Completed
  • Match Completed

Read more about these different tennis rules in our FAQ page.

It can be extremely risky mixing rules in a sure bet, and therefore we do not recommend doing it if you do not fully understand the risks of it. Mixing rules is not sure betting, it’s gambling.

How much should I bet on a single match with my bankroll?

This is a difficult question to answer, as there are so many variables to take into consideration. The bet size will depend on a number of factors, including how well known the match is, which bookmakers the bet is at, which market and so on. A 3-way bet on a well-known match can have big limits, while the “correct score” or “halftime/fulltime” market may have much smaller limits.

If you have no idea of the bet size however, you could bet on a sure bet with a total stake of around 5-10% of your total bankroll as a guideline (however, you should never bet more than you are comfortable with). You could be betting on up to 10-20 games/matches every day. This means that it is important you have money ready to bet on a good sure bet when the opportunity arises. Also, the match you bet on might not be for a couple of days, which means that you sometimes have funds locked up pending game completion.

One thing that may be more important than bet size however, is a basic strategy to keep your bookmaker accounts balanced. This will be addressed in the “Bankroll management” section of this Ultimate Guide to Sure Betting.

What bet amount is the minimum to start sure betting with?

First, you should take a couple of days to place sure bets without actually placing any money. This is called paper trading. Paper trading will give you valuable experience of the steps you have to take on different bookmakers. You should keep a record of the paper transactions, such as deposits, bet amounts etc., to get familiar with the process of sure betting, and watch as your fictional investment increases (the concept of paper trading is explained in detail in the next chapter).

When you feel comfortable with paper trading, it’s time to start out with betting a total stake of around $50 per bet. This way, you become even more comfortable with surebetting, and if you make a mistake (betting on the wrong match, wrong odds, different event dates and so on, discussed in the “Risks and how to avoid them” chapter), it will not cost you too much.

How many bookmakers do I need to have accounts at?

You can start with as few as 5 bookmakers, but we recommend starting out with around 10. The number of bookmakers will also depend on your bankroll. For instance, if you have a total of $500 to bet with, 10 bookmakers will be too many, as you should always make sure to keep your bookmaker accounts funded for the next few potential bets.

Recommended bookmakers to start with

If you’re unsure what bookmakers to start with, see our list of recommended bookmakers for sure betting. They have high odds and are very often involved in arbitrage opportunities. Some of them are also sure betting friendly and won’t limit you. Before registering, you might want to get a VPN to protect your privacy and bet without limits for longer.

Also see our list of all our supported bookmakers.

Paper Trading

Paper trading means practicing without using real money. The idea is that if you make mistakes, it doesn’t cost you anything. You will quickly become more experienced, and make fewer mistakes. Although you’re probably wanting to get ahead with sure betting, learning the basics, and experiencing the mistakes, is a lot less costly when the money is pretend. Do not dismiss the importance of paper trading!

How to Paper Trade a sure bet

The easiest way is to just go through every step you would have if you were betting for real, except for the last one where you actually confirm your bets at the bookmakers.

  • Find the match and the bets at each bookmakers

  • Verify that the odds haven’t changed

  • Add them to the bet slip

  • Enter your stakes

  • Check and double check that everything is correct

  • Mentally place your sure bet

  • Log your sure bet

Doing this, you will get a feel for how each bookmaker behaves, what steps are required and so on.

You don’t actually place the bets, but you should log them (explained in the “Bankroll Management” chapter, below). You will then get familiar with how to keep track of your bets, and after the match has been completed you can see the result of the sure bet in the Bet Tracker.

You should continue (paper trading) until you are comfortable with:

  • The concept of sure betting
  • The different bookmakers
  • Verifying your fictional bets before you mentally “place” the bets that produce a sure bet
  • See how your sure betting profit increases every day

The Bets

In this section of the sure betting guide, we will discuss some different types of betting markets, and how they work.

2-way

A common sure bet is a two-way sure bet in which there’s no draw outcome.

An example of this would be a tennis match, a basketball game, an ice hockey game with overtime and penalties included and so on. It’s easy to bet on a two-way sure bet, as you only have to bet on two outcomes between two sportsbooks. These are also known as Win, MoneyLine, PuckLine or Draw no bet.

3-way

There are also a lot of three-way sure bets available. The most common one of them all is betting on a soccer match that can end in a draw. As with the two-way sure bet, it’s straightforward to bet on all three possible outcomes. These are sometimes known as 1X2.

Asian Handicap (AH)

An Asian Handicap bet turns a 3-way bet into a 2-way, eliminating the draw option by a handicap. Asian Handicaps (AH) are becoming very popular and there are a lot of AH surebets on the market today. It is also known as ‘2-way handicap’.

