matched betting risk free

MATCHED BETTING – IS IT REALLY RISK FREE?

The simple answer to this question is yes. Matched betting is a risk free way to make a considerable amount of extra money, month after month.

However, a couple of people have been in touch with me recently to query this. They’ve been confused by references to casino wins and risky bets whilst researching what matched betting is.

I can understand their confusion. A quick google search will throw up lots of people sharing their big casino wins and how they won free bets.

So, to dispel the confusion, this post explains just what is and isn’t risky about matched betting.

MISTAKES – THE BIGGEST RISK

Matched betting involves you using your own money to place bets against each other. Whilst matched betting services like Profit Accumulator will tell you exactly what you need to do, there’s always scope for human error.

I made a few mistakes when I started out. I didn’t lose too much money. In fact, some of the mistakes actually made me money. However, it’s a gut wrenching feeling when you do make a mistake. So I compiled a guide to the most common types of mistakes you can make when doing matched betting. Make sure you read this to know what types of mistakes to look out for.

RISK FREE MATCHED BETTING

Matched betting works by placing bets against each other out. You don’t lose any money when placing any qualifying bets because you will always get your money back. And, as you also use free bets given to you by bookmakers, you end up being able to keep this money.

By far the majority of all matched betting offers follow this process. And they are therefore completely risk free.

This includes all of the bookmaker sign up offers. There are more than 50 introductory offers listed on Profit Accumulator, worth over £2000. So there’s a lot of risk-free money to be made simply by signing up to different bookies.

As you carry on matched betting, you’ll move on to reload offers. Most of these offers follow exactly the same process and are risk free too.

The Profit Accumulator forum has dedicated threads to help you make £1000 per month (£300 if you also work full-time) from the reload offers. These threads list only risk-free offers.

riskier matched betting reload offers

If you’ve seen my guide to reload offers, you’ll be aware there are lots of different types of ongoing matched betting offers.

Most of these are risk-free. However, there are some riskier offers.

These are offers where you place your qualifying bets (both at the bookmakers and the exchange) but the free bet is dependent on a certain outcome. If that outcome doesn’t materialise then you won’t receive a free bet. If this happens, then you will lose your qualifying loss. However, these losses tend only to be very small amounts of money (about 10% of the bet you place as a maximum).

If you want to participate in these offers you should consider what the qualifying loss is likely to be and whether it is worth taking the risk in losing this amount of money.

In many circumstances it is also possible to mitigate against any qualifying losses:

  • if a free bet is dependent on a horse winning a race, you can overlay the amount of money you place at the betting exchange to ensure your qualifying losses are negligible. This means you will lose more initially if the horse wins but some of the free bet will cover this. If the horse loses, then you will lose nothing. Profit Accumulator’s calculator will help you select the amount you need to overlay when you put it into advanced mode.
  • You can choose to lock in a profit on accumulator offers, regardless of whether there is only one loser.
  • In some circumstances you can also lay against the refund event. For example, some football refunds might be dependent on a goalless draw. In these circumstances, you can often lay against the draw as well in order to guarantee you make money from these offers. This is known as locking in profit. You won’t make a great deal of money this way, but it ensures you will always make some money rather than leaving the refund to chance.

CASINO OFFERS

The other type of riskier offers are casino offers. Again, though, these aren’t always risky. In many instances, online casinos will give away free spins and bonuses. I’ve made a few hundred pounds this way.

But there are also some riskier offers, where you might have to wager through a certain amount of money in the casino in order to receive a free bet or bonus.

I’ve compiled a guide to help you get to grips with casino offers.

It’s important you decide how much you are willing to risk before attempting the riskier offers. I’m naturally more risk averse. So I only tend to risk a maximum of £20-£25 at any time. And, even then, I’ll only take the risk if I’m having a good month matched betting.

Many people are prepared to take bigger risks than me and will often make more money than me. They look at the whole picture and consider these small risks worth taking in the grander scheme of how much money they’ve made matched betting. I can understand this view point. However, I am reliant on the money I make matched betting each month. Hence my more cautious approach!

I hope you find this post useful. If you have any other questions about matched betting you can always take a look at my frequently asked questions. If there’s something you’re still unsure about then please do get in touch. You can email me (info@matchedbettingmum.com) or contact me via Twitter or Facebook.

