What is Sharbing?

sharbing

sharbingSharbing (shop -arbing) is a form of arbitrage betting where you place a bet at a brick and mortar bookmaker and lay the bet online to lock in a profit.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of arbitrage betting you can read my original article on the subject here. – How to Make Money with Arbitrage Betting

Why Place the Bet at a Shop?

The theory behind sharbing is the same as any arbitrage bet.

Simply back a bet with the bookies when the odds available are higher than the odds on the exchanges. Then lay the bet on the exchange to lock in profit.

Now since this is all the same as placing bets on the bookmakers websites you may be wondering why you would want to place you back bets in a brick and mortar bookies.

The reason is simple. Football coupons.

Football coupons are printed by bookies 4 to 5 days before the matches take place.

The prices on these matches will move up and down during that time and this is where sharbing opportunities arise.

There are many different coupons which cover various markets however the best market to look for sharbing opportunities on is match betting.

This is where you will be betting on the outcome of a match. (Team A wins, Team B wins or Draw)

There are two reasons for this.

    1. There is more money placed on the match betting markets than any other market. This means there is more liquidity on the exchanges.
    2. Bookmakers are more likely to honor match betting odds on coupons when the price has moved on the exchanges.

How to Spot a Sharb Opportunity

You should start by going round all your local bookmakers and picking up there football coupons.

You can pick up coupons which cover all the Monday to Thursday games on Monday and the weekend coupons covering games from Friday to Sunday can be collected on Wednesday.

You will then need to regularly check the prices on coupons against the prices on the exchanges to find sharbs.

The odds on football coupons are usually presented as fractions (with the exception of coral who offer decimal as well) so you will need to enter them into an odds convertor to compare them to the exchanges.

An odds convertor can be found at oddsconverter.co.uk

Once you’ve spotted a sharb it’s time to head to the bookies and place your bet.

How to Place a Coupon Bet

Before going to the bookies you will want to have a mobile phone with internet access.

This is so you can check the exchange shortly before placing your bet so you that the lay odds are still available.

To place a bet with a coupon you simply put a mark in the box of the outcome you want to bet on and write down your stake.

Make sure to ask the cashier to let you know if the odds quoted on the coupon are still available so you don’t place any losing bets.

After placing your bet your mobile will come in handy once again.

You will want to access the betting exchange via your mobile so you can instantly lay off your bet and lock in a profit without having to worry about the odds changing on the exchange before you get home.

Cash is King

Here’s a good tip for you.

When placing bets at bookmakers you should always pay with cash.

This means they can’t link your bets to your online betting account or bets you make at other shops, both of which they could do if you pay by card.

This means you can place your sharb bet at multiple shops in order to bypass any betting limits without raising suspicion.

This is important because if you get listed by a bookie as a known sharber they will drastically limit the amount you can bet to as little as £25 meaning your sharbing days are over.

Placing the same bet at multiple shops is where the real value of sharbing is.

Another reason why you should use cash is because if you place a bet by card your winnings must be paid back by card.

This can take 2-3 days before you get your money in your account.

If you instead paid cash you would get your winnings right there and then and can be placing more sharbs with them that very day.

Overcoming Sharbing Problems

Sometimes when placing a sharb the odds will have changed or you will be told there is a limit to how much you can bet.

If cashier tells you the odds on the coupon are no longer available then you should not place the bet and move onto your next sharb.

If the cashier tells you there is a limit to how much you can bet then bet the max and continue as normal and place the same bet at another bookie bypassing the bookies limits.

Best Bookies for Sharbing

My personal favorite bookie for sharbing is William Hill. They tend to honor there coupon prices more than any other bookie and they have shops everywhere making it very easy to place the same bet at high stakes multiple times.

Coming in a close second is coral. They cut there prices more the Willie Hill but allow you to place bigger bets in the one shop.

The only other main bookmaker worth your time sharbing is Ladbrokes, but, they are famous for cutting there coupon prices so double check what price your getting before your bet is finalized.

Final Thoughts

Sharbing is fairly simple to do and if you have a big enough bankroll you can earn yourself a few extra hundred pounds each week.

This can easily be achieved by placing bets at multiple bookmakers for each sharb and doing three or four sharbs a week.

Happy Sharb Hunting!