How to Use the SmartStake Arbitrage Finder, Step by Step

The SmartStake Arbitrage Finder is a live board of arbs: matched bets where two sportsbooks price opposite sides of the same market so that backing both returns a small profit on either result, if both bets are placed at the shown prices and settle. You set a bet size and pick your books, and the tool does the scanning and the stake math.

This guide walks through every control in the order you should set it, then shows how to read a card, place both sides and track them.

The theory lives in the arbitrage betting guide and what an arbitrage opportunity is. This page is the "how": what each setting changes, which defaults to keep, and where beginners lose money.

Please note: Every example in this guide is illustrative, built from prices chosen to show the math, and does not represent any user's results. Arbitrage betting is never truly risk free. Odds can change between your two bets, sportsbooks can reject, limit or void a bet, and user error happens. Only bet money you can afford to lose. SmartStake is not affiliated with any sportsbook.

Try It: Read an Arb Card

Every card on the board comes from the same math: add up the two implied probabilities, put your bet size on the shorter price, and size the other side so either result pays about the same.

The card below runs that math with the Arbitrage Finder's own functions. Change a price, your bet size or a max bet and watch the stakes and the badge move.

The defaults are a hypothetical NBA total: Over 220.5 at −105 at one book and Under 220.5 at +112 at another. Their implied probabilities add up to 0.9839, below 1, so the pair is an arb.

With a $200 bet size, the board shows $200 on −105 and $184 on +112, with a 1.69% profit badge. That nets $6.48 if the Over wins and $6.08 if the Under wins. The Calc tab solves the second stake to the cent, $184.19, which nets about $6.29 either way.

Now type +105 as the Under price. The probabilities add up to exactly 1 and the arb is gone. A move that small, on one side, is all it takes, which is why every step below ends in "confirm the price".

Step 1: Set Your Bet Size

Set your bet size first, because every recommended stake on the board scales from it. The header shows it as one line, for example "$200 bet size", next to the update button. Click it to edit it in place on a computer, or tap it on a phone to open a small panel with Save and Cancel.

Your bet size is the stake on the shorter priced side of each arb (the favorite, or the lower payout). The tool sizes the other side from it. The default is $200, and your choice is saved to your account.

Pick a number every book you use will accept without a second look. An arb is two bets, so the total outlay is roughly double your bet size. Bankroll management covers how much to keep at each book.

Step 2: Pick Your Sportsbooks

Select only the sportsbooks where you hold a funded account, because an arb you cannot place on both sides is noise.

Open the Sportsbooks filter (on a wide screen, click the books shown in the header). It groups books into "Sportsbooks in" your location and "Other Sportsbooks", with Select all and Clear all at the top.

The board only shows arbs where both sides come from books in your selection. SmartStake tracks 70+ sportsbooks, exchanges and DFS sites; DFS sites are left out of the Arbitrage Finder, since a pick'em entry cannot hedge a sportsbook bet.

Changes apply as you make them, and there is nothing to save inside the dropdown. To keep a set of books for next time, save it as part of a filter (Step 3). If you are deciding which books to open, how many sportsbooks you need walks through the choice.

Step 3: Filter the Board

Start from the default filter, which shows every sportsbook in your area, then narrow one thing at a time. Each change reloads the board after about half a second.

• Arb % sets a minimum and maximum profit. A minimum (for example 0.5%) hides arbs too thin to be worth splitting across two books, and a maximum hides numbers that look too good to be true. The filter reads 1 minus the summed implied probabilities, a hair below the badge (1.61% against 1.69% in the example above).
• Min Bet Size hides any arb where either book publishes a max bet below the amount you enter. Set it to your usual stake so you only see arbs you can place in full.
• Middles picks Arbs Only, Middles Only or Both (the default). A middle covers a gap between two lines where both bets can win; what a middle bet is explains the trade.
• Leagues and Markets limit the board to sports and bet types you can check quickly.
• Date Range (pregame) picks All, Today, 24 Hours, 3 Days or 7 Days. Game Status (live) picks games in play or stopped.

Once a set works for you, Save stores it as a named filter, and Set Default loads it every visit.

The bell beside the settings button turns a saved filter into a push alert for every new arb it matches, with up to five alerts. Every filter is described in the filters and settings docs, and alerts in saved filters and alerts.

Step 4: Read a Card

Each card is one matched bet: two opposite sides at two books, ranked so the largest profit comes first. On a wide screen, left to right:

• The profit badge is the return on your total stake if the shorter priced side wins, to two decimals. Click it to open the bet's Math tab, which spells out what each side pays and nets.
• The event shows the league, matchup and start time, or the live score and game state once play has started.
• The 2X button opens both books at once (Step 5).
• Two leg rows, one per book. Each shows the selection (click it to open that book), the book, Odds, Rec Bet (the stake for that side) and Profit (the net in dollars).

When a book publishes a limit, the leg shows it as (M: $X). If the max is below the stake, scale both sides down rather than placing the full amount on one side. Type a max bet into the card at the top of this page to see the scaled stakes.

A yellow warning triangle next to the badge means the profit is above 12%. Hover it (or tap it on a phone) for the "Too Good to Be True?" note.

Arbs that large usually mean one book has not moved a line the rest of the market has, and that book may move it or void the bet. The matched bet card docs cover every field.