Betting on Asian Handicap is simply a way to spread bet, but more importantly, it’s a way to reduce the possible outcomes from three (1X2) in a match to only two (12). Offering AH lines is a way for the bookmakers to “even out the odds” in a particular match, giving the underdog a head start in goals in order to balance a match.

Asian Handicap (0) is also known as “pk” at some bookmakers (for “pick-em”). For example, if the English Premier League team Manchester United were to meet a team from League 2, the odds on a three-way match would be something similar to this:

Even goal Asian Handicap

  • Manchester United 1.02
  • Draw 12.00
  • League2 Team 22.00

But the same match offered as Asian Handicap could look like this:

  • Bet 1. Manchester United (-3) 1.9
  • Bet 2. League2 Team (+3) 1.9

Possible outcomes
In the example above, the League2 Team is awarded a three goal handicap before the match begins.

  • If Man Utd lose, or win by less than three goals, Bet 2 is the winning bet.
  • If Man Utd win by more than three goals, Bet 1 is the winning bet.
  • If Man Utd win by exactly three goals, the wagers are refunded.

Other Asian Handicaps

Bookmakers also offer half goal and quarter goal Asian Handicaps. As no team can ever score a fraction of a goal, the draw option is not applicable.

Half goal Asian Handicap

  1. Manchester United (-3.5) 1.9
  2. League2 Team (+3.5) 1.9

Possible outcomes

  • If Man Utd lose, or win by less than four goals, 2 is the winning bet.
  • If Man Utd win by four goals or more, 1 is the winning bet.

Quarter goal Asian Handicap
A $1,000 bet on a 3.75 handicap is the same as betting $500 at (3.5) and $500 at (4). A 3.75 handicap can also be presented as “3.5 and 4”, or “3½ and 4”.

  1. Manchester United (-3.75) 1.9
  2. League2 Team (+3.75) 1.9

Possible outcomes

  • If Man Utd lose, or win by less than four goals, 2 is the winning bet.
  • If Man Utd win with more than four goals, 1 is the winning bet.
  • If Man Utd win with exactly four goals, you win half your stake on 1 and lose half your stake on 2.

If you’re new to Asian Handicap, this can all be quite confusing. However, once you get the hang of it, it’s quite straightforward.

Asian Handicap result table

The table below is a summary of how your bet will be graded depending on what handicap you bet on and the outcome of the match.

Asian Handicap table

Table headings

  • Bet on (AH) – What handicap you bet on
  • Wins with x – The team you bet on wins by x goals
  • Draw – The match ends in a draw
  • Loses with x – The team you bet on loses by x goals

Outcomes

  • Win – You win your bet in full
  • Lose – You lose your bet in full
  • Push – Your entire bet is refunded to your account (some bookmakers call this void or cancelled)
  • Win/Push – You win half your bet and get the other half refunded back to your account
  • Lose/Push – You lose half your bet and get the other half refunded back to your account

Asian Handicap example

In a match between Manchester United and Liverpool, you bet on Liverpool -0.75 (can also be presented as “-0.5 and -1” or “”) and Liverpool wins the match 2-1.

As Liverpool won with exactly 1 goal, you can see in the Asian Handcap table above that your bet will be graded as Win/Push.

European Handicap (EH)

Unlike Asian Handicaps, where the possible outcomes of a match are reduced to two, European Handicaps (EH) are three-way handicaps. This means that you have three possible outcomes. European Handicaps are also sometimes called ‘1X2 Handicap’, or ‘3-way handicap’.

If Ajax were to meet Chelsea in a pre-season friendly game, the odds might look like this:

  • Ajax 3.04
  • Draw 3.30
  • Chelsea 1.95

But when offered as a European Handicap market, the same match could look like this:

  1. Ajax (1) 1.76
  2. Draw (1) 3.60
  3. Chelsea (-1) 3.51

Possible outcomes
In the example above, Ajax are awarded a 1-goal handicap before the match begins.

  • If Ajax win or it’s a draw, Bet 1 is the winning bet.
  • If Chelsea win by exactly one goal, Bet 2 is the winning bet.
  • If Chelsea win with two goals or more, Bet 3 is the winning bet.

Over Under

Another market to bet on, and one you will find many surebets on, is Over/Under. This is based on a predetermined number of scores or points in a match. For example, you could bet on there being over 2.5 goals in a soccer match, under 5.5 goals in a hockey match or over 147 points in a basketball game.

Middles

A potentially very profitable situation can occur in sure betting, called middles. A middle is a situation where, if a match ends with a certain result, you can win both your bets. The simplest way of illustrating this is with an Asian Handicap match.

