Matched betting - who's done it and who's good at it? (No Referrals)

[knowlton]

I believe he was indicating that he did both matched betting and got casino bonuses through playing black jack.

Tis less profitable now but essentially online casinos offer signup bonuses and you need to have bet over a certain amount in order to claim the bonus.

Blackjack is a game with only a small house edge when played using basic strategy (it varies according to the rules in place at the particular casino) - essentially if the bonus is larger than your expected loss would be in playing enough hands of blackjack to meet the withdrawal requirement then its a +ev proposition to try and meet the withdrawal requirement (assuming its a legit casino with proper RnG etc..).

You can obviously lose money whilst chasing an individual bonus (there is some variance) but as long as chasing each particular bonus is +ev then you should make money in the long run. Conversely you could end up being rather lucky making money from blackjack while attempting to meet a particular bonus requirement and then claiming the bonus too...

Thing is the amount you need to play to claim the bonus has increased a fair bit, some sites have stopped allowing blackjack for bonuses (you could try a low edge video poker variant). The time to do this was really 10 years ago though if you're a student and have some free time then I guess bonus bagging and matched betting might still be worth a shot.

The problem is that in the past it was mostly people who had an interest in gambling who'd spotted the opportunity to make money from bonuses who were doing it, then people discussed it on forums and later people wrote idiots guides to it etc.. you then end up with a whole bunch of people, most of whom would have never had the foresight to come up with anything like it themselves*, abusing bonuses at casinos etc.. obviously the free money decreased somewhat. Casinos want to use freebies for marketing but don't want to open the floodgates and start hemorrhaging money to a whole bunch of people mindlessly following a blackjack basic strategy card.

(*not that it required much tbh.. I'm pretty sure plenty of people around the world saw the opportunities to take advantage of casino bonuses back in the day...)

Wow, thanks for the very detailed description!!

I think you hit the nail on the head there - in the past, it was mostly people who had an interest in gambling which is probably why it has stayed that way. However I definitely think that bonus bagging is going to be a huge trend - like it was with moneysavingexpert - when that first started, only the super savvy, accountants, lawyers, IFAs knew what is the best way in which we should save our money, as well as our consumer rights.

Websites like Fixtheodds.com are obviously trying to tap into the market of people who aren't pros or gamblers - after all, you make a profit, they make profit since they get a commission at the betting exchange.

Having read what you've said about casino offers, it seems that there's definitely more bonus bagging opportunities out there. However I haven't seen any websites that offer similar 'idiots' systems' for casino offers yet...

I guess you're right - bookmakers can't be overly happy, however they're probably in some sort of hope that some people might end up putting in the odd bet anyway.. Also, the chances that you're going to lose at the bookmaker (so good for them), is equal to that as if you'd just gone to a bookie and placed a normal bet...

For the betting exchange - they couldn't care less! They take commission from any winnings...

 

[knowlton]

Signed up to fixtheodds today. I believe I understand the theory behind it all, but wanted to see how it did it automatically first.. and hell.. when ive run out of offers on there, i can go on to do it manually! Anyone had any good success with fixtheodds? I've only done 1 offer, and i am waiting til Wednesday for the match to be played and results to be drawn so i can get my free bet (as i can only get my free bet til after the results apparently) and see what happens from there. Was tempted to just crack on and get all the offers done though!

Yea, I've made around £400 now... The nice thing about Fixtheodds is that it's quick and easy so I just do it whilst I'm on lunch..

It's a nice idea and it's something I'm planning on doing as well.

 

[knowlton]

I hear everywhere that there is more money to be made in the manual method.. however it does take more time and involves a spreadsheet made of pure headache trying to keep track of things!

Completely agree - Also, I've done a bit of trawling on the MSE threads, and it would seem that those who do it manually, tend to make marginally more as they chose liabilities are far higher - some are putting hundreds on a £25 offer... It seems that Fixtheodds's initial suggestion is reasonable, however you can change it to matches with higher liabilities if you wish... (and hence, get a better return)

Another thing I should point out, according to the Telegraph article, if Fixtheodds gets it wrong they will apparently refund you... A pretty nice guarantee if you ask me..

So I guess the decision on whether to do it automatically or manually is a matter of time vs security vs profit vs how much you have in your bank account!!

 

[knowlton]

I caught onto Casino bagging at the end unfortunately, made about 3k from it. Moved onto free bingo sites, turned nearly 500 quid on those... and frm matched betting I was over 1k in the bank.

Problem I had was that when it was quiet, id look in my Betfair account and see a few hundred quid and think, might as well have a punt. Ended up betting on full time scores on games that had 10 mins or so left...... all on one Sunday I made about £500 going from game to game, then I remember this distinctly, lumped it all on Caen v Toulouse it was 1-0 and I bet on the game ending with less than 2.5 goals or something... would have made about £50 not much but worth it.

Anyway 2 goals in injury time ruined that, left me out of pocket and although it was 'winnings' as such, I actually felt sick and havent touched it since.

Might run the easy ones again though as ive a new address, new bank and a pot of cash doing zip.

Did you do this manually, or did you have an automated website?

 

[knowlton]

That was how it was at the start, but the bookies have caught on and you now have to "rollover" the bonus, which essentially means you have to make several more bets which cancel each other out, each time eating away at the bonus you get, before you can withdraw the cash. Ends up making every bonus more time-consuming and ultimately less profitable.

Essentially, yes - that is the case... But only if you do matched betting by hand as it's slightly more complicated and the calculations can be more complex.

If you do it automatically like I do, then it's far less hassle as it's based on a set process - it's literally follow the instructions and with draw..

 

[knowlton]

Does anyone know of any better sites offering to match your deposit for new accounts?

