Skills
Picking games
Choose games and markets that settle the same way at both books, make sure your stake will be taken, and know which plays to skip.
Markets: the three main ones
Every game has three main markets, on the game's main card in every app:
- Moneyline: who wins. The default for bonus bets, and for football whenever the spread is 4 points or less.
- Spread: who wins by how much. Baseball calls it the run line and hockey the puck line. Match the number at both books, like -1.5 and +1.5.
- Total: the combined score, over or under a number.
Stick to those, for the full game. Skip quarters, halves and first-five-innings markets, player props, parlays and futures. They settle on different rules, take smaller bets or tie your money up for months, and a parlay needs every leg to win, so there is no single other side to bet.
Sports
Any major league both of your books list works: NFL, college football, NBA, MLB, NHL and major college basketball. What changes by sport is which job it suits:
| Job | Look for | Good sports |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus bet | A big underdog, about +250 to +400 | NFL, college football, NBA, NHL |
| Cash pair (low hold) | Two close prices near even money | MLB moneylines, and football in the fall |
The fall is the best season: football, the baseball playoffs, hockey and basketball overlap, and busy markets are priced tighter. Thin markets cost more: late-night tennis or Asian baseball often runs 5% to 7% to hedge, and esports and minor leagues take only small bets. Skip them.
Do it in BreadSync
Odds Screen
Set the filters once and every view only shows games you can actually use.
- 1."Leagues": tick only the leagues in season.
- 2.In the Free Bet, Risk-Free Bet and Low Hold views, keep "Markets" to the "Mainline" group: Moneyline, Spread, Total.
- 3."Books": only the books you have ("All books with a balance" once Bankroll is set up). Date: "Today" or "24 Hours".
Three sports with extra rules
- Baseball. Choose "Action" (any pitcher) at both books. A "listed pitchers" bet is cancelled if the starter changes, which can leave the other bet alone. If a book only offers listed pitchers, choose that at both.
- Tennis. If a player withdraws or retires, one book may cancel the bet while the other grades it a loss. Read both books' rules first, or skip tennis.
- Soccer and hockey. Plus prices on both teams means a three-way line with a draw, settled on regular time. Use the two-way line.
Max bets
Every book caps how much it takes on one bet. The cap is lower on small markets and early in the day, and it usually rises as the game gets closer. A low max on a line is normally that, not a sign your account is limited.
- Before your first bet, check the hedge book will take the full hedge: type the amount on its slip and read any max-bet message.
- If the best row needs more than you hold at the hedge book, take a row that needs less, even if it keeps a little less.
- If a book does lower your limits over time, see If a book limits you.
Pushes and voids
A push is a tie with the line: the final score lands exactly on the number and the stake comes back. A void is a cancelled bet, for example a postponed game, and the stake comes back too. If both bets push or void together, you are back where you started. The problem is only one doing it.
- Pick spreads and totals that end in .5, like 7.5 or +3.5. They cannot push.
- Keep bonus bets on moneylines by default, or on a spread or run line at ±0.5 or ±1.5 where the book allows bonus bets on it. At some books a bonus bet that pushes is simply lost; if yours is not returned, ask the book's support.
- In My Bets, set a bet's "Status" to "Push" or "Void" once you have checked how both books settled it. See Tracking.
Timing
- Place bets with time to spare. An hour or two before the start is a good habit; in the last ten minutes, prices jump.
- For cash pairs, prefer games that start today. The money comes back sooner for your next bet.
- Convert bonus bets within a day or two. Some expire seven days after they land, and the terms say when.
- Place both bets before the game starts. Waiting to hedge during the game is betting that it goes your way.
When a conversion is not worth it
- Under 50% of a bonus bet: wait for tomorrow's games, as long as it does not expire first.
- A bonus bet on a favorite: $100 at -120, hedged at +100, keeps $41.67. Find an underdog.
- Two bonus bets against each other: never. A bonus bet always goes against cash.
- The hedge needs more cash than you hold at the other book. Take a row that needs less.
- A cash pair over 4%: wait for a better one.
Watch out: a row that pays far more than every other row is usually a wrong price. Books can cancel those bets, which leaves your other bet alone.
Do it in BreadSync
Odds Screen · Free Bet view
The Free Bet view colors every row by how much of the bonus you keep: green at 60% or more, amber from 50%, red under 50%.
- 1.Pick your book under "Select Free Bet Book" and type the amount in "Free Bet Size".
- 2.If your book limits the odds for bonus bets, type that limit into "Max Odds". The app does not fill it in for US books.
- 3.Sort by "%". Take a green or amber row; if the best is red, try again tomorrow.
No Pro? Compare the same game in your two apps and put both prices into the free Freebet Calculator. Go by its "Conversion %" number, not its color: the calculator only turns green at 70%.