Example of a middle

  1. $515 for Team1 (-3) 1.90 @ Bookmaker1
  2. $435 for Team2 (+4) 2.25 @ Bookmaker2

Possible outcomes

  • If Team1 win by less than three goals, Bet 2 is the winning bet.
    Total Profit = $28.75
  • If Team1 win by more than four goals, Bet 1 is the winning bet.
    Total Profit = $28.50
  • If Team1 win by exactly four goals, you win Bet 1, and Bet 2 will be refunded
    Total Profit = $463.50
  • If Team1 win by exactly three goals, Bet 1 will be refunded at Bookmaker1 and you will win your Bet 2.
    Total Profit = $543.75

Example 2

If it’s a full goal or point “in the middle”, and your middle hits, you will win both your bets.

  1. Basketball Team1 O146.5 @ Bookmaker1
  2. Basketball Team2 U147.5 @ Bookmaker2

If the middle hits (exactly 147p in the game above), you win both your bets.

Example 3

There are also “half-middles” (or “sides”), where you (if the middle hits) win one side of your bet and get half of the other side of the bet refunded. This can happen if you bet on quarter outcomes:

  1. Team1 O3.5 @ Bookmaker1
  2. Team2 U3.75 @ Bookmaker2

Picturing a middle

Below is a graphical way of explaining a middle. This time with a basketball game, with the middle hitting (winning both your bets) at exactly 148 points in the game.

Graphical illustration of a sure betting middle

As you can see, middles can be quite profitable. In some cases, it´s even profitable to place a slightly negative sure bet if it´s a middle. The profit you could make if the middle hits might be worth the negative sure bet percentage in the long run.

Inverted Middles

Also known as “Polish Middles”, inverted middles are very risky to bet on. If the “middle” in an inverted middle occurs, you could lose both your bets, causing major damage to your bankroll. If you flip the handicaps in the example above, you get an inverted middle.

Cross Markets

Cross Market (CM) sure bets are a mixture of two or more different markets. There are a lot of possible combinations that can result in a sure bet. Often, CM bet exist longer as the bookmakers take longer to realize they have left a sure bet open. The examples below illustrate a few basic combinations and how to calculate the results.

Cross Market example (AH, x, 2)

A regular 3-way (1X2) sure bet, but replacing the bet on the home team (1) with a simple Asian Handicap bet, AH1(0).

  1. Team1 – Bookmaker1 – AH1(0)
  2. Draw – Bookmaker2 – X
  3. Team2 – Bookmaker3 – 2

Possible outcomes

  • Team1 win – You will win Bet 1
  • A draw – You will get Bet 1 refunded and win Bet 2
  • Team2 win – You will win Bet 3

Cross Market example (EH1 and 2)

Mixing a 3-way bet with a European Handicap bet, results in only two possible outcomes.

  1. Team1 – Bookmaker1 – EH1(1)
  2. Team2 – Bookmaker2 – 2

Possible outcomes

  • Team1 win – You will win Bet 1
  • A draw – You will win Bet 1
  • Team2 win – You will win Bet 2

Cross Market example (quarter AH, x, 2)

A regular 3-way (1×2) sure bet, replacing the bet on the home team (1) with a quarter Asian Handicap bet, AH1(-0.25).

  1. Team1 – Bookmaker1 – AH1(-0.25)
  2. Draw – Bookmaker2 – X
  3. Team2 – Bookmaker3 – 2

Possible outcomes

  • Team1 win – You will win Bet 1.
  • A draw – You will win Bet 2. Also, you will get half your stake at Bet 1 refunded, since AH1(-0.25) implies that you bet one half of your stake on AH1(0) and the other half on AH1(-0.5)
  • Team2 win – You will win Bet 3

Cross Market example (dnb, x, 2)

A regular 3-way (1×2) sure bet, replacing the bet on the home team (1) with a 2-way “draw no bet”, 1(dnb).

  1. Team1 – Bookmaker1 – 1(dnb)
  2. Draw – Bookmaker2 – X
  3. Team2 – Bookmaker3 – 2

Possible outcomes

  • Team1 win – You will win Bet 1
  • A draw – You will win Bet 2. Also, you will get Bet 1 refunded, since the bet would be refunded if the match ended in a draw.
  • Team2 win – You will win Bet 3

Cross Market example (dnb, half AH, 2)

Mixing a draw no bet, Asian Handicap and a regular 3-way bet.

  1. Team1 – Bookmaker1 – 1(dnb)
  2. Team2 – Bookmaker2 – AH2(0.5)
  3. Team2 – Bookmaker3 – 2

Possible outcomes

  • Team1 win –  You will win Bet 1
  • A draw – You will win Bet 2 and get Bet 1 refunded
  • Team2 win – You will win Bet 2 and win Bet 3

The examples above are only a few CM combinations that are regularly available to bet on. RebelBetting supports over 17,000 different Cross Market combinations. You can mix markets yourself if you know what you’re doing. As long as you have every outcome covered, you can successfully mix different markets.

