Want to protect your bankroll and avoid the betting markets that quietly drain most people’s balances?
You’re in the right place.
Some of the worst bets in sports betting look fun, exciting, or even ‘value’ …yet they’re a subtle illusion. These are the bets that regulated UK bookmakers like Bet365, SkyBet, Paddy Power, and Betfair love to promote – because the maths is heavily in their favour.
Below, I’ll break down the five worst bets you can place, explain why they lose you money, and highlight the exact betting markets to avoid if you want long-term success.
5. Ante-Post & Outright Bets (High Margin, Low Liquidity)
Outrights are some of the most popular bets in the UK. Think of Premier League winners, Champions League winners, top goalscorers, Cheltenham Festival bets months in advance…
They’re fun to follow, and the odds always look big.
But here’s the part bookmakers don’t tell you:
Ante-post markets regularly carry 30%–50%+ bookmaker margins.
That’s huge. Like really huge.
Compare that to a normal match market where the margin is often around 8–12% and you soon see just how bad they are.
Why are outright odds so bad?
Because early markets have:
- Very little liquidity
- Zero competitive pressure
- No real market correction
- A long timeline where anything can change
When you convert the odds to implied probability and total them, it’s common to find 40%+ overrounds built into outright markets.
Note: this article explains what the overround means in betting.
And don’t forget – your money is locked away for months. If a player gets injured or a horse doesn’t run, the edge stays with the bookmaker, not you.
Bottom line: Outrights are exciting, but they’re easily one of the worst sports bets for long-term value.
4. Bet Builders (Fun… but Terrible Value)
Bet Builders exploded in popularity because they feel personalised. Typically, you will need to pick…
- A team to win
- A player to score
- Corners
- Cards
- Shots on target
They’re then combined into one ‘smart-looking’ bet.
But there’s a problem – and it’s a big one.
Bet Builders combine correlated events – and the bookmaker controls every price.
If a striker scores, the match is likelier to go over 2.5 goals, if corners rise, attacking pressure rises or if one leg lands, the other outcomes become more likely.
In a fair market, correlated legs should increase your final odds.
Bookmakers do the opposite — they reduce them.
A Bet Builder that should be 6/1 might be offered at 4/1. Add more legs and the value gets demolished even further.
Confused? For those who want to understand odds, check this short video out…
There’s a further explanation about sportsbook margins from Pinnacle here if you’re interested.
3. Specials, Request-A-Bet and #YourOdds
This includes anything like:
- SkyBet RequestABet
- William Hill #YourOdds
- Player milestones
- Match specials
- Fun one-off combinations
These are entertaining… but they’re also where bookmakers hide their biggest advantages.
Specials are the least transparent and highest-margin markets in the entire industry.
Why?
Because there’s…
- No reference market
- No exchange price
- No true probability available
- No competition between bookmakers
They literally invent a price that ‘sounds nice’. A 40/1 special might genuinely be 120/1 in fair odds — and bettors have no way to check.
That’s why specials get pushed all over social media. They’re pure margin for the betting companies (a terrible proposition).
2. Most Football Accumulators (Compounding Margins)
The biggest football accumulators make this type of bet extremely popular – from an entertainment standpoint, they’re great.
But mathematically?
They’re a disaster for the average gambler.
Each match selection typically carries a 4–7% bookmaker margin. Combine four or five legs, and this margin compounds rapidly.
Example:
A true 4-fold at even-money outcomes should pay 16/1. But the bookmaker prices each leg at 1.91 instead of 2.00.
But your payout?
12/1.
That missing 4 points of value = pure bookmaker profit.
1. Risk-Free Bets and Signup Free Bets (When Used Incorrectly)
This one traps more new bettors than anything else. “Risk-free” bets from Betfair, Bet365, SkyBet and others are not truly risk-free unless you know how to extract the value.
Most people do this…
- Sign up
- Bet on a short-priced favourite (trying to be safe)
- Win a tiny amount or lose
- Receive a free bet
- Repeat the mistake
Example: Stake £50 at odds of 1.5. If it loses, your free bet doesn’t refund your stake — you only get the profit portion if it wins.
So even when the free bet wins, the bettor finishes worse than where they started.
Meanwhile, the bookmaker gains:
- Your personal data
- A first deposit
- A long-term customer
- The chance to push you more offers
There is a way to play these correctly
But it requires understanding exchanges and hedging your position with the use of lay bets on an exchange. If you’re interested, there are two services that make it extremely easy; just check out the link at the bottom of this post. Take a look.
Final Thoughts: Avoid These 5 Bets and Your Edge Improves Instantly
You don’t need to become a professional bettor to stop leaking money. Simply avoiding these high-margin, bad-value betting markets already puts you ahead of 95% of the betting public.
And if you want to understand the maths behind bookmaker tricks, take a few minutes to watch the video above — it’ll change the way you look at betting markets forever.