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Matched Betting Mum guide accumulator bets Profit Accumulator

MATCHED BETTING ACCUMULATOR OFFERS

TOP UP YOUR EARNINGS WITH ACCUMULATOR OFFERS

Once you start matched betting, it won’t take long to find references to accumulators or, as they’re most commonly referred to, accas. And they can be quite alluring…a certain way to make around an extra £500 per month for many people who do matched betting!

Accumulators are an essential part of my matched betting earnings

This is an advanced matched betting technique. So I wouldn’t recommend starting these until you complete most of the introductory offers. And, even then, the biggest two pieces of advice I can give are to take it slowly and make sure you use the masses of training and tools Profit Accumulator has to help.

WHAT IS AN ACCUMULATOR?

Put simply, an accumulator is a type of bet where you bet on at least two different events. You might hear them referred to as a 4-fold or 5-fold bets as well. This simply refers to the number of different events you bet on. The odds for each event are multiplied together. You only win the bet if all of your selections win.

Accumulators can be placed on any type of sporting events but football accumulators tend to be the most lucrative for matched bettors.

A plus point in placing these types of bets is that love they will look very favourable on your bookmaker accounts. This will help you avoid any dreaded gubbings which prevent you taking advantage of future offers.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE MONEY FROM ACCUMULATORS?

Most bookmakers will offer a refund if only one leg from an accumulator loses. These offers are mainly associated with the major European football leagues. But there are also offers for other sporting events, such as tennis and american sports.

You can make a profit by choosing matches taking place at different times, and laying off each leg of the accumulator sequentially as it progresses. You make money in the hope that one leg will lose and you receive a free bet. There is of course no guarantee that there will only be one loser. This means accumulator offers can be more risky than most matched betting offers. If there are no losers or more than one loser, then you will lose your qualifying loss.

For the risk averse, you can choose to lock in a profit on each accumulator instead. In my experience, this will normally return between 10-20% of the value of the bet you place. So, although you don’t get the larger amounts from free bets, this mitigates any losses and you will always make money.

And more experienced matched bettors will often underlay some of the legs to up their overall profit. However, this is only for very experienced people and is very risky (you could end up losing more money with this approach).

THE MORE BETS YOU PLACE THE MORE MONEY YOU MAKE

The secret to making money from accumulators is volume…you can always have several accumulators running at the same time. So the money you make from them can add up very quickly.

Clearly, there won’t be only one loser every time you place an accumulator. The amount you can make from locking in profit also seems quite minimal (for example, £5 from a £25 qualifying bet). However, the secret to making money from accumulators is volume.

With so many matches and leagues available to bet on, and so many bookmakers offering refunds, you can always have several accumulators running at the same time. So the money you make from them adds up very quickly. Most experienced matched betters make a significant chunk of their monthly income this way.

PROFIT ACCUMULATOR TRAINING & SOFTWARE

It can be a little daunting and confusing when you first start completing accumulator offers. This is one of the many reasons I recommend joining a matched betting site like Profit Accumulator.

As with all the other offers listed on their site, Profit Accumulator has comprehensive training available about accumulators. In addition to a thorough video, there is a lot of written guidance and a dedicated section of the forum to discuss any queries you may have.

In addition, Profit Accumulator has industry-leading software to help you find these bets and makes all of the required calculations. This software – Acca Catcher – is included in both the monthly and annual membership packages for Profit Accumulator. It searches through thousands of different combinations of accumulators to show you which offer the best value. It sets out how much money you are likely to make using the different methods available and will also automatically calculate how much each lay bet needs to be. This software really does make very light work of finding and placing accumulator bets. This is particularly important since volume is key when it comes to making more serious amounts of money from these offers.

If you’re not a Profit Accumulator member, don’t worry! You can still get access to Acca Catcher for £15.99 per month. This is ideal for someone who searches for most matched betting offers themselves, but would benefit from the speed at which Acca Catcher finds matches for these more complicated types of bets.

HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I MAKE?

Accumulators are an essential part of my matched betting earnings, netting me about £100 per month. You can see the breakdown of my monthly matched betting earnings in my diary series.

If you want to earn around £500 per month from these types of bets alone then you will need some time to dedicate to this. The reason my earnings are lower is because I am not always available at the weekends to lay off different stages. And I find I am more likely to make mistakes – and lose money – if I try and do these types of bets while I’m out and about.

Those earning  around £500 per month will often place around 10-15 accumulator bets per week. In comparison, I’m lucky if I’m able to place about 10 accumulator bets every month! So, while I’d recommend you getting involved in these types of reload offers, you need to be aware you will need additional time to make and monitor all of these types of bets.

