5 Apr

How to Make a Profit with a Matched Betting System

In the world of gambling – online or otherwise – they say there is no such thing as a sure bet. There’s no way to guarantee a profit. While it’s true that the odds are rarely in your favor, and even the most certain outcome is susceptible to disaster (case in point, Super Bowl XLII), there is something called matched betting that, when applied properly, can eliminate risk and bring in a profit.

In order for this betting system to work, you’ll need to find two online sportsbooks that offer free bets, thus eliminating the risk. The rest is simple. Bet both sides of the same contest. One bet is going to win, and the other will lose. Either way, you’re going to make a profit.

Selecting the right matched betting opportunity isn’t all that easy, though. Many sportsbooks will post odds with a very thin middle ground. If you’re betting against a point spread, you have to make sure the spreads don’t contradict one another.

For instance, if one bet requires a team to win by +2.5, and the other requires the opposing team to lose by less than -3.5, there’s a one point differential that could result in the loss of both bets. If the game were to end 24-22, with the 24 score belonging to the +2.5, neither bet would win.

The spread must be equal, or curved into the bettor’s advantage, in order to guarantee the matched betting system is successful.

On rare occasions, you may actually find advantageous odds that make it possible to win both bets. It takes a great deal of time and research to seek out these infrequent opportunities, but that’s what traditional matched betting is all about. That’s also how professional match betting prognosticators make their money, by doing the all grunt work and charging a fee for it.

Unfortunately, when using your own money, unless the score ends perfectly to harvest a payout from both sides, you’ll be lucky to break even with this betting system. Live and online sportsbooks counter matched betting by charging a commission, or ‘juice’, on all winning bets. Therefore using real cash doesn’t guarantee the same profit as utilizing free bets.

Bonuses and Free Bets

Online betting sites are famous for awarding free bets to all new punters. Some are offered as incentive to sign up, without requiring an initial deposit, or you may have to fund your account for the first time in order to collect the free betting credits.

You’ll want to seek out two sportsbooks that offer comparable bonuses so that you can place equal wagers on each side of the game.

Whatever you do, make sure you read the fine print first. Free bets generally require a play-through of just 1x in order to collect the winnings, but once a deposit is made, you may have to wager through some of that before requesting a payout.

Also look into the rules pertaining to the types of bets you can use bonuses on. Some are more restrictive than others. As a general rule, betting both sides of the same match is not allowed with free bets, hence the necessary use of two online sportsbooks to make a profit with matched betting.