How much money do I need?

Arbitrage profit is a percentage of turnover: every arb locks in a small percentage of what you stake. That single fact drives everything about bankroll: the same work, the same arbs, the same hours produce ten times more money with ten times the bankroll.

The practical floor #

A typical arb pays 1 to 3 percent. If your whole bankroll is EUR 200, a good day of arbing might lock in a few euro: real, but not worth the hours for most people. From about EUR 1,000 the same day starts producing meaningful money, and at EUR 2,000+ arbing begins to look like a paid part-time activity.

There is also a mechanical floor: bookmakers have minimum stakes, and your money is SPLIT across several bookmaker accounts. With too little in each account you will constantly find arbs you cannot actually place because one leg's account is empty.

How to split it across bookmakers #

Do not divide equally. Money should sit where the arbs are:

• Sharp anchors (Pinnacle, exchanges like Betfair): 30 to 40 percent. They appear in a large share of all arbs, they accept winners, and they never limit you.
• The big soft bookmakers available in your country: most of the rest, split across 5 to 10 books.
• A reserve outside the bookmakers (in your e-wallet or bank): 10 to 20 percent, ready to top up whichever account runs dry.

Rebalance weekly, not per bet. When one account grows fat (it keeps winning) and another runs empty, move money through your e-wallet in one calm, round-number transfer.

Why turnover, not luck, decides your result #

Each arb returns your stake plus 1 to 3 percent within hours or days (when the match settles). The faster the money comes back, the faster you can place the next arb with it. Your monthly result is roughly: average arb percentage x how many times you turn the bankroll over.

InPlay arbs settle the same day, so InPlay-focused arbers turn their bankroll many times per week. PreMatch money can sit locked until the weekend fixtures play out. This is why serious arbers track turnover, not win rate: the win rate is 100 percent by construction.

Starting smaller anyway #

A small start is fine if your goal is learning, not income:

• Open two or three bookmakers plus the free OddStorm account, and paper trade first: pick arbs, write down the stakes, watch them settle.
• When you go live, treat the first EUR 200 to 500 as tuition. Speed, stake rounding and bookmaker quirks are learned by doing.
• Only scale the bankroll once you have placed 30 to 50 arbs without process mistakes (wrong market, missed leg, panic).

Where to go next #

Next questions in order: how many bookmaker accounts you actually need, and what profit to realistically expect once the money is in place.