sherman said:
Sherman; Proper use of a matchplay is to bet it on as big a ML dog as possible ( ideally one you were going to bet anyway).
Betting a -200 fav is clearly wrong ! I'll get away from the million $ numbers to be realistic.
The guy playing the $500 match at -200 in hopes of catching $250 must win the bet or he gets zero. You could guarantee better than that.
Let's take a game the matchplay shop has at +500, bet the $500 there to attempt to win $2500. Find the same game at Pinny (-600 on fav) bet 2200 to win 366.67. You either win 2500 and lose 2200 for profit of 300, or win 366.
$300 minimum guaranteed instead of chance for $250.
NEVER play matchplay on fav.
Your 5mil match requires a huge bet on fav, so large you can't even really bet it.