If you're looking to matched bet manually, then try comparethebookie.com where they have a fairly comprehensive list..

If you're doing it automatically, then you'll see the list under 'new offers'

 

[knowlton]

I done this - just ensure you have a decent sized float and then you can hit the bigger bonuses. Made £800 from it, before it started to get to the piddly amounts and got fed up with doing it. Make sure you read the T&Cs of any new sign up bonus before you do it, to check for turnover requirements, minimum odds etc.

The MSE forum, spreadsheets etc are great tools to help.

The approach I've taken has always been 're-invest' your profits..

I started off with a £50 float - then I used the profit from that float to 're-invest' and do the next offer, etc. It does take longer, however it does mean that I don't have large amounts of money absent from my bank account..

I think you're right - it seems like tens of thousands could be made once upon a time, but sadly either the offers have shrunk, or bookmakers are making their offers more complicated for people to do by hand.. though it doesn't make a difference to me as I do mine automatically

 

[knowlton]

For those who are using Fixtheodds..

Logged on earlier, and wow - it has drastically changed! It's now a lot simpler and neater than before...

But the main thing that has got me excited, is that they have a refer a friend scheme which is a no brainer - make money by matched betting, tell your friends, become a hero to your friends and FTO gives you a tenner in cash!

It's obviously not that straightforward - it's a two step process:

- You matched bet as normal and once your lay bets with Betfair have reached £75 or over, the refer a friend function activates
- You refer a friend and once they've hit the £75, you will get £10 in cash..

But since it took me 3 bets to reach that £75, it's definitely a nice additional earner!

 

[knowlton]

OK, I've made my first referral to test out this system.. I have my dad doing it (i.e. me on behalf of him), so it shouldn't take long to see how this works.

 

[knowlton]

Doesn't it work on the Betfair referral basis? I.e. you are referring your dad, through fixtheodds, to betfair, and gaining £10.

However, you can just refer your dad straight away to betfair, and when he signs up with your referrel code... you both get £25!

If anyone is planning on signing up at betfair.. do use my code and we can both enjoy an extra £25 free to play with 64YY44Q7T

Ha! Very cheeky!

Are there any bonuses with that though? On this, I think I got a free bonus on the Betfair side, although it's been a while ago...

 

[knowlton]

If you are a degenerate like this example, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT STARTING MATCHED BETTING.

+1 Agreed. Gambling is for mugs. Matched betting is for smart people.

 

[knowlton]

How often are you getting existing member offers knowlton? Or not so much now the football season is over here.

Reload offers? Not so much now - as you say, since the footie season is over.

There are still plenty of UK bookies with offers - however I've recently been trying my hand at Euro offers, which seems to have a healthy stream of offers. Exactly the same process except the currency (and you have to set up a new Betfair account).

The reload offers that I did receive tended to be for specific, big matches like Chelsea vs Man U. They were great and you could get a matched bet built for you. They made a nice £18-£23 here and there.

 

[knowlton]

Is it a case of just tedious maths? Not highly complex maths?

Erm, it's a bit of both really.. It's more about the understanding of favourable odds and spending the time to actually find matches with those odds, and having the knowledge to apply the appropriate maths to work out the best range (since there are variants such as stake not returned, returned, rollovers, etc)...

That's one of the problems with doing it manually, as it can take a lot of time hence why I've chosen to do it automatically.

 

[knowlton]

Huh??

 

[knowlton]

OK, I've made my first referral to test out this system.. I have my dad doing it (i.e. me on behalf of him), so it shouldn't take long to see how this works.

OK, just to confirm, I have just received an email from FTO to say that my referral has been validated and that I will be receiving £10 very soon!!

Pretty generous referral if you ask me!

 

[knowlton]

TSR?

Oohhhh, I'm afraid Sony's not me!

 

[knowlton]

Ha interesting, you have been making some very similar posts to a user over there at roughly the same times too.

Aha, I can see what you mean!!

If you're referring to the referral thing - it's not surprising since they launched it on the same day. I think you'll find that most people who used it before it revamped would have already met the £75 qualifier for the referral scheme and therefore did it at roughly the same time since they started publicising it on email.

And anyway - I'm no longer a student! Although I have found out that I had more disposable income when I was a student...

 

[knowlton]

Is it worth waiting a couple of months until the football starts again properly?

I've read a few thigns saying it's easier that way but have no idea how true that is

I agree, although there are international leagues at moment, so there are still offers that you can take advantage of..

 

[knowlton]

If I had just started now I think I would find it quite a bit harder due to the limited range of markets, but currently I'm using horses... although a bit risky as the odds change very very quickly and I wouldn't recommend them to someone new.

You could start doing some small offers now, just take it slowly until the football season starts again.

Agreed, that's a nice way to do it (i.e. start with small offers and ramp it up when the footie season returns). At least that will give you some footing so that you can take advantage of offers quickly when it returns.

Very true about horses, and I agree - definitely not something that should be done by amateurs - especially if you're doing in-game as well..

In theory, matched betting should be based on maths as opposed to odds that you're getting anyway - whilst it does matter if you're gambling, since we're not, it shouldn't really matter...

 

[knowlton]

How are people getting on? I might get ready for the start of the new season.

To be honest, I've been a bit lazy lately and since my last post, I haven't don any offers..

On the other hand, I've been referring my Facebook friends to Fixtheodds to try and make some money with a referral fee instead, from which I received my first cheque last week.

I tried a similar thing with LoveFilm to get my Nintendo Wii, and it took a lot of effort trying to convince people to take out a free trial.. However this has been a slightly easier sell as it's free and people actually make money..

But yes - like you, I'm definitely going to try again to try and capitalise on more matches and perhaps do some of the Euro currency offers once I've exhausted the UK ones...