3-way or Draw No Bet that is the Question?

The age-old punter’s football dilemma is ‘Do I bet a 3-way bet or a draw no bet (i.e. 2 way).  3-way is more conventional’ It is a killer when your team scores in extra time and you still lose your bet. In a draw no bet scenario, if your team ties during regulation, you get your original bet back.  So, which way is better?  It depends on what you are doing.

Are you purely gambling, covering your match bet, or placing a sure bet?

Let’s review these three options:

Match betting allows you to make money using the free bets the bookmakers offer.  When you get a free sign-up bonus or re-load bonus from one bookmaker, you can use that bonus to place a bet.  Then, go to another bookmaker and play the other side of that bet.  You can place the right amount of the bet to guarantee a win when factoring in the bonus.  In this scenario, it’s probably best to use the draw no bet to limit the calculations needed to guarantee yourself a profit.

Sure betting or sports gambling arbitrage is when the odds differ at two or more bookmakers where you can place a bet on all outcomes of a match and still make money.  It would be very difficult for an individual punter to scan multiple bookies to find arbitrage opportunities.  There are some excellent sports gambling arbitrage companies, like betslayer.com, that scan some of the most popular bookies to find these sure bets.  To go draw no bet or 3-way is a function of the sure bet identified by a company like BetSlayer.com.  A brief scan of betslayer.com’s list of sure bets shows mostly draw no bets with an occasional 3-way sure bet identified.

When you are purely gambling on a match, it depends on your level of confidence. Let’s say Man U is playing Chelsea.  The odds in a 3-way opportunity could like this: 

Chelsea: 2.25   

Draw: 3.30  

Man U: 3.45

While the odds for the same match in a draw no bet opportunity could look this:

Chelsea: 1.57 

Man. U 2.45

If you are very confident that Chelsea is going to win the game in regulation time, you would be willing to risk the higher return and take the 2.25.  In taking the greater odds, you risk losing if the match is a tie at the end of regulation.

If you felt less confident in Chelsea winning in regulation, you would go with the draw no bet opportunity and take Chelsea 1.57.  Now, if there is a draw, you get your original bet back instead of losing.  While you have given up some potential winnings, you have lowered your risk of losing.

Sure bets are a function of the algorithm that identifies the arbitrage, typically a draw no bet is the most likely scenario on a reputable sports gambling arbitrage supplier like Betslayer.

Matched betting you are looking to maximize the return on both sides of the event.  So, a draw no bet scenario is most likely.

Pure gambling is really about the punter’s risk tolerance for a certain match. A 3-way bet has a higher risk with greater reward while a draw no bet will result in fewer ways to lose your stake, but the lower reward.

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