FAQ

Calculation of the Required Bankroll for Arbitrage Betting Considering the Cost of a Scanner

Calculating the necessary bankroll for arbitrage betting, considering the cost of purchasing a scanner, requires taking into account several factors, including the initial cost of the scanner, the average return from bets, and the number of bets you plan to place. Here is a step-by-step guide for the calculation:

1. Determine the Cost of the Scanner

   Suppose the cost of the scanner is S euro.

2. Estimate the Average Return per Bet

   Let the average return (profit) per bet be P rubles. This value can be determined by estimating your average profit per bet after accounting for all expenses.

3. Estimate the Number of Bets per Month

   Assume you plan to place N bets per month. This number may depend on your experience, the frequency of scanner use, and the time available.

4. Calculate Monthly Profit

   Monthly profit from bets without considering the cost of the scanner: P × N.

5. Consider Scanner Payback

   To cover the cost of the scanner over a certain period (e.g., within one month), your profit from bets should cover its cost.

   Therefore, the necessary monthly profit: P × N ≥ S.

6. Determine the Initial Bankroll

   The initial bankroll should account not only for covering the cost of the scanner but also for potential losses at the initial stage. For example, you can use the Kelly criterion or conservatively set the bankroll to cover M average bets.

   For example, if the average bet size is B euro, and you want a bankroll that covers 100 bets (which is quite conservative), then the initial bankroll will be B × 100.

7. Overall Calculation

   Ultimately, your initial bankroll should be sufficient to cover bets until the scanner's cost is recouped. For example, you can calculate the bankroll as follows:

   Initial Bankroll = B × 100 + S

   This calculation assumes that your bets will eventually cover the cost of the scanner and that the initial bankroll will allow you to withstand potential fluctuations.

Example of Scanner Payback Calculation

Input Data:

• Scanner Cost: S = 100 euro
• Average Return per Bet: P = 2 euro
• Number of Bets per Month: N = 100 bets
• Average Bet Size: B = 5 euro

Scanner Payback Calculation:

• Monthly Profit: 2 × 100 = 200 euro
• Scanner Payback: 200 ≥ 100, i.e., the scanner pays off within one month.
• Initial Bankroll for Betting: 5 × 100 + 100 = 600 euro.

Thus, you will need a bankroll of 600 euro to account for the cost of purchasing the scanner and to provide yourself with a sufficient reserve for betting.

"Limit Reduction" in a Bookmaker's Office refers to the process where a bookmaker restricts the maximum amount a player can bet on a single event. This action is usually taken against players whom the bookmaker considers too successful or suspects of using arbitrage strategies (also known as "surebets").

Why Does Limit Reduction Happen?

1. Protecting the Bookmaker’s Profits: If a arber consistently wins large amounts or actively uses strategies that guarantee them a profit (such as arbitrage), the bookmaker may reduce their betting limits to minimize their losses.

2. Suspicious Activity: Bettors who place large bets on certain events or markets often attract the attention of the bookmaker's analysts. If the bookmaker notices that a bettor is placing bets in a way that is not typical for regular one, it can lead to a limit reduction.

3. Using Arbitrage Betting: Bookmakers do not favor arbitrage betting because it guarantees the arber a profit regardless of the event's outcome. If the bookmaker discovers that a bettor is actively engaged in arbitrage betting, their betting limits may be drastically reduced.

What Does This Look Like in Practice?

After a limit reduction, the bettor might find that instead of placing large bets as before, they are only allowed to bet small amounts on an event. For example, if they previously could bet thousands of dollars on an event, after the limit reduction, this limit might be reduced to just a few dozen dollars or even less. This makes the arber’s strategy ineffective and often leads them to stop using that account for betting.

What Are the Consequences for the Bettor?

• Decreased Profitability: The bettor can no longer place large bets, making their strategy less profitable.
• Ineffectiveness of Arbitrage Betting: Arbitrage bets require significant amounts to ensure noticeable profit. With reduced limits, this strategy becomes almost impossible.
• Inconvenience of Using the Account: The limits might be so low that it becomes pointless to place bets on that account.

Overall, limit reduction is a way for bookmakers to protect their business from bettors who are too successful or use methods that are disadvantageous to the bookmaker. For such bettors, this is a signal that they need to look for other strategies or move to other bookmakers.

