Negative $14 in my Checking
I started off with 0 in my checking account that morning. Specifically it was October 28th, 2021. I had saved money for years and now I had a balance of zero. The train to get to New York cost $14. I was moving to NYC that day, and I had no choice but to take the train if I wanted somewhere to sleep. I paid with my debit card and somehow the transaction went through. By the time I got to the city my bank had kindly updated my balance to reflect my new net worth. Negative $14.
Missed Call from Chase
〰️
Missed Call from Chase 〰️
I got off the train at dusk. It was hot. October was having some hot flashes at the time so NY was a wonderful mix of sweat and honking. I walked the 46 blocks up to my new room. I was worried if I tried my card on the subway I would get tackled by a banker for the $14 I owed them. I arrived at my apartment, sat on the floor (no furniture yet of course) and Googled Arizona Cardinals Vs Greenbay Packers Score. I had no choice but to check the score. I had money on the game.
The bad news was that I had $5000 on the Cardinals that day.
The good news was that I also had $1724 on the Packers as well.
The other bad news was that my total life savings at the time was $6724 exactly. And it was all riding on this game.
You might be wondering - What the hell was I doing?
I was doing sports betting arbitrage. You see, at the time Caesars Sportsbook was offering a $5000 deposit match. They would literally give you 5 grand if you signed up for the app and wagered 5 grand of your own money first.
I have never been a gambler. In fact in college my friend had to once beg me to play in his $5 poker tournament when they needed an extra person. But I saw this promotion and knew there had to be some way to make money off this thing. I realized that if I was able to bet on both sides I would be able to hedge my bet. Essentially, the result of the game would not matter. Once I “played through” the intial $5000, I would come out even on my bet PLUS Caesars would give me an additional $5000.
I ran the numbers. $5000 on the Cardinals. $1724 on the Packers.
I double checked. $5000 on the Cardinals. $1724 on the Packers.
I called my math-major friend to triple check. $5000 on the Cardinals. $1724 on the Packers.
If I was wrong I would lose my life savings. If I was right I would make $5000 with no wagering risk.
After an hour of sitting on the floor in the dark and constantly refreshing my google feed, the game ended. I checked my apps. $6724 in my Draftkings. And there it was. A $5000 bonus was sitting in my Caesars account.
I stared at the screen in disbelief. It worked. No Chase banker would be coming to arrest me. My net worth went from negative $14 up to $11,710.14. The magic of matched betting. The magic of promotional arbitrage.
“I have become an expert in sports arbitrage.. See how we can help you”
Ever since that moment I have become an expert in sports arbitrage to the point where I now have my own team of analysts and custom software geared to helping other people learn the ins and outs of making money this way. My business now revolves around helping regular people learn how they can utilize these strategies to turn the tables on the books themselves. I would urge any reader to look into it themselves or reach out and schedule a free call with us to see how we can help you.
I started off with 0 in my checking account that morning. But I ended with $11,710.14.