The Week that Was

A slightly better week this week but still well down on what I’ve been able to make previously. With Horse Racing being the sole event I’ve been matched betting on, I’ve come to the conclusion that the possibilities of making $500+ a week are very low. Fortunately, the return of the NBA this week may return us to the glory days of huge profits.

Horse Racing

Unfortunately I was unable to nail a second place finish in Races 1 and 2 at Randwick and Caulfield as part of Ladbrokes’ promotion. This promotion of paying out for 1st and 2nd is our best way of making a large profit of $200+ on an individual race. The closest I got on Saturday was Sircconi in race 2 at Caulfield who went in favourite but finished 3rd. The strategy of which horse to back and lay here is something I’m still trying to work on. Do you back and lay the favourite and hope it gets pipped and comes second? Do you back and lay a big roughie, hope it comes an unlikely second which results in a huge payout? Or do you simply find the closest back and lay odds you can find?

Even without success in the Ladbrokes promotion, real money or bonus bet back promotions across a range of bookies still allow for reasonable profits to be made throughout the week. 

NBA

NBA begins on Wednesday with two games to kick off a huge season ahead. A number of bookies have already given us specials and promotions that we can take advantage of as matched bettors. Sportsbet for example will pay out once your team goes up by 14 with a max stake of $500. This gives us serious opportunities to make big money!

Let’s take tomorrow’s opening game between the Celtics and 76ers for example. Currently, with odds subject to change, $500 on the 76ers on Sportsbet would return $1360 with $900 on the Celtics on Beteasy returning $1,350. In this situation, if the 76ers go up 14 but the Celtics come back and win, you’d be looking at a profit of $1310 on one match alone! This is obviously the biggest stakes you could have and it’s certainly not something I’d recommend, nor would it likely be possible for people to put $1400 on a Basketball game.

How much you stake is up to what you can afford. It must be said that it will be very rare that these actually come off. With so many games on each day, you won’t necessarily be able to bet on every match. This is where some knowledge of basketball is handy in tipping which matches are more likely than others.

My Weekly Matched Betting Profits

My profits for the week ended up at exactly $245. Hopefully I’ll be able to report something better next week after a few days of NBA action. I will also be having a regular punt on handicaps, player performances etc. but please note, the results from these, good or bad, will not be included in my matched betting numbers that I provide you next week.