Reading the calculator

intro1

The four numbers that matter #

Open any arb's calculator and read it in this order:

• The percentage: the locked profit relative to your total stake. It updates live if you edit odds or stakes.
• The stakes per leg: inversely proportional to each leg's odds. Edit your TOTAL and both legs re-split; edit ONE leg and the calculator recomputes around it (useful when a bookmaker caps your stake).
• The returns: every outcome should show the same return. If they differ after your edits, you no longer hold a lock.
• The odds fields: editable, because YOUR job is to confirm the real odds at the bookmaker and correct any drift before betting.

Rounding without breaking the lock #

Never bet the raw decimals: adjust each stake to a natural number (20, 50, 100) directly in the calculator and watch the percentage. Rounding typically costs a few tenths of a percent and keeps returns near-equal; that cost is the insurance premium for account longevity.

The odds history: seen and change #

Every leg shows when its price was last confirmed ('seen') and its recent movement ('change'). A leg seen seconds ago on a moving market is live; a leg unchanged for a long time on a busy market may be stale at the source.

Read the history BEFORE placing: it decides which leg goes first (the moving one) and whether the arb is worth starting at all. It is also the evidence support will ask for if odds mismatch.

The middles extras #

On middles and Polish middles the calculator grows three elements: the VALUE next to the percentage (the risk ratio explained in the middles guides), Return and Profit shown as Lost/Win pairs (what you lose outside the gap, what you win inside it), and the Condition tab spelling out exactly which results win both legs. Read the Condition tab every time: it is the contract of the bet.

The free public calculator #

The fixed calculator on the website works without any subscription for every arb type (1X2, handicaps, totals and the rest): enter odds by hand and it splits stakes the same way. Handy for checking a manual arb or teaching the math to a friend.

Where to go next #

The middles guide explains the value math the middles calculator shows, and the beginner-mistakes guide covers the rounding discipline in the wider account-safety picture.