Supported sports in RebelBetting

The Sports

You don’t have to be an expert on every sport when sure betting, but it’s good to at least have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of the sports you’re betting on.

Generally, the closer to an event it is, the more sure bets appear. This is due to the fact that sportsbooks adjust their odds more frequently closer to a match (depending on various factors such as the weather, injuries, team/player form, last minute injuries and the like). Some bookmakers also adjust odds in order to attract more customers closer to an event.

The number of sure bets available therefore depends on the season (which events are running), day of the week and even time of the day. The busiest time is at the end of the week (Thursday-Sunday) because more matches are played at the weekend.

Football (soccer)

Football offers the most sure bets due to the almost overwhelming amounts of matches being played every week. In England alone, there are 358 teams in the first eight tiers of football. In addition to competing in their regular leagues, they also play up to five different national cups per year.

Tennis

This is a year-round sport that offers a great deal of surebet opportunities, particularly due to the amount of tournaments played each year. The ATP (men’s circuit) and WTA (women’s circuit) play around 65 annual tournaments each, as well as the four Grand Slams (also referred to as the ‘Majors’): the French Open, the Australian Open, the US Open and Wimbledon.

As there can only be two outcomes of a tennis match (it can never end in a draw), tennis is simple to bet on, as it only requires two bookmakers in the sure bet.

Tennis Rules

As explained previously, tennis matches are the most common sport to have different rules for. Please read more about the different tennis rules to make sure you are aware of them.

Also, look what could happen if you mix different tennis rules in sports arbitrage.

RebelBetting only shows safe tennis sure bets between bookmakers that have the same rules. However, bookmaker rules may change without our knowledge, and it is your responsibility to know the rules of the specific bookmakers before you bet.

You do have the option to show mixed rules sure bets, but this is not recommended if you do not fully understand the risk.

Basketball

Basketball is one of the four sports in the ‘Major professional sports leagues’ of the United States, as well as being popular in Europe and Asia. Consisting of four ‘quarters’, a game is played between two teams and the team with the highest number of points at the end of the game wins.

Basketball Rules

The most common difference in rules in basketball is if overtime is included or not. RebelBetting only shows safe basketball sure bets between bookmakers that have the same rules. However, bookmaker rules may change without our knowledge, and it is your responsibility to know the rules of the specific bookmakers before you bet.

Ice Hockey

Hockey consists of two teams playing each other for three periods of 20 minutes each. Naturally, as it is a winter sport, frequent sure bets appear in the winter season, but not during summer time (except for the occasional tournaments). Sure bets are often available in the ‘PuckLine’ market as well as the Over/Under market (for instance OU 5.5 goals).

Ice Hockey Rules

As in basketball, the most common difference in rules in hockey is if overtime and penalties are included or not. RebelBetting only shows safe hockey sure bets between bookmakers that have the same rules. However, bookmaker rules may change without our knowledge, and it is your responsibility to know the rules of the specific bookmakers before you bet.

Baseball

Baseball is a huge sport in North America and Japan, and is growing in popularity in Europe as well. It is played between two teams with nine players each. One game consists of nine ‘innings’. The team with the most runs wins the game.

Baseball Rules

Bookmakers can have different rules regarding baseball.

  • Some offer ‘listed’ wagers, where predetermined pitchers must start the game for the bet to stand.
  • Others offer ‘action’ wagers, where the bet will stand regardless of which pitchers start the game.

It is important that you never mix these rules in a sure bet, as late pitcher changes occur sometimes (especially late season). RebelBetting only shows safe baseball sure bet between bookmakers which have the same rules. However, bookmaker rules may change without our knowledge, and it is your responsibility to know the rules of the specific bookmakers before you bet.

American Football

There are often sure bets on American Football when the North American season is running (typically from September through January). In this sport you can also find a lot of AH sure bets, as well as Over/Unders and middles.

Rugby and Aussie Rules

You can sometimes find sure bets in Rugby League, Rugby Union and Aussie Rules. Not many bookmakers cover these sports, but those who do sometimes have pretty different opinions about the possibility of a certain outcome, which is a recipe for high sure bets.

Bankroll management
Bankroll management

Bankroll Management

In this section of the ultimate sure betting guide, we will discuss the importance of proper bankroll management when sure betting.

Why is it needed when sure betting?

If you are serious about sure betting, you need to keep track of the bets you place. This must be done to know which bets are still open, which bookmakers you have placed your bets with, what amounts you have placed and where, and also to make sure that the bookmakers have graded your bets correctly. It has happened several times that bookmakers have graded bets incorrectly.

