Placing both sides
How to open both sportsbooks in one click and place each leg of an arbitrage fast enough that neither line moves before you confirm.
Why speed is the constraint
An arbitrage exists because two sportsbooks have priced the same market differently at the same moment. That moment does not last. Books adjust lines continuously, and the gap that makes a bet profitable can close in seconds — either because the originating book corrects its price or because the other leg moves. If you place one side and then spend time navigating to the second book manually, you are exposed: you have locked in a position on one outcome with no hedge in place. Getting both legs down as close to simultaneously as possible is the whole game.
The "Open Both Books" button
Every matched-bet card on the Arbitrage Finder has a launcher button in the upper-left corner of the bet panel, labeled 2X with an arrow icon. Clicking it calls window.open on both books' URLs at the same instant, opening each sportsbook in its own new browser tab. The hover tooltip confirms which two books will open before you click.
Each URL is the direct link to the relevant page at that sportsbook — the same link you would get by clicking an individual leg's book icon. Because both tabs open from a single click, there is no gap between navigating to the first book and starting to navigate to the second.
Allow pop-ups for SmartStake
Browsers block multiple tabs opened programmatically unless you have explicitly allowed pop-ups for the site. If you click the 2X button and only one tab opens — or neither opens — your browser's pop-up blocker is preventing it. In Chrome, click the icon at the right end of the address bar and select "Always allow pop-ups and redirects from https://www.smartstake.app." In Safari, click the browser window button at the right of the address bar to manage the setting. Once allowed, the button opens both tabs in a single click as intended. SmartStake displays a step-by-step dialog automatically if it detects that a tab failed to open.
Placing each leg
Once both tabs are open, you have the recommended stakes from the matched-bet card in front of you. Work through each tab in sequence:
- Confirm the price. The odds shown on the SmartStake card are the last scraped price, not a guaranteed quote. Before entering a stake, verify that the odds at the book still match — or are at least as good. If the price has moved, re-check the card: the arb may no longer be profitable at the new odds.
- Enter the stake. Use the recommended bet amount from the card. The two stakes are intentionally unequal so that both outcomes return the same net profit; entering a different amount on either side breaks the hedge.
- Do not confirm one leg until you are ready to confirm both. Most sportsbooks hold a bet slip open for a short window. Have both slips ready before you confirm either, so the delay between the two confirmations is as small as possible.
If one leg fails
Sportsbooks occasionally reject a bet outright — because of a maximum stake limit, because the line moved between your click and their receipt, or because they flag the account. If the first leg accepts but the second is rejected, you are unhedged. At that point you can try to place the second leg immediately at whatever the current price is, check whether the arb still holds at that price, or cancel the first leg if the book allows it. There is no automatic rollback: SmartStake records each wager independently and does not reverse a recorded bet if the other side fails.
The max-bet limit shown on the card as M: $X is the book's published ceiling for that selection. If the limit is lower than the recommended stake, reduce both legs proportionally before you start — do not attempt to place the full calculated amount on the unconstrained side while the capped side is under-staked.
For a full explanation of what the card's fields mean before you reach this step, see Reading the matched-bet card. For how to find and filter opportunities in the first place, see Finding arbitrage.
- Odds, prices, expected value, conversion rates, and profit figures shown are estimates based on the last data we retrieved. They can change at any time — confirm the current price at the book before you bet, as odds may move and entry errors can occur.
- Arbitrage and matched betting carry execution risk: a price can move or a leg can be rejected before you place both sides, and sportsbooks may limit or void bets. A favorable outcome is not guaranteed.
- Using a “sharp” book as a fair-value reference is a modeling choice, not a statement of accuracy. Review a book’s record yourself and anchor on the books you trust.