The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 6 letter word EVEN BETTER
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
V
E
N
B
E
T
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result EVEN BETTER
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "A further improvement / one not playing odds?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a further improvement / one not playing odds? = even better.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.