How to find Middle Bets: Middle Arbitrage Guide (2023)

After several years of practicing both middle betting and sure betting I decided to share my experience about middle arbitrage betting.

In this middle betting guide you will read about the best ways to practice this technique.

What is middle betting?

Middle betting is a strategy in which a bettor places bets on both sides of the same betting market at different betting sites.

While middle betting, you are attempting to win both legs/outcomes.

If not succeed, an excellent middle bet would ensure that at least one of the outcomes will win and generate a minimal overall loss.

Middle arbitrage bets can guarantee even a small profit when done successfully (more below).

The opportunity for middle betting appears when there is a line difference between two or more betting sites.

How do you find middle bets?

During my betting activity, I used three methods to find middle arbitrage bets.

• Manually
• With a free middle bet finder
• Subscription to a premium middle bet finder

1. Finding middle bets manually

This method of spotting middle betting opportunities requires the most skill and time investment.

While it is possible to find hidden betting opportunities, the possible profits compared to the time investment it needs are not worth it.

You can spot some great middle arbitrage bets manually on smaller fast-moving markets on tennis, basketball, or even handball.

But the amount of time it needs to find middle bets which are also close to an arbitrage betting opportunity (for bigger profitability and less risk) will not be worth it.

Finding middle bets manually might be complementary to arbing or value betting.

2. Using a free middle bet finder

At the moment, only a handful of odds scanner services offer a free middle betting tool. 

The best tools to find middle bets at the moment are:

• BetBurger (worldwide)
• ArbMate (mostly Europe)
• Surebet.com (worldwide)
• OddsJam (focusing on US and Canada)

These services apply a delay or some kind of limitation to their services. 

This way, finding a middle betting opportunity that is still available is pretty hard, and I would say almost impossible.

These middle betting opportunities appear when a bookmaker makes a significant mistake.

Most smart bettors jump on these betting opportunities pretty fast, which results in massive odds/line drops in a matter of seconds.

So, how can you take advantage of these free middle bet finders?

Their main goal is to give you an insight, an idea of how they work.

These middle bet finders are focusing on other betting strategies, such as arbitrage betting.

But they also display middle betting opportunities.

Getting access to a free middle bet finder will help you figure out how to set up filters, which bookies they cover, and figure out if you like the user interface or not.

3. Subscription to a premium middle bet finder

The final and main goal of a wannabe successful middle arbitrage bettor is to opt-in for a paid tool.

This will give you access to other premium services such as sure bet finders or even value bet finders as well.

While using premium middle bet software, you will have the chance to get betting opportunities from several hundreds of bookies in real-time.

Each of these betting strategies got pretty big attention on Youtube and other platforms as well.

This resulted in a fast-growing audience and more people trying to take advantage of middle arbitrage bets as well.

Unfortunately, thinking that we can be successful without using a fast bookie scanner is simply a naive idea. 

The odds and betting lines on these betting opportunities are shifting so fast that you simply don’t have the chance of covering both outcomes before the odds would drop if not using a fast scanner.

What is an example of middle betting with arbitrage?

Here’s an example to illustrate middle betting with arbitrage included:

Let’s say there’s an upcoming basketball game between Team A and Team B.

Bookmaker X offers the following odds:

• Total corners over 12.5: +120 (2.20 in decimal odds)
• Total corners under 12.5: -130 (1.77 in decimal odds)

At the same time, Bookmaker Y offers the following odds:

• Total corners over 13.5: +105 (2.05 in decimal odds)
• Total corners under 13.5: -116 (1.86 in decimal odds)

To execute a middle arbitrage bet, you would place a bet on Total corners over 12.5 with Bookmaker X at +120 (2.20) and simultaneously place a bet on under 13.5 corners with Bookmaker Y at -116 (1.86). 

Here’s how the potential outcomes could result in a profit:

1. If there will be 12 corners or less in total: In this scenario, your bet on under 13.5 corners with Bookmaker Y would be a winner, resulting in a profit.
   
   Your bet on over 12.5 with Bookmaker X would be a loss, but the profit from the winning bet compensates for the loss, leaving you with a net profit of 0.78% of your total stakes.
   
2. If there will be 14 corners or more: In this case, your bet on over 12.5 with Bookmaker X would be a winner, resulting in a profit.
   
   Your bet on under 13.5 with Bookmaker Y would be a loss, but again, the profit from the winning bet offsets the loss, leaving you with a net profit of 0.78% of your total stakes.
   
3. If the game ends with 13 corners in total: Both of your bets will be winners resulting in massive profits.

The key to successful middle betting is finding discrepancies in the odds offered by different bookmakers, which allows you to create a situation where you can win on both sides or minimize losses. 

It requires careful analysis, timing, and a deep understanding of sports betting markets (especially when dealing with handicap middle bets). 

Remember that middle betting opportunities are rare; not all bettors engage in this strategy.

Is middle betting profitable?

Middle betting is profitable when combined with arbitrage betting, or one of the outcomes has a positive Expected Value.

Middle betting can potentially be profitable, but it depends on various factors, such as:

• the odds/lines offered by bookmakers,
• the frequency of successful middles,
• and the overall strategy employed by the bettor.

In ideal circumstances, when a middle bet is executed successfully, it can result in a guaranteed profit or minimal loss, regardless of which outcome wins. 

With middle arbitrage betting:

by taking advantage of discrepancies in the odds and lines offered by different bookmakers, a bettor can place bets on opposite outcomes of the same event and secure a profit regardless of the final outcome.

However, it’s important to note that middle betting opportunities are relatively rare and require careful analysis, quick decision-making, and access to multiple bookmakers offering different odds. 

Finding and executing suitable middles can be challenging, even for experienced bettors.

The risks of middle betting

• The odds/lines shift before you can cover each outcome
• One of the bookies voids a bet (most of the time overpriced one). This could mean you will have a voided winner bet and a lost bet, resulting in severe losses.

Overall, middle betting can be a profitable betting strategy for tennis for example if implemented effectively and in the right circumstances. 

It requires a combination of skill, knowledge, speed, and a keen understanding of the sports betting markets. 

Not understanding a handicap market can give you the illusion of finding a great middle betting opportunity.

While in reality, you may lose each leg of your bets resulting in a massive loss of profits.

Downsides of middle betting

A middle bet requires a significant line difference between bookmakers, which can have the following downsides:

• The odds and betting lines shift very fast before you can cover each outcome. This can result in significant losses because of being forced to cover the other outcome on odds/lines that will be available.
• The bookie with the mistaken odds/lines might void the bets or change the odds to the correct one: this means a potentially big loss.
• Focusing too much on this kind of middle betting opportunity can cause missing many great, sure/value betting opportunities.
• Bookies are not letting you cover the other outcome with the required stake.
• Because of placing bets on significant mistakes, bookies might flag your account even faster, resulting in early stake limitations or getting banned for arbitrage betting and middling as well.

Advantages of middle betting

• When done correctly, it can significantly boost your profitability
• Winning a middle arbitrage bet can easily mean doubling your daily/weekly profits from smart betting
• Almost each sure bet finder offers a middle arbitrage betting tool for free

Conclusion on middle arbitrage betting

Middle arbitrage betting is a great strategy to complement your sure betting activity. However practicing it separately may not worth the efforts when you calculate the profits compared to the time invested.

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