Arbitrage betting can be successfully used in various sports, and there is no definitive answer to the question of the best sport for it. However, arbitrage opportunities (value bets and middles included) are often easier to find in sports with clear rules, stable odds, and high competition between bookmakers. Football, basketball, tennis, and baseball are often considered suitable for arbitrage betting due to their popularity and wide coverage by bookmakers. It's important to choose sports not based on what you like or know more about, but those that are better suited for arbitrage betting due to the nature of their markets and the behavior of odds. Here are some factors to consider when choosing a sport for arbitrage betting:

1. Popularity of the Sport

Advantages of popular sports: Sports with high popularity, such as football, tennis, basketball, and hockey, offer a large number of events and markets. This means more opportunities to find arbitrages, as well as greater competition among bookmakers, leading to more frequent discrepancies in odds.

Disadvantages of popular sports: Bookmakers often adjust odds more quickly in popular markets, making arbitrages less stable and requiring bettors to react quickly.

2. Volatility of Odds

Sports with high odds volatility: Sports like tennis and basketball often have significant fluctuations in odds, especially in live betting (in-play betting). This makes them an excellent choice for arbitrage betting, as the chances of finding arbitrage opportunities are higher.

Lower volatility: Sports with more stable odds, such as football, especially in popular markets, may offer fewer arbitrage opportunities, but the arbitrages found are often more stable.

3. Market Availability

Variety of markets: The more different markets offered in a sport (e.g., match result, totals, handicaps, goals, etc.), the more chances you have to find an arbitrage. Sports with many markets, like football and tennis, provide more opportunities for arbitrage betting.

Specific markets: In some sports, there are unique or less popular markets where arbitrages can be found due to bookmakers’ slower reaction to changes. For example, betting on games in tennis or individual totals in basketball.

4. Features of Tournaments and Matches

Frequency of matches: It is important to choose sports with regular tournaments and matches. For example, in tennis and football, matches take place almost daily, ensuring a constant flow of events to bet on.

Seasonal sports: Be cautious with sports that have a pronounced seasonal character. For instance, baseball and American football may offer many arbitrage opportunities during the season, but opportunities will be limited in the off-season.

5. Access to Information

Ease of access to data: It is important to have up-to-date information on the chosen sport, including team line-ups, statistics, and other critical data. This will help you make more informed decisions when selecting arbitrages and reduce risks.

6. Knowledge and Interest in the Sport

Personal interest and knowledge: If you have a good understanding of a particular sport and are interested in it, this can be a significant advantage. Deep knowledge will help you better assess the situation in the market and make more accurate decisions when engaging in arbitrage betting.

7. International and Regional Features

Local and international events: Pay attention to regional differences in the popularity of sports. For example, cricket can be an excellent choice for arbitrage in South Asian countries, while hockey may be more suitable in Northern European countries. Less globally popular sports may offer unique opportunities for arbitrage betting.

In bookmaker betting, the terms "lay" and "back" have a specific meaning. It is most often used on betting exchanges such as Betfair.

"Lay" means placing a bet against an event. In this case, you are betting that the event will not happen. This is different from traditional betting, where you bet that an event will happen. By choosing a "Lay" bet, you get the opportunity to act as a bookmaker, accepting bets from other players.

You can read more about these types of bets in the article on our website.

Arbs cannot be worse or better; they are found by the same scanner tools according to given algorithms.

But, as a rule, scanners reduce the functionality of free sure bets compared to paid sure bets.

For example,

• Delays in scan results of 15 minutes or more are quite common. Given that many forks disappear within 5-10 minutes of detection, you will therefore receive alerts for many forks that no longer exist.
• Limited rate of return on arbitrage. Arbs displayed for free are usually limited to profit margins of 1% or less. The most profitable sure bets are hidden, meaning that you can only bet on sure bets with a low return on investment.
• Limited number of bookmakers. While paid scanners will show you the odds of all bookmakers for a particular match, a free surebets program may just show you just a few of its choice.
• Restrictions on the type of bookmaker arbitration. In the free arbitrage bets search mode, middles and values are usually not displayed.
• Some scanners limit their free versions to just a few sports.

There are only two methods.

1. Manually. Long outdated. The lifetime of surebets in our time is sometimes tens of seconds, especially in Live mode (where you can get the most profit). Finding it all by hand is next to impossible.
2. With the help of specialized software (scanners). This is software that will find surebets instead of you. There are also modifications that will fill in the coupons for you, and sometimes place the bets. Of course, this is more risky (bookmaker can find out surebetting more easily), but also more profitable.

