Why You Should Consider Value Betting Alongside Matched Betting
Quick answer: if you're already familiar with Matched Betting, you've built up a good bankroll, and you're ready to move on to a Value Betting strategy, there's no reason you have to choose just one strategy or the other. Continuing to matched bet even as you begin to value bet allows you to continue to generate low risk income, while also allowing for higher rewards from a higher risk Value Betting strategy.
Matched Betting is a fantastic way to make money online, and it’s perhaps the UK’s best side hustle. But it’s not the only way to make money through sports betting, an ever-growing industry in the UK.
Data Insight
Online betting was responsible for £2.6b in GGY (Gross Gambling Yield) in the financial year 2024-2025. £1.3b of that came from football, with £766.7m coming from horse racing.
Value Betting is another useful strategy to make money through sports betting, one employed by thousands of professional sports bettors around the world, who are able to make a full time living through their betting.
Admittedly, Value Betting doesn’t have the benefit of eliminating risk in the way that Matched Betting does, and for this reason it’s a technique best employed by experienced matched bettors with a good bankroll.
However, if that applies to you and you haven’t yet tried out any Value Betting techniques or tools, it’s definitely worth considering.
Strategic, careful Value Betting can be a powerful weapon in your arsenal when it comes to profiting from sports betting.
In this article we’ll take you through exactly how it works, what tools you can use, and the profits you can expect to make from a long-term Value Betting strategy.
Why Should I Value Bet?
If you’ve only tried Matched Betting techniques so far, you might not have a clear understanding of how exactly Value Betting works.
Well, Value Betting works on the principle of placing bets at odds that are higher than they should be, based on the true likelihood of that selection winning.
For example, Horse A has a real probability of 25% to win its next race. This directly translates to odds of 4 (3/1 in fractional odds), and so most bookies will probably offer odds of 3 or 3.5, to allow for their profit margin.
If, however, you found a bookie offering odds of 5, you’d have an opportunity to take a bet with what we call positive expected value, or +EV.
| Selection | Bookie odds | Implied probability | True probability | True odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse A | 5 | 20% | 25% | 4 |
| Horse B | 2.5 | 40% | 35% | 2.86 |
| Horse C | 12 | 8.3% | 5% | 20 |
As you can see, of the selections shown above, although Horse B is the most likely to win, only Horse A has bookie odds worth taking for a value bettor - Horses B and C both have lower true odds than the bookie odds. If you were considering a value bet on this particular race, Horse A would be the only logical choice, as it's the only selection that holds positive expected value.
You still aren’t guaranteed to win, of course, and it’s important to be aware that you could lose money if you bet using Value Betting techniques.
However, in the long run, consistently betting at inflated odds is very likely to result in ongoing profits overall.
Data Insight
Research analysing 87,960 football betting odds found an almost perfect one-to-one relationship between expected value (measured by beating the closing odds) and actual long-term betting returns, supporting the principle behind disciplined value betting.
Value Betting And Matched Betting
Value Betting and Matched Betting are both highly useful techniques to make money from sports betting, but each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Matched Betting relies on harnessing bonuses and other promotions from bookies to lock in a profit (if you aren’t already familiar with the term, find out more about how Matched Betting works here).
So long as you follow the instructions correctly, there’s no risk involved in Matched Betting, which makes it a fantastic method of making money, especially for those with little or no experience of sports betting.
However, it does have some downsides. There are only so many promotions on offer at any one time, which puts a hard limit on what the profit you can make from Matched Betting.
Value Betting, however, doesn’t have this problem - there will generally be plenty of +EV bets available at any one time, meaning there’ll never be a shortage of opportunities to make + EV bets.
Expert Insight
The biggest difference between recreational and long-term profitable bettors isn't finding the occasional outstanding price—it's having a repeatable process for identifying value and the discipline to ignore bets that don't meet it. Consistency almost always beats intuition.
Value Betting can also help your betting activity blend in - as you aren’t exclusively taking advantage of bookie offers, you look more like a normal punter, and may be at a lower risk of being gubbed.
Outplayed supports both Matched Betting and Value Betting strategies with our market-leading software and support, meaning a single membership can power you towards some serious profits.
