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    The Betfair Guide

    The single biggest additional in the world of gambling, since bookies went online, was the arrival of the betting exchange. The largest and most popular of which is Betfair. Most of us have already been up and running with Betfair for some time now, but there are still those few who are reluctant to make the switch, for reasons such as the “confusing” prices, all the buttons, or they simply don’t understand it. There are also those regular users who simply don’t get the most of the using an exchang.
    So, in order to (hopefully) help, I’ve decided to put together this basic guide to Betfair. It’s by no means a definitive guide and they are probably better ones out there. But it’s a start;


    A Guide to Betfair
    (Part 1)


    • WTF’s a Betting exchange?
    • Betfair verses The Highstreet Bookie
    • Getting started
    • Odds – where are they and what are those funny numbers?
    • Placing a Bet
    • I want a better price please – Leaving Orders
    • That’ll never win – Laying a bet
    • No Each-Way???
    • Getting around the minimum




    WTF’s a Betting exchange?
    A betting exchange is just like any other betting site (or bookies shop), in that allows you to place money on the outcome of a sporting event. However, unlike in a betting shop, you aren’t betting against the house, at a price decide by the house, it’s against another user logged on somewhere else.
    For example, for every person that thinks Man Utd will win at the weekend, you can be sure there is a queue of guys who think they won’t. The Betting exchange is simply a website that organises all these bets and looks after the cash until it’s settled. They have no influence on the price, the people making the bets set the prices. As Abraham Lincoln (a noted degenerate) would say, Betfair is of the punter, by the punter, for the punter.

    For the result of this guide I’ll refer only to Betfair, as it’s the largest exchange and the only one I use at the minute. But the concepts apply directly to others. The next largest exchange is BetDaq (prices are pretty much identical to Betfair for most markets)

    Betfair verses The Highstreet Bookie
    So why bother with Betfair when you already have a betting account with Boyles, Paddy Powers and any other poker site that also operates a sports betting site...........Well there are lots of reasons.
    • Better prices – Betfair almost always has better prices. The figured quoted for adverts and marketing is 20% better, this is a little misleading. They had it checked and on average it is 20% better, but this is over all bets in a field. Strong favourites aren’t always much better on Betfair, but the long shots are far better. A 33/1 horse might be 50s on Betfair etc.
    • Laying a bet – One of the usual areas of confusion on Betfair is the “Lay” function. This is where you put money on an event that you thing won’t happen. Basically you become the bookie. (I’ll go into this in detail a little later, it’s harder than it sounds)
    • Betfair don’t care – Unlike a bookie, Betfair have nothing invested in the outcome of an event. A bookies try to avoid taking a hit on a lot of events. And the prices and/or bets available reflect this. Betfair don’t care who wins, they make their money on the commission on the market winnings only. (Strictly speaking, the long shot winning nets them more commission, but not really the same as the Bookies.
    • Betfair also have much more markets that allow you to place in-running. I’ll get back to this later, but this is where you can make some good cash if you’re quick enough.



    Getting started
    Opening an account is easy, all the usual details are required. They may decide to do a security check, which means you’ll have to scan a photo ID/utility bill etc to prove you are who you say you are. If you haven’t already got an account you might as well use a referral code. Mine is in the link below, and there are plenty of people around who’ll be happy to give you theirs via a quick PM.



    All the usual methods for deposit are accepted. Some incur a fee. You can check the site for the full list, but to be honest you really shouldn’t be using anything other and a debit (laser, Visa Debit) card or better still an electronic wallet like Moneybookers or Neteller. This is because credit cards get hit with a deposit fee, and other methods are slower.

    If you don’t have an e-wallet, set one up now. It’s the cheapest and quickest. And is a big help when it comes to quickly moving cash around between poker and/or betting sites. I prefer Moneybookers. There is a sign up link below too, and there are the usual hoops to jump through



    Odds – where are they and what are those funny numbers?
    The most striking change once you start using Betfair is the Odds format. Traditionally, fractional odds are the norm for UK and Ireland betting. This is what most people are used to, and comfortable with. Betfair uses the decimal system. From my experiences here in Australia, where decimal is the norm, most people are confused by this. But once you get your head around it, it’s far better. It’s easier to compare prices as every price is in the same scale (unlike traditional odds that may be 3/2, 7/4, 13/8), and it also allows for smaller increments in prices.

