Sure betting (also known as arbitrage betting) and value betting are two of the most popular ways bettors are making a profit from sports betting. The two vary a bit, but both offer effective ways to earn money in the long term. However, sure bets vs value bets is a question asked a lot, and we’re here to show you what they both can offer and help you decide which one is best for you.
Sure Bets vs Value Bets
When searching around for the best betting software to turn your bets into a profit, you’ll come across both sure bets and value bets. This is how betting software get ahead of the bookmaker by outsmarting the odds of a bookmaker, both in the short term and long term.
This can be done by finding miscalculated odds, covering each angle of an event to ensure a profit, and by keeping a close eye on the betting lines for any sudden changes.
Although these are two strategic methods to make money from sports betting, they differ greatly in strategy, the length of time it will take to make great profits, and the amount of time and energy you need to put in.
Sure Bets
Sure betting does what it says on the tin; you are certain to win a bet and make a profit. Of course, there’s more to it than that, otherwise, everyone would do it, and bookmakers would cease to exist. One of the main reasons everyone doesn’t do sure betting is the large funds you need to have to make a decent profit.
Sure betting is where you aim to find a situation where there is an inconsistency in the odds of a market across different bookmakers. This opens up the chance for a win, regardless of the outcome across that market.
So why are the odds different? The simple answer is competition between bookmakers in the race to get as many players on board as possible. There could also be a delay in the odds being updated, or simply an error from a bookmaker. As you would expect, the latter factor is a rarity, but some bookies are slower to react to a change.
Sure bets can come in the form of live betting during an event, or pre-match. Live betting arbitrages are harder to detect, as the odds are constantly changing during an event. Pre-match arbs, however, change slowly, and because of this, beginners are advised to start with pre-match arbs.
Value Bets
Value betting is slightly more complex than sure betting, primarily because of the mathematical approach and calculated risk. For this method of betting, you are not backing every market to ensure a winner, but instead it’s about taking advantage of overinflated odds that are higher than their true probability.
Ultimately, you aim to place bets that have a higher chance of winning than the bookmaker implies with its odds. You can do this by following what is known as ‘sharp’ and ‘soft’ bookmakers. Sharp bookmakers automatically adjust their odds when expert bettors have placed big bets on that market to reflect the actual probability, so there’s little room to react to the odds changing.
On the other hand, soft bookmakers won’t be as fast, and this is where the opportunity to capitalise on overpriced odds comes in. This will take a lot of time and energy, and a quick, mathematical response to the changing odds.
By comparing a wide range of bookmakers, you can also seek out value bets by looking out for a misjudged prediction, a bookmaker error, and the aforementioned slow response to altering odds.
With value bets, there are opportunities for live betting and pre-match betting. The aforementioned strategies to look out for are in play for both, but with live betting, being quick to react to the changing odds must be emphasised even more, as in-play odds change all the time.
When all is considered with sure bets vs value bets, one is ultimately more strategic, risky, and mathematical (value bets), while the other is merely about finding different odds with different bookies and covering all areas to ensure a win (sure bets).
Sure Bets vs Value Bets: What is Best for Me?
The answer to this question will be entirely unique to you. Whether or not you want to make long-term gains with a great profit or immediate gains at a lower profit, both sure betting and value betting offer strategic ways to make betting profitable.
There will be a few factors which must be considered when deciding between value bets and sure bets. Ultimately, this mainly points towards how much cash you are willing to bet with and how much time and energy you will put into either one of these two strategies.
It must be said that you may need more than just a few hundred to make sure betting profitable. You will need to place multiple bets across a few bookmakers and at different wagering prices, and just a bit of cash won’t give you much of a profit, although you can still see profits with £100–£200. However, experienced bettors who strategise with sure betting tend to have a bankroll of £1,000+ to make this worthwhile and doable.
Not just is a decent bankroll important, but the number of bookmakers you cover plays a factor too. In most cases, it’s the more the merrier, to keep your options open, spread out, and to analyse as many odds on a given market as possible.
However, essentially, sure betting only takes a minute or so to execute. It’s the hours around placing the bet and monitoring arbitrages where people often give up and don’t commit.
As alluded to, value betting can be easier to make a profit on, with regards to only needing a handful of bookmakers at your disposal and not as big of a bankroll when starting out. On the other hand, the risk is higher but with higher profits over time, if you can nail down the maths and timing.
When all is considered, summarise how much money you are willing to invest, as well as the time and energy you have to give. After this, having reviewed value betting and sure betting above, you can determine what is best for you.