TOP TIPS

If you’re interested in placing accumulators to top up your matched betting income then here are my top tips to help you get started:

  • Do a few dummy runs first of all. As there is a break from the football season at the moment, this is the perfect time to try out a few mock accumulator bets. Acca Catcher will still find some suitable bets (although as they are obscure teams and leagues I wouldn’t recommend doing any accas at the moment). Check the progress of each stage and pretend to lay the bets off, updating the information as the acca progresses. This will give you a good idea about what is involved and the amount of money you might be able to make.
  • Take it slowly at first. Start with just one accumulator and build up your stakes slowly for each bookmaker you plan to use. For example, the maximum refund that William Hill offers is £50. However, if you suddenly start placing lots of £50 accumulators, this is likely to flag your account. So start by placing £20 bets, slowly building up to the higher amounts.
  • Make sure you have sufficient money in your betting exchange accounts to cover the lay bets you need to make. Acca Catcher will show you the liability required for each stage of the accumulator.

PITFALLS TO AVOID

Although I have made good amounts of profit from accumulators, I have also been stung. Avoid these common pitfalls:

  • Make sure you leave enough time between each leg of an accumulator to place your lay bets. I would avoid placing any bets where there is less than 2 hours between each game.
  • Make sure you are available to lay off each bet. When you’re out and about it is much more tricky trying to check the amounts and place each lay bet. I now avoid placing these bets if they involve me being away from the laptop or a reliable internet connection.
  • Remember to lay off each leg. This may sound obvious but this is one of the most common mistakes that I’ve made. I use the calendar on my phone to remind me to lay off each stage.
  • Be aware that the lay odds may drift. Most commonly, the lay odds will be lower than when you initially placed the accumulator. However, they can also drift the other way, which will hit your profit. While you can’t prevent this,
  • Try and avoid betting on too many favourite teams playing away from home as part of your accumulator. I’m no football expert but, from my experience, this is when they are more likely to lose.

SUMMARY

In conclusion, accumulators are a great way of topping up your matched betting income every month. It’s taken me a while to find my feet but, now that I have, they are a core part of my monthly earnings. I am limited by the fact I don’t have a lot of time to find and place these bets. However, now that I have built up my experience, I plan to be bolder and up my income by placing more of these types of bets as soon as the new football season starts.

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Profit Accumulator reload offers matched betting mum

Matched Betting Reload Offers

CARRY ON MAKING MONEY MATCHED BETTING – RELOAD OFFERS

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll have seen me mention reload offers before. My introduction to matched betting shows there are more than £2000 worth of sign up offers to work through when you first sign up to Profit Accumulator. But if you’re like me, you’ll want to sustain an extra income from matched betting for as long as possible. Reload offers make that possible.

These are the main types of reload offers you will come across. Some offers will be available most weeks. Lots of offers are seasonal, linked to major sporting events through the year. At the moment, for example, there’s a lot of excitement about the Cheltenham Festival in March, which is notorious as an opportunity to make extra money! And other offers will depend on just how keen a bookie is to attract – or keep – your business.

Some offers can be cumbersome and time consuming. Others might require you to build up a betting profile before you start tackling them. For example, you might want to use an offer attached to a greyhound race. If so, it would be wise to place a few extra mug bets on greyhound races if you have never bet on this type of sport before.

MAKE £1000 PER MONTH RISK-FREE

But don’t let this put you off. Once you’re used to doing reload offers it’s possible to earn £1000 per month simply from the risk free reload offers. The Profit Accumulator forum even tells you which offers to do to make this money. The only thing that holds me back from making this much is the fact I can only spare 6 hours a week. I’m not always around when the offers are available.

I recommend you try as many offers as you can. Don’t let the seemingly low value of the offers hold you back. Most offers take 5 minutes to complete and those £5 free bets really do add up very quickly. And if you are ever confused or unsure about what to do then you should consult the forum if you’re a member of Profit Accumulator. Alternatively, ask me any questions you have by leaving me a comment or contacting me via Facebook or Twitter.

RELOAD OFFERS

STANDARD MATCHED BETTING OFFERS

By these, I mean the bread and butter type of offer where you place a qualifying bet and receive a free bet in return. These types of offers are available periodically from all of the major bookmakers, often linked to a big match or sporting event.

