What are middles in sport betting?

 Mike Bowl
Aktualisiert am: 29 Januar, 2024
3 Minuten

Middles are the most popular type of bet in sport betting, with more than 80% of all bets placed being middles. This article will explain what a middle is and how to identify them; we'll also look at the different types of middles available and some common props that you might find when betting on sports.

Introduction

What is middle?

Middles in sports betting is a situation where you need to make two bets. The result can be one of two:

  • One of the two bets will win, which will lead to a small but controlled loss, and in some cases even to a minimal win (such middles are called arb-middles).

  • Both bets will win at once, which will lead to an increased profit.

Middle example

Football match between teams Petrolul Ploiesti and Voluntari in Romania. league 1. Fouls bet:

middle example

1. Individual Total Petrolul Ploiesti Over 12.5 fouls.

2. Individual Total Petrolul Ploiesti Under 14.5 fouls.

In a situation where there are exactly 13 or 14 fouls, both bets will win at once, which will lead to a profit of as much as 422 euros with a total bet of 500 euros. In all other cases, one of the two bets will win: if only the first bet wins, there will be a controlled loss of 46 euros, if only the second wins - 32 euros.

Thus, we see that a situation is possible when both bets will play. This situation is called "hitting the middle". If we don't hit the middle, we don't lose the whole bank, but only a small part of it.

How to find a middles?

We looked at the example of a fouls middle in football, but it is also very common to find middles in basketball and middles in tennis due to the features of these sports. All this does not mean that there are no middles in other sports, but it is often more difficult to find them yourself. Middles can be searched manually by checking the lines, or you can use a middles scanner, such as breaking-bet.com, which allows you to find middles according to the given settings of many parameters, such as: Mathematical expectation, Probability of hitting the middle, Profit when hit, Profit/Loss miss.

How to identify goods middles?

When analyzing middles, it is important to rely on the following indicators:

Mathematical expectation - a value that shows how profitable the middle will be at a distance, based on its probability.

The probability of hitting the middle - the probability that both bets will win (there will be a hit in the middle).

Profit when entering the middle - the percentage of profit when there will be a hit in the middle (both bets will win).

Profit/Loss on Miss - The percentage of win/loss on a miss (only one of the two bets will win).

In the example discussed above, we see that the profit when hitting the middle is quite high - 84.92%, and the loss when missing is 7.54%. At first glance, these are good indicators, but there is a caveat - the probability of hitting a middle is 19.12%, which is a small indicator (1 out of 5 hits), it is better to consider middles with a higher probability of hitting. Profit from a hit can be as big as you like, but what's the point if the probability of hitting is small?

The props and cons of middles

Middles are a great way to make money. By finding middles, you can often find arbitrage opportunities that allow you to profit from both sides of the bet. However, this only works if both sides are available for betting at the same time.

  • If the middles are evaluated incorrectly, you can start losing the pot at a distance

  • Often searching a middles is easier than searching arbs

  • More profit with less losses

  • Less attention from bookmakers

Conclusion

In this article, we have covered all you need to know about middles in sport betting. We started with an explanation of what it is and how it works before going on to look at the searching of middle available on the market today. We also looked at some tips for finding good middles so that you can maximise your chances of making profit from them when placing bets with bookmakers.