Shopping around for the Best Prices

Sometimes this is correct and sometimes not so correct. Equally we have to consider the convenience factor. If I'm in the supermarket doing my weekly grocery shopping the extra hassle of a trip to another shop easily outweighs the benefits of the few pence I might save on a tin of baked beans for example.

The amount of time involved in checking the prices somewhere like this before deciding which bookie to use is time well spent

The same was true of 'conventional' betting for example, the drudgery of traipsing round several bookies to find who had the best odds on the upcoming match mightn't be worth it to the average punter.

However with internet betting there are a host of sites, e.g. www.oddschecker.com, www.betbrain.com, which specialise in listing up-to-date prices from a huge selection of bookies. The amount of time involved in checking the prices somewhere like this before deciding which bookie to use is time well spent.

Let's look at two examples to illustrate the point.

1. Imagine I am betting on the Miami Heat against the Utah Jazz.
Bookie A is offering a points spread of -3 @ 1.91(i.e if Miami win by more than 3 points I am returned 1.91 times my stake), while bookie B is offering a spread of -4.5 at the same odds.
Now if Miami wins by more than 5 points then I win the same amount with either bookie, so it seems like no big deal. However consider what happens if they won by exactly 4 points. A bet with bookie A would win, while one with bookie B would lose!

the bookies may have some information that you don't have, so their spread may be more accurate."

2. I am placing two bets this weekend, both on tennis.
Match 1 sees Roddick taking on Fish (bookie A offers 1.91 on each one, while bookie B offers 2.05 on Roddick and 1.75 on Fish).

Match 2 sees Kuerten taking on Agassi (bookie A giving 2.1 and 1.7, with bookie B giving 1.91 on each).

By taking the best prices I can win money with only one of the competitors winning, while by taking only one bookies prices, I am limiting myself.

The above is especially important in matches you perceive as one-sided as there tends to be greater fluctuation in the odds. For example it is not uncommon in soccer betting to see a long shot side at 8.00 with one bookie and 12.00 with another.

The difference between a £7 profit and an £11 profit if your longshot comes in needs little more emphasis.

Bear in mind also that we are not dealing with an exact science here, we are dealing with estimation of a complex phenomena with many dependant factors.

Take the example of the basketball bet above. Lets say we had done our estimations of the likely spread and figured that Miami were likely to win 15 or more.

In such a scenario, we might think it doesn't really matter whether we get -3 or -4.5, the overwhelming likelihood is that Miami will win far more easily than the indicated spread.

Stop! First of all, the bookies may have some information that you don't have, so their spread may be more accurate.

Also, even if they are wrong, there are a multitude of things that could go wrong for you. Lets say that in a freakish run of badluck Miami lose their star player shortly after the start of the game, followed by his replacement 5 minutes later.

Their expected (your expectation!) dominance doesn't materialise and they scrape home by 4 points. Wouldn't you be sick if hadn't shopped around for the -3 points?