This project is to convert the current excel spreadsheet to a single-page web app.
A calculator for taking advantage of bookie price boosts where multiple back bets can be combined to produce a layable outcome.
The companion bet spreadsheet is a version of the multilay spreadsheet which can take advantage of previously unlayable price boosts.
The multilay spreadsheet generates the stakes needed to lay boosts for multiple outcomes (eg. Man Utd to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1).
It can also be used to combine lay markets to cover a particular boost. (e.g. Man Utd to win and o3.5 goals can be layed with 3-1, 3-2 and any other home/away win) The companion bet spreadsheet goes a step further. By combining the boost with one or more extra back bets, we can then create a layable outcome. This means we can take advantage of a wider range of price boosts. As these boosts will not be getting hammered by other matched bettors, they are less likely to be cut when they become profitable.
Example 1
As a first example of companion betting, take the following price boost offered by Sportnation: We can start examining the wording of this boost to identify the possible outcomes that would win the bet, this way we can create a combination of backs and lays that will fully cover it. We can lay Werder Bremen to win and over 3.5 goals easily, however because of the BTTS element, we would be overlaying and results like 4-0, 5-0 etc. would lose on both sides. Similarly we can lay Werder Bremen to win and BTTS, however there is one possible result here which is not over 3.5 goals (Werder Bremen to win 2-1). If this happened we would lose on both sides. The second example is a great opportunity for a companion bet, as there is only one outcome that will lose both sides. Our solution is to bet on the boost as well as betting on the 2-1 scoreline. This creates a combined bet that is effectively Werder Bremen to win and BTTS, and can be layed accordingly.
Using the spreadsheet
Firstly we input the boost stake and odds. The maximum bet for the Sportnation boost is £25 which will return £275 at odds of 11.
We then input the back odds for the companion bet in the first orange cell, which is Werder Bremen to win 2-1. We can either back this on the exchange or at another bookie, whichever has higher odds. Remember we are backing this result and not laying it. In this example the back odds for 2-1 at Smarkets are 12.5
There is room on the spreadsheet to combine three different companion bets, however in this example we only need one.
The spreadsheet now tells us the combined back odds of 5.85, and the amount we need to back the companion bet (£22). We have now effectively created a back bet with a £47 stake at odds of 5.85.
We can now use this information to lay Werder Bremen and BTTS. As we only need to lay one result to cover our new back bet, we only need one set of lay odds.
The Lay odds for Werder Bremen and BTTS are 5.6 so we input this into the first green cell. As this is lower than our combined back odds, we know we can profit. The spreadsheet tells us that we can either lock in equal profit by laying £49.11 or underlay by matching the £47 back stake. In this example I decided to lay £49.11. Werder Bremen lost so the lay bet won. The original boost lost so I lost my £25 back stake, my companion bet also lost so I also lost £22, giving me £2.11 profit overall.
Example 2
The next example is from Ladbrokes
This is a common type of boost from Ladbrokes and most people will leave it as they don't know how to lay it. It can almost be multilayed with the correct scores 2-3 and any other away win, however it would leave one result that would lose both sides (0-4, which is the only 'any other away win' with fewer than five goals). In this case 0-4 will have to be our companion bet. Firstly we enter the boost stake and odds in the first two rows. Then in the first orange cell we input the best back odds we an find for 0-4. We can back this at Paddy Power at odds of 21. The spreadsheet calculates combined back odds of 3.59 and tells us we will need to bet £4.13 on 0-4 to complement the £20 boost. We effectively have a £24.13 bet at odds of 3.59. To lay the bet, we input the lay odds for 2-3 and any other away win in the green cells. The spreadsheet tells us that the combined lay odds are 3.5 and gives us lay stakes for either locking in a small profit of about 60p or underlaying.