How will it help me?

If you log your sure bets, you can:

  • See how many bets you currently have open
  • Check at which sportsbooks the bets are placed
  • Get a complete overview of your betting history, results and profits over time
  • Get detailed reports of your betting statistics
  • Keep track of your ROI (return on investment)
  • And do much more

By logging your sure bets, you will also get important statistics about your betting history, see average sure betting percentages, your turnover at specific bookmakers, monthly winnings etc. It can also be quite fun to look deeper into your statistics!

How do I keep track of my sure bets?

Of course, you could all the bets manually yourself, but we at RebelBetting have automated the entire process for you. Using the unique One Click Bet Tracker, you log your sure bets with just one click.

Also, when the match is finished, your logged bets will automatically be updated with RebelBetting’s Automatic Bet Settlement feature. No more need to manually check the result of the match, which will save you heaps of time. It couldn’t be easier.

The Sure Betting BetTracker where you log your sports arbitrage bets

When opening bookmaker accounts

There are a few tricks to use when opening bookmaker accounts:

Currency – how to choose?

To avoid any currency exchange fees, you should strive to have all your accounts in the same currency. This goes for both bookmakers and e-wallets. The most common currencies are USD, EUR or GBP. You should choose ONE, and stick to that currency for the rest of your sure betting career.

Bookmaker account balances

It is a common misunderstanding that you should spread out your funds evenly between every sportsbook you have an account with. You will definitely use certain bookmakers more often than others. Because of this, you will need to have more funds with the regularly used bookmakers, and less funds with the ones that you only occasionally use. As an example, you will probably use Pinnacle and Betfair the most, and should therefore have the most funds there.

You should always keep some funds in your E-wallet or funding account though (probably a minimum of about 10% of your total bankroll), as you will need to balance your bankroll more often when you have limited funds. If you have a bigger bankroll, balancing your bookmaker accounts will not be a problem. Balancing your accounts basically means that you withdraw funds from bookmakers that you have a large balance at, and deposit funds to bookmakers where you have a low balance at.

Lay Betting

An important part of sports arbitrage investing is knowing how lay bets work. The difference between a regular bet (also known as a back bet) and a lay bet, is that on a back bet you bet on a team/player to win. If you were to place a lay bet on the same team/player, you bet on that team/player not to win.

Check out the video below to learn how to profit using lay betting.

Example of a Lay Bet

Let’s take another example; A football match, and let’s say Manchester United is playing Liverpool.

  • If you were to place a regular back bet at Pinnacle on Liverpool, you will win your bet on Pinnacle if Liverpool win the match.
  • If you place a lay bet at Betfair on Liverpool, you will win your bet on Betfair if Liverpool does NOT win the match. If Manchester United wins or the match ends in a draw, you have won your lay bet.

In other words, laying Liverpool is the same thing as backing Manchester United to both win and draw.

Using lay betting in sure bets

By combining a lay bet at Betfair with a regular bet at another bookmaker, you have effectively turned a 3-way match into a 2-way match. Even though there are three outcomes of the match itself, you have bet so there are only two outcomes of your bet. If the lay bet odds are smaller than the back odds, you have yourself an sure bet!

Lay betting terms

Some of the terms involved in lay betting can be quite confusing at first, but once you get the hang of them, it’s pretty straightforward.

Backer’s stake: This is the amount you want to win. Let’s say that your backer’s stake in the lay bet example above was €100. Because you laid Liverpool, you will win €100 (minus commission, explained below) if Man Utd win or the match ends in a draw.

Commission: Exchanges such as Betfair charges a percentage of your winnings. This percentage is by default 5% at Betfair, but the more you turnover at Betfair, the bigger the discount on the commission you receive.

Backer’s odds: These are the odds of your lay bet. The higher the backer’s odds are, the higher the risk (liability) will be.

Liability: The liability is what you risk to lose on a lay-bet. The liability of a lay bet is correlated with the stake and odds. A selection where the backer’s odds is 7 means that if you lose the bet you will lose 6 (7-1) times your stake.

Example 1, backer’s odds are high.

  • You lay €100 at the odds of 7, and your current commission rate is 5%
  • If you win your bet, you win €100*0.95 = €95
  • If you lose your bet, you lose €100*(7-1) = €600
Lay betting

Example 2, backer’s odds is low.

  • You lay €100 at the odds of 1.5, and your current commission rate is 5%
  • If you win your bet, you win €100*0.95 = €95
  • If you lose your bet, you lose €100*(1.5-1) = €50
Lay betting

Matched/Unmatched: As with any exchange, you place your bets at Betfair against other Betfair customers, not against Betfair itself.

