There are times when, if you are quick, a betting oxy-moron occurs that enables you to win no matter who you back. In today’s Shanghai Masters Final, Roger Federer is 8/15 to win the match with Andy Murray unwanted in betting at 2/1. However, in outright betting, Andy Murray is favourite at 5/4 with Roger Federer second pick at 7/4.

It doesn’t happen all that often and punters generally need to be quick to take advantage of the situation. You also need to have accounts with several different online bookmakers. This enables you to shop around to find the best odds available. This is a perfect oxy-moron in betting since there can only be one of two outcomes – either Federer wins or Murray does – there is no draw to consider.

Why does this happen? There are two markets. There is the match market which bets on who will win a particular match. Bookmakers adjust betting odds up and down depending on how much money is coming in for a particular selection. In this case, there is more money coming in for Federer so he is favourite.

Outright betting starts before the tournament begins and includes all players. As each match is completed and players are eliminated, they are dropped from the betting pool. The process is still the same and at this point there is more money on Murray to win than there is on Federer, so he is the favourite. Of course, as punters pick up on this differential Federer will draw more interest.

Generally speaking, by match time, the two markets are somewhat in agreement. Federer will most likely start slightly in the red in outright betting with Murray out to 7/4, perhaps longer. Smart punters constantly watch the betting markets, especially in the hours immediately following a set of results like quarter finals or semi finals.

If you’re quick, you can grab these great betting odds and back both to win – Federer at 7/4 is good value, particularly when you can also back Murray at 2/1. Use a sensible betting strategy and you can gain a good profit – no matter who wins.