Beginner mistakes

The most common and the most painful. You bet on Dexsport, go to Stake, and the price has moved, there’s no arb. Now you have a normal bet that can lose. How to avoid it: start with pre-match (more time there), keep both tabs open in advance, type the amounts and confirm almost at the same time.

Options: hedge straight away at a small loss, or sell the bet if the venue allows it. What you don’t do is leave it and root for the result. That isn’t arbitrage any more, it’s gambling. Remember: you only make money at this once you treat it as proper work, with its losses and its profits.

Pulse showed 2.050, the site already says 1.95. Bet blind and there’s no arb. How to avoid it: always check the price on the venue itself before confirming.

Different odds need different amounts. Even means a loss on one of the outcomes. How to avoid it: bet exactly what Stake split shows.

You see the arb, and Stake is empty, the deposit takes 20 minutes. Train’s gone. How to avoid it: the money has to be on every venue in advance, see Before you start.

Bet Over instead of Under, or the wrong total (9.5 instead of 8.5). The legs don’t cover each other, they’re two independent bets. How to avoid it: check the match, the market and the side on both venues. They must be strictly opposite on the same event.

At the start take arbs with some room, so a small price move doesn’t eat the whole profit.

First learn to find the markets you need on every venue quickly.

Without them you don’t know what works and what doesn’t. Save every arb to Portfolio.

Some bookmakers cut limits or close accounts of people who win consistently. That’s a big topic of its own: Limits and restrictions.