Therefore, there must always be a backer and a layer for any bets made. If there is a backer for your lay bet, your bet will be matched. Once a bet is matched, it cannot be canceled, other than by Betfair. If your bet has not been matched, or only partially matched, you can either cancel your unmatched bet, leave your bet unmatched (not recommended when sports arbitrage trading) or accept the remaining unmatched bet at worse odds.

Further lay bet info

Betfair has a good lay betting help section that might be worth checking out.

Sportsbook bonuses to boost your bankroll

Bonuses

Take advantage of bonuses and boost your bankroll

Bookmakers often have attractive deposit bonuses. A good way to maximize your bankroll early on in your sure betting career is to deposit just the right amount to maximize the bonus at the bookmaker.

For example, if a bookmaker offers a 100% deposit bonus up to a maximum of $100, a deposit of $100 will then maximize your bonus ($100) at that bookmaker. If you do this with 10 bookmakers, you will have effectively doubled your bankroll by $1,000. In this sure betting guide you’ll learn how to profit from bonuses as well as sure bets.

How bonuses work

There are three types of bonuses out there that you get just for signing up and depositing funds with a bookmaker. You’ll either get a sign-up bonus or one of two free-bets.

A sign-up bonus is pretty simple stuff. You get a certain amount of money into your account, which you can use right away. Some of the key things to know about sign-up bonuses are:

  • They often come with withdrawal restrictions (you might need to “rollover” the bonus x times before you can make a withdrawal).
  • They are sometimes only offered to customers in specific countries.
  • They sometimes come with other restrictions, for example that you need to bet on odds over 2.00 for the bonus rollover requirements to count.
  • They are easy to bet with, as the extra money is in your account together with your regular funds.

Read the bonus requirements thoroughly for the specific bookmaker you are depositing to.

A free-bet is a bit different compared to a regular bonus.

  • Before you place a bet, you’ll have the option to use your regular funds or the free-bet.
  • If you bet using your free-bet, and your bet wins, you’ll only keep the bet winnings (not the free-bet amount itself). This is called a SNR (Stake Not Returned) free-bet.
  • There are also SR (Stake Returned) free-bets, but they are rare.

For example, if you get a SNR free-bet of €50, and bet the whole amount on a match with the odds 1.50, you will win €75. But the bookmaker will only pay out your winnings (€25). This makes it tricky to use free-bets within sports arbitrage trading, but there is still a pretty good way of doing it. And the best part about free-bets is that you don’t even need to bet on a positive sure bet to release the funds.

How to make sure you will profit on your free-bet

As described above, the bookmaker that is offering the SNR free-bet will only pay out your winnings. This means that you probably can’t bet on a regular sure bet, because your free-bet amount itself will not be credited back to your account when the match is complete. Consider the following scenario:

Example with a free-bet

You are going to bet on a tennis event.

  • Federer to win has odds 1.80 at bookmaker Bovada (where you have the free-bet).
  • Nadal to win has odds of 2.45 at bookmaker William Hill.

As a “regular” sure bet, this would be a +3.8% sure bet. But as you won’t be keeping the free-bet stake at Bovada, the odds are actually 0.80 instead of 1.80 (as your stake will not be refunded to your Bovada account if Federer wins). This means that the “sure bet” will be -39.7% instead of +3.8% if you were to use the free-bet. You will still make a profit though, no matter who wins. See the calculations below:

  • If Federer wins, you’ll win €40 on Bovada (€50 x 0.80) and lose €16 on William Hill. Total profit of the free-bet = €24 (€40 – €16)
  • If Nadal wins, you’ll win €23.20 on William Hill (€16 x 2.45 – €16) and lose your free-bet on Bovada. Total profit of the free-bet = €23.20

There are better ways to “keep” as much as you can of the free-bet. One great way is to bet on, for instance, the “correct score” market, and lay the same correct score on Betfair. This is illustrated in the following example:

A free-bet combined with a lay-bet on Betfair

You are betting on a football (soccer) match in the UEFA Europa League between FK Siauliai and Wisla Krakow.

  • Back correct score 1-3 at Bovada, odds 18.00
  • Lay Correct score 1-3 at Betfair, odds 19.00

As you can see pretty clearly, this is not a positive surebet (as the Betfair lay-odds is higher than the back-odds). If this wasn’t with a free-bet, the sure bet would have been -0.53%. As it will be used with a free-bet, the sure bet is -0.85% (including 5% commission at Betfair). This means that you’ll be able to keep much more of the free-bet than in the previous example. By betting your €50 free-bet at Bovada, and laying €44.85 at Betfair (with a liability of €807.29), you will:

  • Profit €42.71 if the match ends 1-3 (€50 x 17.00 – €807.29)
    Or
  • Profit €42.61 if the match doesn’t end 1-3 (€44.85 – commission (€2.24 if 5% commission))

By using Betfair’s lay-odds and high odds at Bovada, we have now profited €42 of the original €50 free bet! The closer the lay-bet odds are to the back-odds, the better. The best scenario is if the lay-odds are lower than the back odds.

