I have been actively involved in arbitrage betting for a month now on a part-time basis. After subscribing to an arb alert service I am just starting to make a profit. At first it seemed hopeless as most of the arbs seemed to dissapear before I could invest but with each arb it gets easier. I'm still unsure if I can make a living out of it as a big bank is probably required. I'm thinking if I can also focus on collecting the bookies bonuses I might be able to go full-time.
Its not easy arbing as I found out on the weekend. Stan James had Houston at $1.63 as opposed to other bookies posting at $1.20. Will Hill had Orlando at $4.25. So I staked:
$1300 @ $1.63 to return $2106
$400 @ $4.25 to return $1700
(Changing the stake to the favoured outcome)
invest for a $406 profit 23.88%
Rapt for 12 hours or so then wake up to an e-mail from Stan James to say that it was a bookmaker error and the bet was voided. Luckily they let me take their odds of $1.20 at half-time for a locked-in loss of $140. Damn!

Ok, sorry about the long post, what I originally set out to ask was if there are any other arbers out there who would like to share their experiences and any advise that they might have. Thanks, Nathan

Hi,
Interesting post, the one on this forum to advise you is Mark.

I shudder though when you say a bookie can just email you and basically say " I changed my mind on the odds " Scary Stuff, think I'll just stick to trying to jag winning nags.

Cheers

I only use Betfair, so if I can't get on with them, I don't get on. I have things set up so that I know exactly what my nett position is even before I place the bets. As for the bookie ringing later saying no bet, I'd be checking the fineprint, because that sort of thing is just not on.

i'm not sure if i'm crazy and everyone else is sane or i'm sane and everyone else is crazy ??????????

Tragic,

you're crazy, and so is everyone else.. :smile:

"There is a theory which states that if anyone figures out what the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced with something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."
- Douglas Adams

onya stebbo for comfirming i'm crazy for if i thought i was sane i'd surely go crazy.......

Actually if you read the fine print on most bookmakers sites they have a clause in there to void a bet if they have made a mistake posting the odds. In this case it would seem that they emailed Nathan prior to the start of the match so had he not read the email in time to get on at the reduced price he would have just been out of pocket $400. This is one of the reasons I am very wary of arb opportunities with different bookies - one loss like this could wipe out months of profits. (You can also easily get caught out by different cancellation rules on some sports).

Much easier to make a profit on sports by just backing the winner! :smile:

_________________
"Computers can do that????" - Homer Simpson

[ This Message was edited by: becareful on 2003-11-13 07:29 ]

Okay, I'm sorry guys. Please excuse my ignorance. What does Arbitrage mean??? I'd never heard of it until I came on here. I take it you mean simply using different prices from different bookies, so that you can back both teams and not lose? Is that right?


[ This Message was edited by: sportznut on 2003-11-13 08:55 ]

Sportznut

Arbitrage.n. 'traffic in bills of exchange or stocks to take advantage of different prices in other markets'.
When I first heard this term I had to look it up!, and thought big deal, I've been doing this for years without knowing what it was called.