Handbook / 4 Your first arb

Step by step: from arb to two bets

Six steps from a row in the feed to two placed bets, on a real baseball total between Dexsport and Stake.

El Capone · six years doing arbs, runs support in the members chatUpdated 6 Nov 2026

Let’s go through a real example from Pulse: an arb on a baseball total, Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers, O/U 9.5, with the legs on Dexsport and Stake.

Pick an arb in the feed.

On Opportunities, find a suitable row. For the first time: pre-match, with a good amount of Age behind it (several minutes), on venues where you have an account and money. Click the row and the slip opens on the right.

Read the calculation.

Pulse has already done it all:

ROI: your profit, e.g. +0.46%.
Two legs: Dexsport · Under 9.5 · 1.970 and Stake · Over 9.5 · 2.050.
Stake split: how much on each, e.g. $127 and $123 with a $250 bankroll.
If outcome is: what you get either way. Both have to be positive.

Open both venues.

Each leg has an Open ↗ link that goes straight to the venue. Open both in separate tabs and find the same market: same match, same total, same side.

Check the odds.

Before you bet, make sure the price on the venue matches what Pulse shows. If it has already dropped, the arb may be gone.

Place both legs, fast.

Type in the calculated amounts and confirm on both venues. The main rule: do it quickly, and place the lagging bookmaker first.

Save to Portfolio.

Press Save to portfolio so the position is tracked and you see the real result and P&L later.

Which one is the lagging bookmaker?

Venues update their odds at different speeds. If you bet the fast one first, the slow one may not keep up and you’re left with one leg.

Open any live match and watch where the numbers move faster. Bet the other one, the slow one, first. While you wait for it to accept, pick the market on the second, faster venue and type in the amount. As soon as the lagging venue accepts your bet, place the second leg. This all comes with practice, you’ll know which venue is slower after a couple of days.

The most dangerous moment is when you’ve placed one leg and didn’t make the second (the price moved, the bet was rejected). Then you’re not in an arb, you’re in a normal bet with risk. What to do about it: Beginner mistakes.