Racing - Systems .co.uk

BETTING STRATEGIES AT BETFAIR

So we now have this great new money making tool at betfair. How do we use it to do just that?

Firstly I want to look at making bets.

Making Bets.

Betfair can be used in much the same way as a traditional online bookmaker.

i.e. simply see the prices on offer, if they exceed what your traditional bookmaker is offering bet there.

However the big advantage of Betfair is when it comes to making bets. You have the ability to set your own minimum price. As I am sure you are aware the secret of any successful betting strategy is to get consistently get winners at value prices.

Betfair cannot pick your winners for you. However by setting minimum prices for your selections you can ensure you are only betting when the price is right.

If your price is not met. You get your money back in full. Nothing lost.

Do not worry about unmatched bets. You are looking for long term profits from a large series of well priced selections.

Laying Bets

The Straight Lay

In my opinion this is the most exciting aspect of the bet exchange concept.

For the average better this is the first opportunity they have had to play bookmaker. Apparently bookmakers always win (not mine) so why not join them.

At first laying bets seems uncomfortable to the average bettor. Probably because they are so used to being on the other side. There is also the psychological aspect in that generally you are risking more than you receive.

However I would encourage you all to get to grips with this. For the informed punter this opens up a whole new world of profitable betting opportunities.

As stated previously there is huge potential in laying single horses to lose. You may choose to oppose overhyped favourites, perhaps longer priced horses just making up the numbers.

Possible things to look for when laying are horses that are out of the handicap, horses being run over their wrong course and distance, horses out of form, horses unsuited to the going.

You know how hard it is to pick winners. Why not pick losers instead.

If you have a system or method that is hopeless at picking winners why not lay every horse it suggests instead?

I don't think it would be too hard to come up with a loosing system now would it?

Mugging the Mugs

A very simple strategy here to take advantage of all the punters out there less informed than yourself.

Perhaps not very ethical but my job is not to teach you ethics but to show you ways to make money out of this.

Look for events with few or no bets offered. When you find one lay a bet and offer poor odds. You can simply use online bookmakers to get an idea of what odds are generally available elsewhere. If you offer less than the bookie you can almost guarantee you are offering poor value. :+)

Of course your bet may not be taken up. On the other hand as it may be the only   price offered it may appeal to the mug punter who has money in his Betfair account and wants to bet on that event.

I would suggest you look for events where you can offer a better than evens chance. e.g offer 2/1 or so. where 3/1 may be the general bookies odds. Offering a return greater than evens has a certain psychological appeal to it in the eyes of those taking up the bet.

As with any form off betting split any bank you have into points. The mug punter will be right and may even be right several times in a row but you should come out ahead long term. Again think long term profits.

Hedging Bets

This is a great technique and should appeal to those who appreciate the joys of a guaranteed win.

Use this when you are sitting on a bet at a much greater price than is currently available. Situations when this could arise are for example a big ante post race. Or perhaps more short term you may have taken an early price on a horse which has turned into the steamer of the day.

There are dramatic changes in the price of certain horses during the day for many reasons. Being the selection of an overexposed tipping line being just one of them.

Assume you were lucky enough to have a £10 win bet at 16/1 on Red Rum. The market changes and the current available price in the bookies is about 7/1.

One option is to sit on your bet in the knowledge that you now have what appears to be a good value bet. The most likely scenario however is that the horse will lose. Apparent value or not.

There is another alternative however. You can lay your bet at Betfair to give yourself a guaranteed win.

Lets say you want to make it really attractive and offer it at 8/1. The bookies only go 7's remember.

You decide to lay £130 at 8/1. (Betfair digital odds of 9) i.e. the opposing side will have to place a bet of  £130/8 = £16.25.

Now should the horse win you would make £160 from the bookie and lose £130 from bet fair. Net profit = £30.

If the horse losses you lose your £10 stake from the bookie but win

£16.25 - £0.81 (5% commission). Net profit = £5.44

By adjusting the stake and odds offered you can vary the amount paid out in the win or lose scenario.

The important point to stress here is that there are guaranteed winnings no matter the outcome of the race.

Many astute punters would prefer to take a small but guaranteed win over  a a larger but decidedly risky potential win coupled with the more likely scenario of a loss.

Place Only Betting

Why don't bookmakers offer fixed odds place only betting?

The simple reason is that informed punters would soon put them out of business if they did.

If you can identify selections that have a good chance of winning and are almost certain to be placed... read on.

Lets assume your selection is 5/1. You reckon that with the make up of the race it is it is almost guaranteed a place.

You place £10 e/w at the traditional online bookmaker. Then you go to Betfair and offer £50 at 5/1.

The net result of this is that you are left with a place only bet. The win bet and the lay cancel each other out.

You now have a means of making the kind of bet the traditional bookmaker would not let you have for good reason.

I hope you can see the profit potential of this new tool.

I am sure some of you will simply not want to learn new tricks. For those of you that do however I would advise you to make yourselves familiar with their site. Usage is growing daily for many good reasons.

Those that can master these new techniques will find their betting a much more profitable exercise. After a few trades it becomes easy.

Watch out William Hill...this is the future.

To take advantage of what Betfair has to offer the smarter punter click the banner below.

Why not sign up and put in a small deposit so you can jump on any value bets that are offered?

Click Here