Moving on to the next bookmaker

When you have “lost” your funds at a specific bookmaker, you have also “lost” your bonus amount at that bookmaker. But, because you have won with one bookmaker the amount lost with another (plus your sure betting winnings), you have effectively rolled over your bonus as well. This means that you have earned the bonus amount without actually having to follow any eventual bonus requirements that the bookmaker might have had. As far as the bookmaker is aware, you have actually lost your bonus back to them.

When you have emptied your balance at one bookmaker (except for maybe Pinnacle and Betfair), you move on to another bookmaker that you do not have an account at and deposit for a maximum bonus there. Do these steps over and over to maximize your bankroll early on. Taking full advantage of the deposit bonuses is the best way of increasing your bankroll when starting out – there is a lot of bonus money to grab out there!

Tips and Tricks

Below are some general tips and tricks to help you in your sure betting career. As mentioned previously in this Ultimate Guide to Sure Betting, common sense will take you a long way. You can also find some hands-on advice that will stand you in good stead throughout your career.

Use common sense

This is probably most important tip of all in this sure betting guide. Use common sense! Try to place yourself in the shoes of a normal sports punter. How would they bet? Looking like a normal punter, even with a high bankroll, will keep you under the radar longer. For instance, think twice about betting on low tier, foreign leagues. Some bookmakers might raise an eyebrow if you bet on an obscure international division 3 basketball game.

Round your stake

You should always try to round your stake as best you can. No “regular” sports punter will bet $237.76 on a match, and neither should you. You should perhaps try to bet even fives if your total stake is big enough. For example, instead of betting $237 at a single bookmaker, bet $235 or $240 (or better yet, $200 or $250).

When sure betting with RebelBetting, you can round your stake however you wish.

However, on some bookmakers you don’t need to round your stakes at all. These include Pinnacle, Betfair, Betdaq and Smarkets. They don’t care how you bet, and they will never limit your account. You can even bet decimals with them if you wish.

Look at the odds

If you see a sure bet that looks too good to be true – it probably is. Before blindly betting on the sure bet you could look at the odds from other bookmakers. If you find that one bookmaker is hugely out of line, think twice about betting on it, as the bookmaker with the out of line odds may void your bet at a later stage.

Verify your bets before you bet on them

Always check and double check that everything is correct with the sure bet before actually placing any money. Make sure that:

  • The teams or players are the same on all bookmakers
  • The odds haven’t changed
  • Your bookmaker accounts have enough money in them
  • The playing dates and times are the same on all bookmakers
  • Your stakes are correct (and preferably rounded)

By getting into good habits early on in your sure betting career, you’ll create a good routine for your future sure bets.

Bet placement order

Always confirm your bet on the bookmaker that you think is least willing to accept your bet first. One example of this is betting between Bwin and Pinnacle. As Bwin is more likely to have a lower limit on a market (a limit that you don’t even get to see), good practice is to bet on Bwin before you confirm your bet at Pinnacle.

Don’t hammer weak lines

If you see that a specific bookmaker has consistently higher than average odds on a specific sport – don’t “hammer” them by betting on every single sure bet that appears with them. Doing this may be a quick way to get a limitation on your account with that bookmaker.

Keep it simple in the beginning

If you’re new to sports arbitrage, take it slow. There are plenty of sure bets out there, and taking your time to understand them all is a good rule of thumb.

For example, if you see a 3-way sure bet that is 2.8% where the match will begin in 10 minutes, it might be tempting to bet on it. But if you’re new to this, it might be better to go for the 1.9% 2-way bet that doesn’t start for another 4 hours. It is generally easier to bet on a 2-way than a 3-way. Give yourself plenty of time to correct any potential obstacles in the sure bet (like limited stakes, changing odds and so on) and you’ll keep the headaches (and the mistakes) away.

Don’t make unnecessary withdrawals

If you’ve won a few bets in a row at a particular sports book, your funds will start to add up there. If you don’t necessarily need to release any funds to your e-wallet, don’t make any withdrawals. Some bookmakers charge a fee for withdrawing and some have a limit of one free withdrawal per month. Some have free withdrawals, but you shouldn’t be doing this unless you need to.

Keep your withdrawals to a minimum and your accounts will probably not be reviewed as much; potentially making your account last longer without limitation. Also, if you need to make a withdrawal, don’t take out your entire balance from the bookmaker. Up to 70% or so is acceptable to withdraw, but a customer who withdraws large amounts (or their entire balance) might get the bookmakers attention, as it may look like you’re a professional who’s running out of funds.