PRICE BOOSTS

Bookmakers often offer enhanced odds on certain sporting events. When these odds are higher than the lay odds at a betting exchange, you can make an instant profit simply by placing both the back and lay bets. I should stress these are special offers which are different to arbs. Arbs are where the bookmakers inadvertently have their odds higher than the lay odds. If you place a bet on an arb you can expect your account to be closed down or limited very quickly. Instead, most bookmakers have special sections of their websites dedicated to offering enhanced odds on different events.

I make roughly £1-£3 from each price boost I do. On the face of it, this doesn’t seem like a lot of money. But, my matched betting diaries show that I make an average of £100 per month via these offers. This is a great return considering how quick and easy these offers are to complete.

IN-PLAY OFFERS

Many of the reload offers are linked to placing bets whilst a match is underway. For example, bet £10 on one football match in-play and receive a free bet for another match in-play. It can be harder to find matches between the back and lay odds and the odds can also fluctuate quickly when placing in-play bets. But if you stick to placing the bets during a break in the match or game, for example at half time, you can still make some fairly decent money from these offers.

OUTRIGHT OFFERS

These are bets associated with backing a certain team or player to win a competition, for example the top Premier League Goalscorer or winning team in a football competition. This will tie your money up for the duration of that competition. But these offers can be quite profitable because you will get free bets every time the team or player scores a goal. So if you can set aside the money needed to cover both the qualifying bet and the liability of the lay bet, then these offers are definitely worth taking up.

FREE BETS FOR GOALS SCORED

A number of bookmakers will, from time to time, offer you free bets for each goal the team you back scores in a match. These offers aren’t risk free – if the team doesn’t score then you don’t get a free bet. However, for a small qualifying loss, these offers are definitely worth a punt. And so far, I’ve got free bets from every offer I’ve taken part in.

ACCUMULATORS

An accumulator is when you choose multiple selections and place a bet on them all winning. These are a bit more time consuming. Firstly, you need to find a number of bets taking place at different times where the back and lay odds are closely matched. You then need to place lay bets as each game in the accumulator takes place. Profit Accumulator has various calculators and spreadsheets available to help you with these types of bets. It also recently introduced Acca Catcher to help find suitable bets and make it easier to work out the calculations involved.

You can make money from these offers in different ways. Many bookmakers offer free bets in return for placing an accumulator with them. Others will offer a free bet if one of the legs in the accumulator loses.

FOOTBALL REFUNDS AND EXTRA WINNINGS

Refund offfers are attached to most football matches. These will give you a refund as a free bet or extra winnings if certain eventualities occur. The most common types of offer include:

  • extra winnings if the crossbar gets hit during the game;
  • a refund on certain types of bets if the game result is 0-0;
  • a refund if you lose your bet in the closing few minutes of a game; and
  • double winnings if the team you back wins both halves;

Of course, there’s no guarantee that any of these eventualities will occur. But I often take part in these offers if there is only a small qualifying loss.

HORSE RACING REFUNDS

These offers can be very profitable. But there are no guarantees you will make money from them. Most bookies offer refunds on certain horse races if you finish second to the favourite or back a winner at high odds.

FREE BET CLUBS

Many bookmakers will offer you a free bet every week if you place bets regularly with them.

LOCK-INS

A lock-in is where you can guarantee to make money regardless of the match result. So, if you are reliant on a team winning to give you a free bet, you can sometimes use advanced calculators to ensure you make money even if the team loses. There are various different combinations of offers which will allow you to make money. I don’t always do these offers. Nevertheless, I rely on the Profit Accumulator forum to let me know when a lock-in is available.

SPORT AND CASINO OFFERS

Many bookmakers combine offers from their sportsbook and casino pages. So you might get free spins in return for placing a bet or for each goal scored. Similarly, you might receive a free bet if you wager a certain amount of money in the casino. There are no guarantees with these types of offers. If I’m having a good month then I will often try them out. I’m yet to hit a big win though!

INVITE ONLY

Invite only offers, usually sent to you via text message or email, can be very lucrative. In the last month, I received £150 worth of free bets.

It’s important to make sure you tick the box allowing the bookmaker to send you details of their special offers. The numbers of texts and emails you’ll receive is annoying. But it doesn’t take long to take a quick look at each offer to see if it’s worthwhile and delete the messages that aren’t relevant. Keep checking your emails. If you receive a free bet, you’ll soon forget the irritation.

