Be a Winner with Sports Line Arbitrage

Most who engage in an occasional sports wager place a bet on one team or the other to win the game. Alternatively, some place other wagers like over/under and other more exotic proposition bets. The commonality of all these type bets is that they are attempting to predict an outcome. In the end, most of those who place these wagers end up losing money. This is partly attributable to the vig, but it is mostly due to the inability of the average bettor to outwit the oddsmakers in Las Vegas. The shrewd parties who create these lines have a specific purpose. Simply stated, it is to steer you into bets sure to send your hard earned money their way.

So, if it is impossible to outsmart the Vegas sports books, what are the alternatives? One would be to give up betting on sports events. A smart choice for some, others desire the Sunday excitement and are able to comfortably absorb any losses while viewing them as a cost of entertainment. If you are going to wager, then you owe it to yourself to do it intelligently. Contrarian betting is one option. Another is line arbitrage.

Line arbitrage sounds complex, but it is actually quite simple. It is a strategy available to all which synthetically allows you to wager that the odds makers are correct. Instead of betting on one team or another, you are able to wager that the line is close to right on. There are two variations of line arbitrage. The first is time arbitrage while the second is divergent line arbitrage.

Time arbitrage is characterized by betting both sides hoping to get advantageous lines each way. For example, let's say early in the week Team A is favored by 3.5 points over Team B. A time arbitrage play would most probably be to bet Team B taking the 3.5 points. Your hope is the line moves to 3 at some point allowing you to bet Team A laying the 3 at that time. If you accomplish this you are locked in with significant profit if Team A wins by three points. If not, you lose the vig on one side. A small price to pay compared to most normal bets.

Divergent line arbitrage requires several sports books. Let's say you are in Vegas for a weekend walking up and down the Las Vegas Strip. You see the above game at Casino X with a 3.5 line. You bet Team B taking the 3.5 points. Walking down to Casino Y you see they have the line at 3. You then bet Team A laying the three points at Casino Y. You now are in the same position as the above time arbitrage example. There are services online which now present the varying lines at both Las Vegas and online sports books. Many make substantial livings via line arbitrage. It is a little more work, but when the season is done and you see the results on your final figures you'll thank yourself for doing it.