Arbitrage bets exist for minutes, sometimes seconds. Finding them is a speed and coverage problem: you need to see every book's price at once and know immediately when two of them cross. Here is how to do it and how to avoid the arbs that are not what they seem.
Where arbs come from
An arb appears when two books disagree enough that their best prices on opposite sides imply less than 100% in total. That happens when:
- One book is slow to react to news or a sharp move
- Books use different prop models, so lines and prices diverge
- A promo or boost pushes one price above market (Profit boosts)
- Different lines at different books create a "middle-arb" overlap (Middles)
Finding arbs manually
Possible, but slow. The process:
- Pick a market (say, NBA player points).
- Write down the best over and under price across all your books.
- Add 1 ÷ decimal odds for both. Below 1 means an arb.
The arbitrage calculator does step 3 and the stake split. The problem is step 2: by the time you have checked eight apps, prices have moved.
Using arb software
Arb finders scan every book continuously and list opportunities sorted by profit. What to look for in one:
- Coverage of the books legal in your state, including props
- Freshness: each leg's price age, and how far apart in time the legs were seen
- Rule matching: only pairing markets with the same rules
- Direct links to each bet
- Alerts, since arbs rarely last long enough to find by refreshing
The OddsHype arbitrage page requires legs to be seen within minutes of each other and recently, shows "prices checked N seconds ago", and warns on oversized arbs. Free accounts see how many arbs are live; paid plans show every one, and Sharp adds instant arb alerts.
A checklist before betting an arb
- Both prices still there? Refresh both books.
- Same market and rules? Overtime included, player-must-play rules, settlement source.
- Plausible size? Under ~3% is normal; over 5% usually means a stale or erroneous price.
- Limits? Can you get the full stake on both legs?
- Order of bets: place the leg most likely to move or be limited first.
- Rounding: round stakes to normal amounts (e.g., $237.95 → $238) to look less like an arber.
Place the riskier leg first
If one book is the "stale" one, its price is about to move. Bet there first. If it gets accepted, place the other leg immediately. If the first leg is rejected, you have not risked anything.
What to do if one leg fails
Sometimes the first leg is accepted and the second price moves. Options:
- Take the new price if the combined result is still close to break-even
- Hedge at another book with a similar price (Hedge calculator)
- Hold the single bet if it is still +EV against the fair line
Decide your rule in advance, not in a panic. (Arbitrage betting risks.)
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to find arbitrage bets?
Use software that scans every legal sportsbook continuously, checks price freshness and sends alerts. Manual searching is too slow for most arbs.
How often do arbitrage opportunities appear?
Daily, especially on player props and busy slates, but most are small and last only minutes.
Which leg of an arb should I bet first?
The leg at the book most likely to move or limit you, usually the one whose price is out of line with the rest of the market.