EACH-WAY EXTRA PLACE OFFERS

There are two main ways to bet on horse racing – the win market and the place market. These offers are related to the place market and when you place an each way bet. This market pays out if the horse you back finishes in any set number of positions, for example the top 3 or top 4 places.

 

Occasionally bookmakers will offer to pay out on extra places, paying out for example on the top 5 places instead of the top 4. In these cases, the exchange lay market will normally cover a fewer number of places, in this case the top 4.

You can make money if a horse you back finishes in that extra pace because both your back bet and lay bet will win.

USING A MATCHED BETTING SERVICE

I hope you find this guide to the different types of reload offers helpful. It can take some time to get your head around the different types of offers available and how to complete them. I don’t have time to do this all myself, which is why I pay a matched betting service to do this for me. Regular readers will know I use Profit Accumulator. Ultimately, this gives me more time to spend with my children and less time matched betting. They do all the hard work analysing the terms and conditions, searching for offers and telling you how to do all of the different offers step by step.

I’ve done a full review of their service and highly recommend them. If you haven’t yet taken the plunge with matched betting, remember they offer a free trial where you can easily make £35-£40 simply giving matched betting a try.

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Matched betting mum diary earnings

Monthly Matched Betting Diaries…9 Months On

Those of you who follow this blog will know that I regularly update my matched betting diaries to show how much money I’m making from matched betting. This is the latest instalment covering my matched betting earnings in February 2017.

The purpose of these updates is to show just how much it’s possible to earn from matched betting in your spare time. I’m a full time mum of two. It goes without saying that life is pretty hectic. On a good week I can normally spare about 6 hours for matched betting. But this isn’t always the case, sometimes it’s a lot less! Yet I make about £500 per month matched betting. By sharing how I can do it, I hope to convince people that anyone can do matched betting. With the support of Profit Accumulator, it’s possible to make money long-term from matched betting.

I make about £500 per month matched betting. By sharing how I can do it, I hope to convince people that anyone can do matched betting.

Busy Busy Busy

The trail end of Winter has brought lots of bugs into the household and we’ve all been suffering with various ailments. My youngest, 18-month-old Oliver, really has taken the full brunt of it all, meaning he was a very clingy and demanding little baby for most of the month. It was also half-term and I had a weekend away planned. Thrown into the mix was also the small matter of planning Lily’s 5th birthday party – with 25 excited 4 & 5-year-olds! So it goes without saying it’s been a busy month!

Matched betting necessarily had a to take a bit of a backseat this month. That’s why I’m amazed to have made the most money I have since last October. Admittedly, this was helped by me getting lucky on a few different casino offers this month. I also had one final sign up offer to complete. I’d been putting it off for a few months because it had a large rollover attached to it, meaning my money would be tied up for a while. So it was time to bite the bullet and tackle it this month!

MATCHED BETTING EARNINGS

FEBRUARY 2017 – £614.68

  • The total amount I made matched betting in February 2017 was £614.68.

When I started matched betting my aim was to make roughly £500 per month. While I’ve beaten that target this month this isn’t always possible. Yet I’m still on track to make this much over the course of my first year matched betting.

Given I was so busy and it was also a short month, it was difficult to find time for matched betting. So, again, I probably spent about 4 hours per week matched betting on average. It’s amazing to have earned more than £600 for 16 hours’ work. That works out to almost £40 per hour this month! It’s great that I can make this money at home, at times that suit me and my children.

It’s great that I can make this money at home, at times that suit me and my children

MATCHED BETTING EARNINGS TO DATE – £5279.29

So, in the eight months I’ve now been doing matched betting I have made an impressive £5279.29. If you want to learn more about how and when I made this money take a look at my previous earnings reports:

WHICH MATCHED BETTING OFFERS DID I COMPLETE?

So how did I make that money? Here’s a breakdown of the different types of offers I got involved in through February 2017:

BET X, AND GET A FREE BET: £388.36

  • These are the bread and butter matched betting offers where you bet a certain amount and get a free bet.
  • Profit Accumulator list all of the reload offers you can continue to get involved in long after completing the bookmaker sign up offers. Most of my earnings come from checking this list most days.
  • It’s also worth checking back to the sign up offers listed on Profit Accumulator every month or so. As I mentioned above, I had one final signup offer to complete which I’d been putting off because there was a large rollover attached should the qualifying and/or free bet win into the bookmaker account. But I bit the bullet this month and was still able to make a large chunk of money.
  • Some bookmakers change their introductory offers quite often. So I also found a new bookmaker listed this month. I was lucky that this bookie offered some free spins when you signed up to them. I’ve never had any luck with free spins previously but ended up in profit from these, which was very helpful!

