Surebet – What is it?
What are surebets?
Surebet – a betting situation guaranteeing a profit for any outcome of the event. The essence of the surebet is to wager two bets on opposite outcomes at two different sportsbooks.
The surebet profit can reach 15% of the stake on a monthly basis and even higher, depending on the amount of funds invested, time spent, and other factors.
Surebets
How to make money with surebets
Making money with this strategy is not truble at all. You can certainly earn 5-15% from your bankroll (and even more) monthly. The key is to clearly understand the basics of the strategy. It works not only in soccer but also in other sports. Let's look at some real-life examples in order to grasp the concept.
Soccer surebet
For example, let's take a World Cup 2022 qualification match between the national teams of Uruguay and Colombia. One bookie set the odds at 2.1 for Uruguay to win, while another bookie set them at 2.02 for the opposite outcome - Colombia to win or draw. If we wager $500 for each of the outcomes, we are guaranteed to remain in the black.
At the same time, the amount of income will be quite fine as for a single bet ($50 and $10, respectively). You can also use our surebet calculator to help in distribution of the amounts for your income to be of approximately the same size on each outcome.
Hockey surebet
Let's take a look at the KHL regular season match between Barys Nur-Sultan and SKA. Surebets in hockey are most oftenly spotted at totals. In this clash, we are interested in Total Over / Total Under (4.5). One bookie set the odds at 1.85 for Total Over (4.5), while the other set 2.27 for Total Under (4.5).
| Bookmaker | Total under 4.5 | Total over 4.5 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.78 | 1.85 |
| 2 | 2.27 | 1.65 |
Both sportsbooks have included margin in their odds and are to make a profit regardless of the final result. For clarity, let's make a calculation:
BK2: L = 1 / 2.27 + 1 / 1.65 = 1,046
Anything over 1.0 is to be considered the bookie's earnings. In our case, the margin is 10.2 and 4.6 percent, respectively. When we bet on the aforementioned outcomes, we will outplay the bookmaker. Let's check this by substituting the numbers in the formula:
The final indicator (L) is <1.0, meaning there is an arbitrage situation. The lower it is, the more profitable the bet is.
We carried out a count with the help of a surebet calculator, and found that it is more beneficial for us to wager $551 on Total Over (4.5) and $449 on Total Under (4.5). With this distribution, our profit will be $ 19.35. and $ 19.23, respectively.
Reasons for surebet appearance
A surebet is a situation occurring due to discrepancies in the odds of specific bookmakers set for the opposite outcomes. This kind of situation may happen not only due to the carelessness of the analytic, but sometimes on purpose. Surebets usually appear for the following reasons:
- the bookie is trying to attract more bettors using the odds set too high;
- not all bookies have time to correct the changes in the betting line;
- huge amounts of bets on one of the outcomes are being wagered in a short period of time, entailing a sharp dip in odds.
Live and Prematch
There are two types of surebets - Prematch and Live. Prematch sure betting presupposes betting before the start of the event. A classic type of a bet, comprehensible even to newbies. The odds on in the prematch section are virtually stable (granted, there are no dropping odds). This kind of bet is to be wagered without delays on the part of the bookmaker, which is a key factor for using surebets.
Live mode means direct betting in the course of the match. The odds for the outcomes are constantly changing based on the situation on the field. This betting method is very similar to the Prematch one, but the odds change lightning fast.
However, many experienced bettors are increasingly turning to live surebets because of the more substantial profit and significantly exceeding number.
Sportsbooks and arbers
Sportsbooks have developed a rather negative attitude towards arbers since they are forced to lose their profits no matter the outcome. The bookie might apply sanctions to such gamblers, but they need to identify them first.
Almost all bookmakers use a single set of parameters in their search, and knowing them, you can safely avoid sanctions. To do this, you just need to comply with some specific rules:
- Round up your wagers, because $73.24 and suchlike may raise suspicion.
- Do not wager your entire bankroll on a single event.
- Avoid withdrawing funds after every successful transaction.
- Wager regular bets on popular events, alternating them with surebets (arbs).
- Do not fall for the most profitable surebets, they may be set as a trap.
- Wager your bets on one or two selected sports.
- Do not duplicate your bets.