But you can also move funds from one bookmaker to another without having to withdraw or deposit any money. You can do this simply by betting on sure bets with high odds on the bookmaker you want to transfer from, and low odds on the bookmaker you want to transfer to. You can bet on a 0% sure bet- it doesn’t matter what size the bet is. The purpose is only to move money without fees and keep a low profile without attracting attention from the bookmakers.

You can still lose of course, which means you’ll have to try again. But it’s more likely that you’ll lose your bet at the bookmaker with high odds and win your bet at the bookmaker with low odds.

Learn to navigate the bookmakers

The best way to get accustomed to the different bookmakers’ websites is to try practise finding the same bets on all sites. Open up 3 or 4 different bookmakers at the same time and browse to find a match. Find, for instance, a Premier League football match in the Over/Under market. When you have selected a match and a specific market at one bookmaker, find the same bet at the other sportbooks and or exchange.

You will notice that the differences in how to find a certain match vary quite a bit. This is a great way to learn how the bookmakers present their odds, and how to navigate the different websites.

Try to figure out the bet types

Browse a bookmaker and select an Asian Handicap bet. Try to really understand how the bet will be graded based on the possible results of the match and if you were to bet on a specific handicap. Use the Asian Handicap result table if you need to. Try this with even goal, half and quarter Asian Handicap bets.

Sure betting is not rocket science. If you take some time to learn the basics, you will make money on this, month after month! In fact, we are so confident about this that we offer a profit guarantee.

Sure Betting Software by RebelBetting

Theory to Practice

Turning your knowledge into practice

Congratulations! You have now learned more about sports arbitrage with this Ultimate Guide to Sure Betting than you would have learned by yourself in months. Now you have the knowledge to start your sure betting career. This part of the guide will cover what steps you will need to take to get started.

Sure Betting by RebelBetting

Sure betting by RebelBetting contains everything you need to start making money on sure betting. RebelBetting is a sports betting software that runs on any major device and browser, notifies you of profitable sure bet situations, and helps you place your bets very fast. RebelBetting alerts you to surebets and often browses to the correct event with just one click. These features are extremely helpful when you need to find a profitable bet situation quickly.

Step 1 – Get a free sure betting trial

Fill in your email address below 👇 (P.S value betting is also included).

Step 2 – Follow the quick start guide

Follow the sure betting quick start guide and you will be up and running in no time!

Step 3 – Open a few bookmakers accounts

Sign up with a few recommended bookmakers for sure betting (you can start with just a couple, but more bookmakers mean more sure bets). Don’t forget that you might get bonuses when signing up. Also, get a VPN set up before you register to protect your identity and stay under the radar longer.

You can browse the bookmakers by clicking the options button in RebelBetting. Identify a bookmaker in the list that you want to open an account with and press register to browse to that bookmaker. Here’s a a complete list of supported sportsbooks.

Step 4 – Start paper-trading

The concept of paper trading was covered in the paper trading section of this Ultimate Guide to Sure Betting. Do not underestimate the importance of paper trading. It will give you invaluable experience in your future sure betting career.

Step 5 – Open an E-wallet account

We recommend that you use Neteller or Skrill as your e-wallet. With an e-wallet account, you will avoid most of the transaction fees to and from bookmakers. Often, bookmakers charge you a fee if you deposit or withdraw with VISA or MasterCard. If you don’t want to use an e-wallet, Credit Card will of course work fine as well.

Opening an e-wallet account is easy. You will need to verify your identity with them, same as any bank. Note that this verification process could take a few days, but it’s well worth it.

Step 6 – Fund your bookmaker accounts

After you have set up your E-wallet account and funded it, you can start funding your bookmaker accounts.

Step 7 – Start out small

With money in your bookmaker accounts, you can now place your first real sure bet! All you have to do is to wait until a sure bet between the bookmakers you have funded appears in RebelBetting. It is recommended that you start out small. Double check and recheck your bets before confirming them. Read how to avoid the risks in sure betting again to refresh your memory.

Step 8 – Increase your bets when you’re comfortable with it

When you feel that you have understood the concept of sure betting and feel comfortable with betting smaller amounts, you can start to increase your bet sizes. Remember – you’re always covered by the Profit guarantee.

Reap the rewards

Good job! You are now well on your way – it only gets easier from here.

I hope you found this Ultimate Guide to Sure Betting useful. Feel free to contact us at RebelBetting at any time with any questions you might have about this guide or about sure betting in general.

Good luck and happy sure betting!

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Author: Björn Leyonberg, CEO and Founder of RebelBetting

Björn is the Chief Executive Officer at RebelBetting which he also co-founded back in 2007/2008. Studied Media Engineering Science at the University of Umeå.

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