CASINO OFFERS: £210.79

  • If you’ve not yet completed any casino offers, my introductory guide is worth a read.
  • Not all casino offers are risk-free. Regular readers will know that I’ve avoided casino offers since losing a little bit of money a while ago.
  • However, Profit Accumulator crunch the numbers and offer advice about the amount of money you are likely to make and how to approach the offers. There seemed to be a lot of casino offers available this month. So I decided it was time to attempt some of these once again.
  • I never put more than £25 of my own money at risk. And, to be honest, I’ll normally only risk this much if I’m having a good month matched betting. My luck was in this month. While I’ve never had an elusive ‘big win’, I did manage to bank some good chunks of money in each of the offers I attempted. I wasn’t always lucky but, still, I’m very happy to have made more than £200 from these in one month alone.
  • My advice is to think carefully about the amount of money you are prepared to risk and have a go. But always follow Profit Accumulator’s advice and never ever be tempted to try and win back any money you lose by having another go!

ACCUMULATOR REFUNDS: -£2.72

  • These are offers where you get a free bet if one leg of an accumulator – where you bet on a few different results as part of the same bet – loses.
  • I started off the month with good intentions to get more accumulator bets under my belt. However, during my first weekend, most of the supposed favourites suffered surprising defeats. This meant all of my accumulators had more than one losing team. This meant there was no possibility of a refund and I lost all of my qualifying losses, amounting to £30.
  • After this, I was weary of completing accumulators. Furthermore my weekends were also very busy this month – and you normally need to be free at various points of the weekend to place your lay bets. So I didn’t get much of a chance to recoup my costs.
  • I aim to get more involved this month and will be publishing my introductory guide to these types of bets too.

PRICE BOOSTS: £26.18

  • I like completing price boosts because they are a quick way to make money instantly. The amount of money you can make from enhanced prices can seem very small (only a few pounds at a time, if you are lucky). But as it’s so quick to place the bets this is a very efficient way of making money. And the amount of money you can make adds up very quickly.

MUG BETS: -£9.13

  • I should perhaps have placed more mug bets this month. When you rely on reload offers for your matched betting income it’s important to look after your accounts to still be able to take advantage of offers. This is something I need to improve on to look like more of a normal betting customer.

FOOTBALL REFUND OFFERS: £5.10

  • There are lots of different offers attached to football games where you can get free bets in a variety of circumstances. This includes: when the team you back scores a goal; hitting the crossbar; losing your bet in the last few minutes of a game.

HORSE REFUND OFFERS: -£3.90

  • These are offers where you can get a free bet depending on the outcome of the race and the place where your horse finishes.
  • These are riskier offers in that there is no guarantee of a free bet, so you will suffer some qualifying losses. Unfortunately, I didn’t hit any free bets so suffered a small loss this month.

IS MATCHED BETTING FOR YOU?

If reading my diaries has inspired you to start matched betting, read my guide explaining what matched betting is.

Then I’d recommend signing up for a free trial at Profit Accumulator. They walk you through the matched betting process step by step. With only a few hours spare each week to do matched betting, I find the service Profit Accumulator offers invaluable. They tell me which offers to complete and help me find the bets. They save me hours of work which means my time is instead focused on making money! You can read more about the service Profit Accumulator offers in my full review, which includes information about their new loyalty scheme

Profit Accumulator’s free trial allows you to make £35-£40 simply by trying a couple of the different introductory offers available. It’s the perfect way to see if matched betting is for you.

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Matched Betting: Getting Established

When you start matched betting the most important thing is to really get to grips with how the process works. Working through the beginner offers that Profit Accumulator guide you through, you’ll soon get used to using the oddsmatching software to find your bets, setting up your bookmaker accounts , checking the back and lay bets and subsequently placing those bets.

However, you will soon need to ask yourself whether you simply want to make as much money as possible from the sign up offers or if you’re keen to carry on matched betting for as long as possible. This will depend on your circumstances. Understandably, many people will want to carry on matched betting, especially when it’s so easy to make upwards of £500 every month. If that’s you, then there are some important steps you need to take to sustain your matched betting career.