Step 5: Check the Prices, Then Place Both Sides

Confirm both prices are still live at the books before you place either side. The card shows the last price SmartStake read, not a quote the book has to honor. Click a card to expand it, then use:

• Market View, the grid under the card, to see the same selections at the books you choose under Market View Books. If one side moved, it shows whether another book still makes the arb work. It is line shopping for both sides at once.
• The calculator icon to open the Calc tab. Enter the odds you actually see and it recomputes the other stake. Use it when a line moves, or when a max bet caps one side.
• Boost to enter a sportsbook profit boost for either book. The odds, stakes and profit recalculate.

On a computer, the green 2X button at the left of the leg rows opens both books in new tabs with one click. If only one tab opens, your browser blocked the pop up, and SmartStake shows how to allow pop ups for the site in Chrome or Safari. On a phone, open each book from its leg.

Place the side most likely to move or be limited first, usually the longer price at the softer book. Get both bet slips ready before you confirm either.

If the second side is rejected, you hold an unhedged bet: re-check the price in the Calc tab or Market View, or place the second side elsewhere at a price that still works. Placing both sides covers what to do when a leg fails, and sportsbook account limits covers why books cap arb stakes.

Step 6: Track Both Sides

Track an arb as soon as both sides are placed, so the tracker grades each one when it settles. Open the bet's Track Bet tab and choose Add to Bet Tracker. It creates two separate wagers, one per book, prefilled with the recommended stakes, which you can change to what you actually placed.

Turn on Hide for Taken Bets in settings and arbs you already hold drop off the board. How to track sports bets covers the rest of the log.

The quick actions on each card also let you hide it (the eye icon), pin it to the top, or report a bad line with the flag. On a phone, swipe left to hide and right to pin.

Pregame vs Live

Pregame and live use the same arb math; what changes is how fast the board moves. Switch with the Pre-game and Live tabs in the header (on a phone, the selector at the top of the page). The board always opens in Pre-game.

• Pregame refreshes on your Pregame Refresh setting: manual, where the green button reloads the board, or every 10, 30 or 60 seconds. Pregame lines move over minutes, so most arbs last long enough to check.
• Live streams as soon as you switch, near real time for some books and within about four seconds for others. The green button, or the Space bar, pauses and resumes the stream.

A live arb can close on the next play, and books suspend markets at every stoppage.

While you inspect a live arb, it holds its place and its prices keep updating, and it turns grey once it is gone.

Live arbitrage betting shows how much a one tick move costs, and the finding arbitrage docs cover the live board. For how the live board compares with other in-play scanners, see the best live arbitrage betting software.

Settings Worth Changing

The settings button at the right end of the header controls how the board behaves, not which arbs qualify. It opens Edit Arbitrage Settings:

• Odds Format: American or Decimal.
• Hidden Bets and Taken Bets: show or hide arbs you hid or already tracked.
• Correlated Bets: hide arbs tied to a bet you already hold.
• On Card Tap: expand a card, pin it, or both.
• Market View Books: the books the Market View grid shows.

Common Mistakes

Most early losses come from the gap between seeing an arb and getting both bets accepted at the shown prices.

• Placing one side and walking away. A half placed arb is an ordinary bet. Have both slips ready before you confirm either.
• Chasing the biggest number. A double digit arb is more often a stale line than a gift. Check Market View first.
• Ignoring the max bet. A stake the book will not take breaks the hedge. Set Min Bet Size, and scale both sides to the M figure.
• Spreading too thin. An arb only works at books you can fund on both sides. Keep balances where your arbs actually appear.
• Skipping the tracker. Two wagers per arb add up quickly, and you cannot spot a book that keeps voiding bets without a record.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you use the SmartStake Arbitrage Finder?

The SmartStake Arbitrage Finder is used in five steps: set your bet size in the header, select the sportsbooks where you hold funded accounts, narrow the board with the Arb %, Min Bet Size and Middles filters, read a card's stakes and profit badge, then confirm both prices and place both sides before adding them to the Bet Tracker. The board loads on its own, so there is no scan button to press.

What does the bet size do in the Arbitrage Finder?

Your bet size is the stake on the shorter priced side of every arb, $200 by default. The Arbitrage Finder sizes the other side so both outcomes pay about the same, rounded to whole dollars on the board. The Calc tab solves the same stake to the cent.

Why do the two sides of an arb show different profits?

The board rounds the second stake to whole dollars, so the two outcomes differ by a few cents or dollars. At −105 and +112 with a $200 bet size, the board shows $200 and $184, which nets $6.48 or $6.08. The Calc tab's exact $184.19 nets about $6.29 either way.

What should you do if a sportsbook's max bet is below the stake?

Scale both sides down so the capped side stays at or under the max bet, which the card shows as M. Enter the max as that side's stake in the Calc tab and it recomputes the other side for you. Placing the full stake on one side and a short stake on the other leaves part of the bet unhedged.

Is the SmartStake Arbitrage Finder free?

The Arbitrage Finder, pregame and live, is part of SmartStake Premium. Eligible new accounts can use it on a 5 day free trial. The free arbitrage calculator at /tools/arb-calculator works out stakes for prices you enter yourself and needs no subscription.

Putting It Together

The Arbitrage Finder automates the part of arbitrage no one can do by hand: scanning every book you hold for prices that add up to less than 100%, then sizing both stakes. Your part is execution: the books you fund, the filters you trust, and the discipline to confirm both prices before you bet. Every card is a candidate, not a sure thing, and a price can move before your second bet is accepted.

To work out stakes for an arb you found yourself, use the free arbitrage calculator. To compare the Arbitrage Finder with the alternatives first, see the best arbitrage betting software. To try the board yourself, eligible new accounts get a 5 day free trial.

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