Two Alternative Ways of Building Your Poker Bankroll
When starting to play poker online, one of the initial challenges is increasing your bankroll. Typically, this involves spending numerous hours grinding at micro and small stakes before advancing to higher limits. However, the rake can significantly eat into your profits. In this article, we’ll present two alternative strategies for boosting your poker bankroll: 1) Matched Betting and 2) Value Betting. Both methods are mathematically sound and offer opportunities for +EV (positive expected value) bets, allowing you to profit from sports betting with bookmakers. Additionally, you’ll have the satisfaction of outsmarting the house and recouping some of that rake.
Understanding Matched Betting
Ever wondered how to convert the bonuses and incentives offered by bookmakers into profit? The answer is matched betting.
Although it might seem too good to be true, the concept of matched betting is quite straightforward. It involves a strategy where you act as both the bettor and the bookmaker, effectively betting against yourself to ensure a win. To do this, you’ll need two different platforms: one to place a bet for a team to win and another to bet against the same team winning (covering a draw or a loss). The two types of bets used in this approach are called a back bet and a lay bet.
Back Bet vs. Lay Bet
This is the standard type of bet where you wager on a specific outcome, such as Chelsea winning against Arsenal. This bet is placed with traditional bookmakers.
In this bet, you act as the bookmaker and wager against a specific outcome, such as Chelsea not swerte99 winning (either a draw or an Arsenal win). This is done through betting exchanges like Betfair or with a bet broker like Sportmarket.
For example, let’s say you place a ₱6302 back bet on Chelsea to win at odds of 2.0. If Chelsea wins, you receive ₱12605 (₱6302 of which is your stake). If they lose or draw, you lose your ₱6302 stake. Simultaneously, you place a ₱6302 lay bet against Chelsea winning at the same odds. If Chelsea doesn’t win, you pay the bettor ₱12605 (₱6302 of which is their stake), but if Chelsea wins, you gain ₱6302 from the bettor. By balancing these bets, you make matched betting risk-free.
Profiting from Matched Betting
So, how do you profit from this strategy? Suppose you open an account with a bookmaker offering a ₱6302 sign-up bonus, which requires a ₱31514 wagering amount to withdraw the bonus. Using the previous example, you place a ₱6302 back bet on Chelsea to win and a ₱6302 lay bet on Chelsea not to win. You repeat this process with different matches until the wagering requirement is met. Once fulfilled, you can cash out the ₱6302 bonus.
For more assistance or a step-by-step guide on matched betting, check out the Oddshero betting software or watch “Matched Betting Step by Step.” You can also find a list of the best sign-up bonuses by joining Oddshero’s Facebook group. Properly executed, matched betting is arguably one of the easiest ways to make risk-free money. Depending on your location, you could earn anywhere from ₱31514 to ₱189088, providing a significant boost to your poker bankroll. Personally, I’ve been able to earn around ₱2521 per hour with matched betting, making the return on investment and time quite favorable. Additionally, this method offers essentially variance-free profits, which is rare in the poker world. However, the downside is that you’ll eventually exhaust the available swerte99 bonus offers. That’s when the next strategy, Value Betting, becomes relevant.
The Mechanics of Value Betting
Value betting involves placing bets on outcomes where the odds offered by the bookmaker are higher than they should be, resulting in a +EV (positive expected value) bet. But how does such value occur?
Consider a coin toss with a 50/50 chance for heads or tails, typically represented as 2.00 – 2.00 in decimal odds. If the odds offered are 2.10 for tails and 1.90 for heads, you should bet on tails because it offers a positive expected value. The calculation is straightforward:
(2.10/2.00)–1=0.05, which equals a 5% edge. Betting ₱6302 on tails for each toss, you’d lose ₱6302 for heads but win ₱6933. for tails. On average, you’d earn ₱630 for every two bets, leading to an expected value (EV) of ₱315 per bet.
Applying Value Betting to Sports
Mathematically, despite potential short-term losses (like losing 10 tosses in a row and being down ₱63029), over a large number of bets, the variance evens out. For instance, if you bet on 10,000 coin tosses with a +EV of ₱315 each, your total expected value would be ₱3151476.
You might wonder how this applies to sports, but the same principle holds true. For example, in a crucial match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the odds might initially be 1.80 for either team. If two key Real Madrid players get injured just before the match, the odds for a Barcelona win could drop to 1.30. Value bettors can exploit this delay in odds adjustment by placing bets on Barcelona at 1.80 while the true odds are 1.30. Imagine finding 100-500 such bets weekly.
Automating Value Betting
Trademate Sports offers software to automate the discovery of value bets, allowing you to focus on placing them. For more details, visit their blog, especially the “Ultimate Guide To Trademate Sports.” Jonas Gjelstad, a top Norwegian poker player and the founder of Trademate Sports, discovered that value betting could be more profitable than poker.
Combining Poker, Matched Betting, and Value Betting
To excel at poker, you must play a substantial number of hands—there’s simply no shortcut. Many new poker players face the challenge of building a bankroll to compete at higher stakes. Matched Betting and Value Betting are two effective methods to help you achieve this. They are also conveniently adaptable to your poker schedule. For instance, if there are few poker tournaments between 11:00 and 16:00 (CET) on a Saturday, you can place bets during this time. Finished a round of sit-and-go’s? Place a few bets. Need a break from the repetitive grind of poker? Place some bets. The +EV (positive expected value) from these bets will swerte99 accumulate over time.
Starting with Matched Betting
It’s practical to start with matched betting, as bookmakers often offer ₱6302 bonuses, providing an easy +EV opportunity. Clearing a bonus through matched betting can be done swiftly without needing to meet turnover requirements. The key is to lose money on the side where you have the bonus while winning on the unrestricted side, allowing you to cash out the ₱6302 bonus in a single bet if you’re willing to place larger stakes. You can decide whether to complete this before grinding lower stakes or do it simultaneously. Value bets are even quicker to place, making them a perfect complement to swerte99 online poker.
As a poker player, always seek +EV opportunities, whether at the poker table, in everyday activities, or through value betting. Best of luck with growing your bankroll!