IE Snare

The gambling game is a pretty shady business. Lots of naughty people can use it to launder money and it’s also highly addictive. As a result, some very strict requirements are placed on bookmakers to ensure they check people’s identity and take steps to avoid fraudulent activity. This justifies their use of spyware on your computer called iesnare. When installed on your computer, iesnare monitors your behaviour including:

  • the web pages you visit;
  • your computer’s data; and
  • your browsing data.

Iesnare can be installed on your computer simply by clicking on a bookmaker site. You don’t even have to be logged in. And once it’s there it will monitor your behaviour and feed this information back to the bookies. If the software is on your machine, you can expect to get gubbed from your bookmaker accounts very quickly. This means you won’t be able to take advantage of any future offers.

It’s easy to find out if iesnare is installed on your computer by doing a search. But you’ll then need to take steps to get rid – and stay rid – of it. Simply deleting it isn’t enough as it will no doubt be reinstalled click on a bookmaker site in the future. The geegeez blog has a brilliant post which tells you everything you need to know about iesnare and how to remove it from your computer permanently. I’d urge everyone who wants to do matched betting for as long as possible to remove iesnare from your computer as soon as possible.

Cookies

Not the tasty treat type rather the boring small computer files that get stored on your computer when you access different websites. In very simple terms, they store data about you which makes it easier for you to use those websites in the future. Most companies also use advertising cookies which are quite powerful and are able to track the pages you have visited and products you have looked at.

It is advisable to clear the cookies on the computer and/or mobile devices you use to do matched betting regularly. The worry is that your behaviour can be tracked and the bookmakers can work out you’re simply using them for the value of free bets.

Mix the odds

When you first start matched betting, you are advised to ensure your qualifying bets are placed at low odds, as close to the minimum odds required. You’ll then bet at high odds when you get the free bet. This is necessary when you start as you don’t want to tie up too much of your own money covering liability in the bookmakers. But if you do this regularly you will start to stand out to the bookmakers. I therefore now use a variety of odds when placing qualifying and other bets.

Don’t be greedy

To get the most money possible from a free bet you will need to use high odds. However, try not to bet at odds higher than 10. I tend to use odds ranging between 5 and 8 for my free bets. As you get more experienced, also use some of your free bets on accumulators. This will maximise your profit and the bookmakers like you placing these types of bets.

avoid arbs

When you search for matches on Profit Accumulator’s oddsmatching software a number of matches will often be listed in red at the top. These mean that the bookmaker odds are higher than the exchanges and you can make money simply by placing a bet. This is known in the industry as an arb. It can be tempting to use arbs to place your bets so you make as much money as possible.

Arbs occur because traders can sometimes be slow to alter the odds if the market changes. However, you need to be very wary of placing arbs. The bookmakers will track and monitor your betting behaviour. They will analyse the odds at the time you place bets and will compare these to the lay odds available at the same time. If they see you always taking arbs, they will very quickly limit your accounts to prevent you placing further bets.

don’t always select bets that are the best matches

Don’t always choose bets where the odds are very close. As I mentioned above, your behaviour will be tracked and analysed by the bookmakers. They don’t make any money from you if you always make closely matched bets. If you aren’t therefore seen as a valuable customer this is another excuse for a bookmaker to let you go. So while I do place bets that have a high ranking on Profit Accumulator’s oddsmatching software (above 95) I also place bets listed lower than this quite regularly.

Build up a betting profile

As you start to work your way through the reload offers listed by Profit Accumulator you will see many different types of bets linked to many different types of sport. Before you start completing these offers regularly you need to build up a profile so that your behaviour doesn’t look strange when you start making these types of bets.

So, if you want to start taking advantage of horse racing refunds, bet on a few horse races. Similarly, place a few accumulators for differing amounts and for differing numbers of legs before you try to take advantage of the accumulator offers many bookmakers offer. It goes without saying that you should always lay these bets off at a betting exchange.

Offers will also be available for some different types of sport that you might not bet on regularly, like golf, tennis, baseball, the NFL, greyhound racing and boxing. If you’ve never placed bets on these sports before, maybe make a couple of different bets at the same time. If there are a few offers linked to the sport available at the same time, don’t take advantage of them all. And make sure you bet on these sports again in the future.

And finally

If this all sounds like gobbledygook to you, don’t worry! Bookmark this page and come back to it when you have a few more of the introductory offers under your belt and you’re ready to move on in your matched betting career.