The profession of an anti-fraud analyst can be considered outdated. Now its work is almost completely performed by automatic systems.

What is the anti-fraud system doing? It identifies surebettors. Analyzes rates, their sizes, quantity. How many people won, how many lost, what sports and what leagues they bet on. It compares these data and finds the surebet. And betting on surebets, as you know, bookmakers do not welcome.

The work of an analyst in our time is reduced to intervention in cases where there is a suspicion of an error and it is required to check the data manually.

Let's go through all the monetary commissions that you will have to pay in order.

1. Your bank fee. For what exactly he will take a commission depends on the terms of your contract. This can be a percentage of the payment or a fixed amount. Sometimes a commission is charged for replenishing the account. The cash withdrawal fee also needs to be taken into account if you are going to cash out.
2. Payment systems commission. This is not the same as bank interest. Most often, when replenishing bookmakers or scanner accounts, third-party payment systems are used (for example, AnyPay or the well-known PayPal), but they do not work for free.
3. Commission (margin) of the bookmaker. The most implicit point, requiring a detailed explanation the size of a small book to fully understand. Here we simply state that the bookmaker takes his commission from each bet. Online, this amount is usually in the region of 3 to 10%.
4. Intermediary commission. If you buy accounts, you want to do it with a guarantee. And for the services of a guarantor or a reputable store, you will also have to pay extra. In this case, commissions sometimes reach inadequate amounts of 20%. But most often the percentage is less.
5. Commission when withdrawing money. Many bookies do not hesitate to ask you for a certain amount just for the fact that you want to take your hard-earned money.
6. Conversion commission. If you bet in dollars and then convert to euro, then you will be charged a percentage for converting from one currency to another.

Commissions for transfers are applicable to any cases: replenishment and withdrawal of money from the bookmaker, payment for scanner services or purchase of accounts (even from individuals). Again, the presence of a commission and its size depend on the conditions of your service at the bank and the use of additional services.

On mobile phones, it is technically possible to engage in arbitration - bet on surebets, value bets, middles. It is difficult to find a bookmaker who currently does not have a mobile app. Rather, you will find those who do not have a familiar site. But even offices without applications have convenient mobile versions of sites.

The advantage of playing on a mobile platform in a high level of concentration is that attention is not blurred. It is more difficult to make a mistake when analyzing and setting the required amount.

The disadvantage manifests itself when playing in more than 2-3 bookies: you need to constantly switch between applications. A long time the program is in the background often leads to the need to log in again, and this is a waste of time.

Also, large arbitrage services do not provide mobile applications for finding arbitration situations. But you can use bots directly on their sites from a mobile device, if such an option is provided.

This is the simplest version of the calculator and only calculates the result for two events.

Why do you need a calculator for 2 outcomes?

This tool may seem too simple and outdated. Arbs for two outcomes are extremely rare in the prematch these days. But he is still irreplaceable in two situations.

• For teaching beginner arbers. It is best to start with simple situations and with simple software, gradually complicating the task for yourself.
• When you need to place bets in the “Live” mode, where even now you can find many surebets with only two outcomes. Here it will be useful for both beginners and experienced specialists. The speed of work in this case is of decisive importance (coefficients in life change very quickly), and simplicity speeds up the process.

How does the 2-way calculator work?

It is enough to enter the odds for each event and the total amount that you plan to bet on the surebet. The calculator will calculate the bet amount for each leverage and the total profit.

Example:

The bookmakers give 1.9 odds for the victory of team A. Team B to win 3.5. In this case, the "draw" option is impossible. We enter these odds and the total bet amount of $ 100 into the calculator. We get the following values:

Required bet on team A - 64.81;
Bet on team B - 35.19;
The guaranteed profit is $ 23.15.

Which calculators to use?

We do not recommend using questionable calculator services. It will be very unpleasant when, at the most crucial moment, the site with the calculator "falls down" or the software starts to glitch. Such savings are not justified.

We have a lot of calculators on our site that are recommended for use. Most of them work in tandem with a single developer scanner, which further increases their value and reliability. Here is a list of reliable scanners that have a built-in calculator:

• BreakingBet;
• BetBurger;
• OddStorm.