Using head to head bet promotions to increase your profit
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
Head to head multi promotions may have some extra elements to consider compared to other promotions, but that doesn't stop them from being one of my favourite matched betting strategies.
Head to head multis are a staple bet for the average punter, giving them the opportunity to bet on the teams they believe are most likely going to win over a series of games, so it is no surprise that there are great promotions on them too.
How to do it
H2H multis are incredibly easy to place, and it is no different when placing a promo bet on them either.
There are generally just two requirements that have to be met, which are the number of legs, and the minimum odds. If you can meet those two, then you will receive a stake return in the form of bonus bets if one leg loses.
The typical requirements are needing either a minimum of 3 or 4 legs, and minimum odds of either 2.00 or 3.00.
My ideal one is 3+ legs and odds of 2.00, but they are quite rare, as the bookies also know that these are the juiciest promotions available and are not too keen on giving them out too often.
You want to do just the bare minimum to meet these requirements, as this gives the highest expected value. Essentially the way that multis work, the more legs you have, the lower the expected value, so the less you have, the better.
Meeting the odds requirements is not as strictly important for maintaining high EV, but it is something that I like doing simply to increase the times when the bet hits.
If you are going to make it more technical, then I recommend also cross checking the bookies odds to the Betfair odds to ensure that they are fair. This will allow you to place the absolutely highest EV bet possible.
I also recommend placing the bets as close to the start of the round as possible, which helps disguise your activities as much as possible by blending in with the volume, along with also getting odds with as much information as possible priced into them.
The last thing you want to do is place a bet on a team a day before, only for their best player to suddenly be dropped for an injury, meaning that the odds you received no longer accurately represent the actual probabilities.
There are techniques that allow you to lay off the games to guarantee a profit, but that is not the strategy that I am discussing here. Once you have placed the bet, you simply wait. This leads to some variance, but if you place enough of these bets you will eventually recognise a profit simply due to the expected value of the promotion.
After all, you are essentially only risking money on two legs while getting the potential returns of having 3 legs, so there will be times when you lose the entire stake, and there will also be times when you win, but the actual returns come from receiving the bonus bet. This is what gives you the statistical edge for the long run.
Bookies that have this promotion
This promotion is really only run by corporate bookies, and I have never seen a rail bookie offer it (they hate people betting on sport enough already).
The big two in the world of this promotion are Pointsbet and TAB, where they offer H2H promos on AFL, NRL and MLB.
The AFL and NRL promos are available only once a round, while the MLB ones are generally available each day.
Unfortunately I do not have the faintest idea about MLB, so I generally avoid it as I simply do not know what I am betting on. Yes, I understand that you shouldn’t need to understand the sport to bet on it, but it certainly makes me feel more comfortable. For this reason I generally avoid them.
I probably should spend some time studying the game to work it out as the promos are so common they would be an incredibly valuable tool to have, but I haven’t got around to it. So if you are a MLB lover reading this, then you are in luck, as there is simply an overload of promos coming your way!
Negatives
The biggest negative with the head to head strategy is the time it takes for the bet to be realised. As most H2H multis involve a round of a sport, it can take up to 4 days before there is the eventual payoff, meaning that funds can be tied up over the weekend.
Obviously if you have a large bankroll then this is not going to be a problem, but if you are just starting out with just a few hundred dollars, then I would definitely not do this strategy.
Who does it suit
Like most no lay strategies, there are several requirements that have to be met before I recommend them to someone.
The first, and most important, is temperament. If you are not able to handle the variance, with the potential to lose your entire stake, then I highly recommend avoiding this strategy.
If you are going to lose sleep, or have mood swings from the outcome of a game, then please do not implement this strategy for the sake of your mental health and the people around you.
Secondly, you need to have a decent sized bankroll to handle the variance that can arise from a few bad weeks.
There is no guarantee that in the short term that it is going to be a profitable strategy, so if you can’t handle that financially, then I recommend sticking to strategies with less variance, while building your bankroll to a stage where you can safely implement it.
You also need the bankroll to be able to place other bets over the weekend, as you do not want potentially hundreds of dollars being tied up in some H2H bets, meaning that you barely have enough money to place any bets on thoroughbred promotions.
They are valuable, but not so valuable that you can afford to miss out on these promotions, which really are the bread and butter of the matched bettor.
If you understand this article and accept the potential risks that come with this strategy, then you should be to start making some incredibly easy money thanks to this no lay matched betting strategy!