In addition to the naturally occurring arbs mentioned in the last tutorial, we can also profit from artificial arbs that are created by promotions known as odds boosts.
There are a few different types of odds boosts that bookmakers offer:
1. Enhanced Prices
This is the type of odds boost that most people are familiar with, mainly because bookies love to let you know when they are offering them.
The concept is pretty simple. The bookie offers odds on a team/player/horse which are higher than the current market odds. Usually when they do this there will be a limit on the size of stake they will accept, and sometimes there will also be a limit on the number of bets they will accept at those odds.
In the example on the right, Ladbrokes boosted the odds on Winx to $2, with a maximum stake of $20. Winx was a huge favourite for the race, and most other bookies were offering $1.10-1.15.
If you had backed Winx for $20 at Ladbrokes, and laid $38.10 at Betfair at odds of 1.15, you would have been guaranteed to make $14.29 profit no matter what happened in the race.
2. Extra Profits
Another way that bookies can offer boosts is by adding an increased payout if the bet wins. The effect of this is exactly the same as offering an enhanced price, it is only the wording that is different.
Rather than offering $2 on Winx, bookies may offer ‘Double winnings if your team wins’ or ‘a 50% profit boost if your selection wins’.
It’s possible that the bookies choose that kind of language on purpose. When phrased like that, it is less obvious to the regular punter that it is possible to guarantee a profit. Fortunately, our ‘Extra Profit‘ calculator makes it easy to work out the lay stake you need to lock-in a return.
3. Boost Products
Most of the major bookmakers now offer some kind of boost product which a user can apply to an event of their choosing.
Each bookmaker has a unique name for it’s boost (Bet Boost, PowerPlay, SuperPick etc) but they all work in roughly the same way. The user adds their chosen selection to the betslip and then activates the boost to receive the enhanced odds.
Depending on the bookie, there may be restrictions on which sports the boost can be used on. There may also be a limit on the maximum stake or winnings, but often it is quite high.
For example, the TabTouch SuperPick has a maximum stake of $250. An experienced matched bettor, with a large Betfair balance, can use that to generate $30+ of guaranteed profit.
Most boost products can be used once per day, with extra boosts often being available on weekends.
A Word of Warning
Odds boosts are an easy way to top up your profits, but you should be aware that excessive use of them – particularly boost products – will increase your chances of being gubbed.
We recommend limiting your use of boost products on bookmakers that have other, more valuable, promos.
On the lower value bookies you can boost away and grab that cash.