Value betting masterclass · Module 2: Finding the best price · Lesson 6 of 25 · About 6 min
Odds shopping means checking several bookmakers and taking the best price for a bet you already intend to place. It sounds like a minor habit, but over hundreds of bets the gap between an average price and the best price makes a real difference to your record.
This guide shows what the best price is actually worth, with a worked example you can check for yourself.
Read the transcript
Odds shopping means checking several bookmakers and taking the best price. Here's how much difference that small habit makes.
Imagine a hundred ten-pound bets, and exactly half of them win. At odds of two, you get a thousand pounds back and finish level. At two point one, you get a thousand and fifty, which is fifty pounds profit from exactly the same picks.
Now say only forty-eight win. At odds of two you'd be forty pounds down. At two point one, you'd still be eight pounds up.
With the same win rate, odds five per cent higher pay five per cent more on every winner. Over hundreds of bets, that's a real difference.
So compare a few bookmakers, check the exchange for a fair price, and take the best one. It shrinks the margin against you, though it can't promise a profit on its own. The Value Predictor shows the best UK price for every pick. Please bet responsibly.
Key points
- Odds shopping changes nothing about your picks, only the price you get for them.
- With the same strike rate, odds 6% higher return 6% more on every winning bet.
- Over 100 bets of £10, taking 2.65 instead of 2.50 is worth £63 at a 42% strike rate.
- Better prices shrink the bookmaker’s margin against you, but they never promise a profit.
What odds shopping is
Bookmakers set their own prices, so the same event can be priced differently from one firm to the next. One might offer 2.50 (6/4) on a team while another offers 2.65 (33/20). The team’s chance is identical at both, and only the payout changes.
Odds shopping is simply comparing those prices before you bet. It is the easiest edge-related habit to build, because it needs no model and no forecasting, just accounts with a few licensed UK bookmakers and a couple of minutes to compare.
The numbers: 100 bets at 2.50 vs 2.65
Let’s put real figures on it. Imagine 100 bets of £10 each. Both times you pick exactly the same selections and the same number come in. The only difference is the price.
Worked example
You stake £10 on 100 bets, £1,000 in total, and 42 of them land, a 42% strike rate.
- At 2.50, each winner returns £25: 42 × £25 = £1,050 back, a profit of £50 and a yield of 5%.
- At 2.65, each winner returns £26.50: 42 × £26.50 = £1,113 back, a profit of £113 and a yield of 11.3%.
Now say only 41 land.
- At 2.50: 41 × £25 = £1,025 back, a yield of 2.5%.
- At 2.65: 41 × £26.50 = £1,086.50 back, a yield of 8.65%.
Either way, the better price adds the same thing: an extra 0.15 on every winning £1, or 15p per £1 on each winner. With 42 winners at £10 that is £63, and with 41 it is £61.50. The picks never changed, yet the result moved by more than 6% of everything staked.
How a few per cent adds up
You won’t always find a gap that big, but small gaps still count because they apply to every single bet. The table shows the same 100 bets of £10 at a 42% strike rate, at a range of prices.
| Odds taken | Better than 2.50 by | Returned | Profit | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.50 | 0% | £1,050 | £50 | 5.0% |
| 2.55 | 2% | £1,071 | £71 | 7.1% |
| 2.60 | 4% | £1,092 | £92 | 9.2% |
| 2.65 | 6% | £1,113 | £113 | 11.3% |
| 2.70 | 8% | £1,134 | £134 | 13.4% |
The rule is straightforward. With the same strike rate, every 1% you add to the odds adds 1% to your total returns, so odds shopping lifts your yield almost point for point. Our expected value betting (Lesson 4 out of 25 in the Masterclass) guide shows the same idea using EV per £1.
Why the best price matters for value
Every price has the bookmaker’s margin built in, and taking the best price in the market means paying the smallest margin on that bet. Sometimes the best price is even longer than the fair price, and that is where value comes from. Our fair odds guide (Lesson 3 out of 25 in the Masterclass) shows how to work that out, and our sharp bookmakers guide (Lesson 7 out of 25 in the Masterclass) explains which prices make the best yardstick.
Try it with the calculator below. Enter your stake, the odds and your own estimate of the chance, then change the price to see how the EV and edge move.
Expected value calculator
Doing odds shopping well
- Choose the bet first. Pick the selection on its merits, then look for the price. Never let a big price talk you into a bet you didn’t want.
- Compare like with like. Make sure the market rules match, such as how each bookmaker settles extra time or a void bet.
- Allow for commission. On an exchange you pay commission on net winnings, so check the current rate and compare the price after commission.
- Use licensed bookmakers only. Stick to firms licensed by the Gambling Commission.
- Log the price you took. A simple record shows whether your odds shopping is paying off, and our betting records (Lesson 14 out of 25 in the Masterclass) guide explains what to track.
Odds shopping with the Value Predictor
Our free Value Predictor picks out matches where both teams have landed a market often in recent games. When live odds are available it also shows the best UK price for each pick, so part of the odds shopping is done for you.
Remember that the Value Predictor gives picks from a form rule, not guarantees. A team’s recent record doesn’t give the true chance by itself, so compare the best price with your own view of the chance before deciding whether a bet is value.
The honest limits
Odds shopping reduces the margin you pay. It doesn’t create an edge out of nothing, and it doesn’t remove luck: over 100 bets, the swings from variance are often far bigger than £63. Our betting variance (Lesson 13 out of 25 in the Masterclass) guide shows how wide they can be.
Some bookmakers also limit accounts that regularly take the best price, which is a lawful commercial decision. Treat the best price as a way to waste less, not as a route to income. Set a budget and only stake what you can comfortably afford.
Related guides
- Value betting explained (Lesson 1 out of 25 in the Masterclass)
- Implied probability (Lesson 2 out of 25 in the Masterclass)
- Closing line value (Lesson 9 out of 25 in the Masterclass)
- Betting account restrictions (Lesson 22 out of 25 in the Masterclass)
Lesson 6 of 25 · Finding the best price
18+ only. Betting should stay fun. Set a budget before you start, only bet what you can comfortably afford, and take a break whenever you need one. For free, confidential support, visit BeGambleAware.org or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.