 

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Matched Betting – Common Mistakes

You might be asking why I’ve written this post. Surely matched betting is risk free? And if you follow the instructions on Profit Accumulator to the letter, then you won’t have any problems? That is correct. However, the process involves you manoeuvring between several different internet screens, sometimes only a few minutes before a game. The simplicity of matched betting also means you can get complacent when placing bets. It can be easy to make mistakes in these situations especially if you’ve got kids thrown into the mix as well. Here are some of the most common mistakes you can make – tried and tested by me! Luckily, I’ve not lost any money but this is down to luck. I could easily be telling you a different story. So be careful out there when you’re matched betting.

Confirm your bets

  • This sounds like the simplest thing but it is very easy to forget to confirm your bets. Most – but not all – of the bookmakers and betting exchanges require you to confirm your bet immediately after you place it. If you don’t do this, then your bet won’t be placed. You’re most likely to do this when you are making a bet very close to the start of a game or race when the odds will be jumping around quite quickly. Make a habit of always checking your bet has been placed before moving on to the next offer.

Placing two lay bets

  • This is particularly common if you use Betfair as your main betting exchange. When you place lay bets with Betfair it can be quite difficult to actually find them in your betting history. They don’t always show on your betslip in the exchange. Instead, you can find them by clicking on the My Bets tab and making sure you are in the exchange section of the website. If you inadvertently place two bets, make sure you place a back bet to cancel the additional lay bet out.

Last minute horse races

  • There will come a time when you place bets very close to the wire when a horse race is about to start. I would urge you to be cautious when doing this. This is because the odds can drift very quickly close to the start of a race, meaning your calculations will be out. Always work out whether you will need to lay more or less if the odds do change after your back bet has been placed.

Unmatched bets

  • Betting exchanges work by linking you directly to people against whom you can bet. You can therefore only place a lay bet at certain odds if there is someone willing to make a back bet at those odds. The maximum stake you can make at those odds is shown at the bottom of the pink lay box. If your stake is higher than this then anything over this figure will be ‘unmatched’. If it is unmatched at the start of the game then this part of the bet will be cancelled and you won’t have a valid lay bet. I always advise people to avoid placing unmatched bets. However, if this happens to you, don’t panic. Firstly, if there is some time – a few hours or a couple of days – before the match or race then sit tight. More people will place bets closer to the start time and it is highly likely that the bet will be matched. If you can’t hang around to check the bet, there isn’t enough time, or the bet is for a very large amount that you don’t want to risk, then use the calculator at Tricky Bet. You can enter the amount that has been matched and it will help you work out how much the remainder of the lay bet needs to be at the different odds that are available.

Place a bet on the correct game or race

  • Sounds obvious but this is easy to do when lots of different games or matches are all shown on the same page, especially if the odds are quite similar. This is why you should always quickly scan and check each bet before you place it.

Remember to lay an accumulator bet

  • Accumulators are a more advanced matched betting technique that require you to place several different lay bets in a row. When you do come to making these types of bets, make sure you have a system in place – e.g. reminders on your phone – to place each of the subsequent lay bets. And make sure you check what time the match starts beforehand as I discovered one morning when I woke up and realised the match had already taken place overnight!

Make sure you calculate your free bet correctly

  • Always remember to check that the calculator is in the correct mode when calculating your bets. I didn’t lose money when I calculated a free bet in the ‘normal’ mode but I didn’t make any either when the bet won at the bookies.

Opt in to offers where necessary

  • Some bookmakers stipulate that you have to opt in to qualify for different offers. If you don’t, then you won’t be given your free bet or bonus even if you placed the correct qualifying bet.

Read the terms carefully

  • Always check the terms and conditions attached to an offer. If you don’t stick to them, then you won’t qualify for an offer. It’s important to check the minimum and maximum odds and the mode in which you need to place a bet, for example some offers specify they can only be placed via a mobile. If you don’t comply, you won’t get the free bet or bonus.

Use your free bets before they expire

  • Use your free bets as soon as they are awarded to you and always double check how long you have to use the bet before it expires. Sadly I’ve lost quite a few this way…

Don’t gamble

  •  Although not technically a mistake, the cardinal sin a matched better can make is to gamble with their own money. The bookmakers want you to do this – to take a chance on an almost certain outcome, or to have just one more spin on a slot machine. That’s how they make their money. And, for the most part, that’s how people lose money. Always remember that you signed up to Profit Accumulator to make money and it’s not worth risking your profit on a game of chance!

I’m always learning on my matched betting journey. If you have experiences you’d like to share here then let me know, so we can all help each other.

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