Matched Betting vs Value Betting
| Matched Betting | Value Betting |
|---|---|
| Low risk | Higher risk |
| Locked in profits | Variable profits |
| Limit to profitable potential | No real limit to profit potential |
Why Should I Value Bet And Matched Bet?
There’s no reason you should have to choose between the two! Matched Betting and Value Betting can be especially effective when used in conjunction, each balancing out the potential disadvantages of the other.
Between the two of them, you can cover pretty much any kind of betting scenario with profit-making potential.
Expert Insight
Many successful bettors continue matched betting even after becoming profitable value bettors because the two strategies serve different purposes. One generates relatively predictable cash flow, while the other focuses on growing a bankroll through long-term positive expectation rather than guaranteed outcomes.
It’s completely understandable that many matched bettors will be nervous about branching into Value Betting, which does involve the risk of losses.
But the fantastic thing about doing both is that you can use your Matched Betting profits to fund your value bets, meaning that you’re never risking money you haven’t already made in profits from your betting.
And while there is the chance of losses from Value Betting, if you’re betting in enough volume long term, you’re extremely likely to end up with significantly more profit than you would from Matched Betting alone.
Our only caveat is that we strongly recommend you’re an experienced matched bettor before you explore Value Betting, and that you’ve got a solid bankroll available to you that you can afford to lose.
If both of those apply to you, you’re in the perfect position to combine Matched Betting with Value Betting and keep your profits rolling in!
Making The Most Of Value Betting With Outplayed
We’ve mentioned that the main challenge of Value Betting is in tracking down high value selections - but fortunately Outplayed’s powerful tools are here to help!
Outplayed’s Pro and Elite memberships give you access to a range of tools that have the potential to make you £1000+ extra in profits every single month.
Our Value Betting tools include the following:
- Extra Place Master. Use this tool’s No Lay mode to identify the best value each-way bets on horse racing every single day.
- Lucky Finder. This software automatically builds you Lucky 15 bets with positive EV, offering you the opportunity to make incredible profits in the long run.
- Golf Master. Available with the Elite membership package, this tool identifies high value each-way golf bets, with the potential to make hundreds of pounds a month all year round.
- Steam Chaser. Available with the Elite membership package, this is an incredibly powerful tool designed to take advantage of delays in bookie odds software, which give you the opportunity to bet on overvalued selections.
Full guides are available to our members, ensuring you know exactly how each tool works and how to make the most of it. And if you get stuck, our world-class customer support team is on hand to help, so you can be confident that you’re getting your betting right.
All in all, there’s every reason to try Value Betting alongside Matched Betting, especially once you’ve built up a good bankroll from your Matched Betting profits.
With Outplayed’s Pro tools to hand, between the two techniques you’ve got everything you need to maximise your profits and keep them going in the long-term.
Upgrade to ProFAQs
1. What's the difference between Matched Betting and Value Betting?
Matched Betting involves betting both for and against the same outcome, to achieve the same result no matter how the event goes. When using a sportsbook reward, like a free bet, matched bettors are able to lock in a profit regardless of the result.
Value Betting, however, involves finding bets whose odds are higher than the true probability of a win would imply. Over time, betting on these selections allows value bettors to generate consistent profits.
2. Is Matched Betting or Value Betting better for beginners?
If you're new to sports betting, we recommend starting with Matched Betting. This strategy involves minimal risk, so you can build your profits safely while you're learning the ropes.
3. When should I move on to Value Betting?
When you're comfortable with the essentials of Matched Betting and have built up a good bankroll, you may wish to consider including Value Betting techniques to maximise the profits you can make.
4. How much risk is involved in Matched Betting and Value Betting?
Matched Betting is a very low risk strategy, as you're able to secure the same level of profit regardless of the result of a match or race. Value Betting is a higher risk strategy, and you should expect many of your individual bets to lose - the key is volume, which makes Value Betting a profitable long term strategy.
5. How do I get started?
Whether you choose to start with Matched Betting, Value Betting, or a combination of the two, Outplayed has all the tools and support you need to generate consistent profits. Sign up for our trial to make your first profits absolutely free!
Updated: 30 Jul 2026
The Author
Stephanie is a published author and, having taken up Matched Betting fairly recently, she knows exactly how beginners feel when they first start Matched Betting. She loves breaking down complex subjects in straightforward terms to make them accessible to newcomers, and to speed them on their way to making their first profits.