"With a little bit of practice you get good at spotting value and it turns out to be a lot more common than you might think. A month or so ago a regular PBer, Jan from Norway, pointed out these odds available on Tony Blair’s resignation date:
2006 4-1 (20%) Ladbrokes
2007 2-5 (71.4%) William Hill
2008 20-1 (4.8%) Paddy Power
In fact you could probably have eliminated 2008 with negligible risk but even without doing so, the prices add up to only 96.2%, shy of the bookmaker’s break-even point by 3.8%. OK, the effect is created by combining three different bookies. Individually they would not have been betting below 100%, or ‘overbroke’, as it is known. But from the punter’s point of view it matters not a jot. If you placed your bets pro-rata to the odds on offer, you had to win."
You don't believe it? Then look at this extract from the comments:
£74 at 2-5 for 2007 returns £103.60
£21 at 4-1 for 2006 returns £105
£5 at 20-1 for 2008 returns £105
Guaranteed profit £3.60. You must bet at least the percentage (71%, 20%, 4.8%) to make sure you return your £100.
Warning - situations where the odds add up to less than 100% are less likely to occur on the horses.
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