Take a Risk? – Why Not, You Only Live Once…

Risk Taking. We all do it. From crossing the road to bungee jumping, everyone takes risks all day long, everyday. The word ‘Risk’ is defined as something with an unknown ending – meaning that you can undertake something but there is always an element of doubt as to whether or not it will all work itself out in the end.

From the moment we are born risks are everywhere, and as we grow we seem to be more aware of the risks around us.

A recent study of risks people were willing to choose to take are:-

·         Parachuting

·         Base Jumping

·         Jumping over the Snake River on a motorcycle (Evil Knievel – Say No More!)

·         Asking your boss for a payrise

·         Getting toast out of a toaster with a knife (we’ve done it and been electrocuted – its not nice!)

·         Not washing hands before eating (that’s you, you know it is!)

Personally, we think that is what keeps things exciting.

Take this morning. We were driving along the road and our petrol light came on. So after saying ‘I’ll get to the next petrol station’ we kept driving. And then we passed the next one, and so on. If we are honest, it was a tiny bit exciting, wondering whether we would make it – sad we know!

Thrills keep you young, and the excitement of not knowing the outcome is what keeps life interesting.

It is true that there are some people who do everything to avoid risks, and play safe all the time. If you are one of those people ask yourself, when was the last time you took a risk? Whatever the word ‘risk’ means to you, you probably play it safe a bit too much. Life is supposed to be fun, exhilarating, lived to the max and most of all exciting – or what’s the point?

The point of this Risk blog is to address what we know people worry about in the betting world, especially in the Sports Arbitrage area.  Check online and you will get people posting questions over how risky it is. Gambling, they say, is too risky to invest in. The real trust is that this scares them. However, its not scary at all - we know its not. But then you probably think we are paid to tell you that.

The thing with risks is that all risks can be counterbalanced. A bit like a see saw (and they are fun, right)

The main question people have is how can we win as we are gambling. Well, here goes in terms of a counterbalance - we don’t gamble! All of the transactions we make are mathematical certainties, checked by traders so that you cannot lose.

Not only do we grab margins from horses, but we also are hugely successful at grabbing margins on football matches too!

Check out our video for more information on this:

If you are still not convinced then we suggest you stay in bed!

Decimals vs Fractions

Right, hands up if you did maths at school?

All of you ... great.

Right, hands up if you loved Maths at school?

Hmm… not so many….

Final question is hands up if you loved fractions at school? 

Awkward... That’s just us then.

The reason we are asking is not that we are being nosy (well, it is still kind of interesting though to maths geeks like us J) but we do regularly get people asking about odds and fractions, specifically to do with gambling. It’s confusing. We get it (but only on a good day). It is clear though that whilst on paper it seems very easy, it confuses people every single time.

Fractional odds are the ‘traditional’ odds use widely in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and are what you will remember historically. Everyone has heard of 2/1, 3/1 etc., and it’s how we have been led to believe all bookmakers work. However, as with all good things they do come to an end and with gambling becoming more ‘world-wide’, the decimal odds that have been used in Europe, the Americas and Australasia’s are now becoming common place in the UK Market.

For the purposes of this blog, we won’t venture in to other things like Moneyline Odds; we’ll save that for a rainy day!!!

The common mistake everyone seems to make is that if there are odds of 3/1, the decimal equivalent is NOT 3. In betting you are entitled to your stake back if you win, meaning that whilst you win 3 times your stake, you actually get 4 back. So 3/1 = 4.0.

For easy amounts, as in the above example, it’s not that hard to work out. It does get more complicated when you revert decimal odds back to fractions, or your fraction is a bit more complicated.

We have scoured the bookies site so you don’t have to, and can tell you that the majority of them do have tables on their sites for converting fraction odds back to decimal odds. We also think, on a practical basis, that when you trying to work out odds on separate races, trying to find a site to convert them back to fractions, so you can get your little old head around it, seems to take it all one step too far.

Some bookies are very kind, and do allow you to see the odds in either the Decimal Odds or the Fractional Equivalent when viewing their site and odds.

So, now you know the difference. We hope you can see the difference and now work it out … but if it’s still all a bit beyond you then you know what? Give us a call, as we offer a managed service which means we have to worry about whether our calculator has batteries, and you have to worry about what you will be spending your investment returns on. Not a hard decision is it??