    At the beginning you will want to convert back to traditional prices. So here’s a quick explanation of the odds.

    The decimal odds represent the total return for a stake of 1 unit.
    So if the decimal odds are 4.0, and you stake $10. You get a return of $40, which is your $10 plus $30 profit. It should be obvious that this is the same as a 3/1 bet. So, the simplest way to convert back is to take away 1.
    5.0 = 4/1
    2.0 = 1/1 or evens
    3.5 = 2.5/1 or 5/2

    Odds are rarely in simply whole numbers like that but once you get a grip on the main prices, you soon be thinking in terms of “just better than evens”, :just below 4/1” etc

    The decimal odds allow multiples and dutching (more on this later) to be calculated just easier.
    For multiples, just multiply all the decimal prices. So a $1 triple at 2.5, 3.2 and 4.0 returns $32 (31/1)

    Placing a Bet
    No the fun begins.
    When starting off, its best to stick to backing horses/teams/etc before you try your hand at laying. Laying can be confusing at first, and a mistake could cost you.



    Here is a screen shot of a typical market – This year’s Gold Cup. When backing, you are only interested in the Blue boxes. (The pink boxes are lays) The best price for each option is highlighted in Blue (and pink).

    So, let’s say you want to place a bet on Denman. You can see above that he is available at 3.15, the euro amount below shows how much is available at that price, after which the next best price is display one box out and so on. You can turn this off by unclicking the “Market Depth” box. You can also turn off the lay box until you are ready. It’s a good idea to turn them off if you find it confusing, but as soon as you are comfortable turn them back on as they contain valuable information.
    So, if you click on Denman @ 3.15, the window on the left opens up and you are prompted to enter your stake, click submit, and finally click confirm to lock in the bet.

    I want a better price please – Leaving Orders
    One of the key features of Betfair is the ability to request a better price – called leaving orders..
    Using the above example again, say you want to back Denman, but don’t agree with 3.15, when entering the stake you can up to odds to your liking, to say 3.2, before you submit/confirm the bet. If won’t be matched at first and will appear in the Lay column where somebody can take you up if they wish. Be careful with leaving orders to a higher price, it may not get matched and will be cancelled once the race (or match) starts. Or worse still, something might change (such as a player being injured) and then your bet will be snapped off you etc. Don’t leave orders unattended unless you are very comfortable with the market.


    That’ll never win – Laying a bet
    When you believe a horse, or team isn’t going to win. You have the option to lay the bet for somebody else and be the bookie. Take Cooldine in the Gold cup. He is trading at 15.5 to win, if you decide to lay you click on the pink box and the same window opens on the right, you can either take the 16 that somebody requested or drop to 15.5 (or lower) and wait for it to be matched.

    Let’s go with 16, in the right hand window (where is stake box for the back bet was) is the “Backer’s Stake” box. Here you enter how much you will accept from the backer. You need to have enough in the account that you can cover the bet should the horse win.
    So, you enter 10euro, Betfair tells you that your liability is 150euro 9which is unavailable to you for the duration of the bet). That means that if the horse loses, you collect the backers 10euro, but if it wins, you pay him your 150euro.

    No Each-Way???
    One of the biggest complaints about Betfair I hear is the lack of an each-way market. This is nonsense. Each-way consists of a win bet and a place bet. And often the horse has no chance of winning and only a decent chance of 2nd or 3rd. A place only bet would be better value. Betfair has a place market for this (you can also combine a win bet with a place bet for an each-way type bet, but you may not get the same ¼ odds)
    Attached Files

    #2
    Some problems with Betfair.

    Their customer service is terrible. Its very easy to get somebody on the phone but not easy to get a problem sorted.
    There is glitches from time to time in their software.
    They often shut down overnight and all your lay bets are cancelled. They don't email their customers to let them know that there is a planned downtime.
    Prices can be worse in less popular markets like college American football, college basketball, Rugby Union, Ice Hockey, Baseball and others.
    Often times a price in available for something that has lost after an event has finished in less popular markets.
    If you deposit 100 using a credit/debit card and 100 using moneybookers and then wish to withdraw 200, they will make you use both methods to withdraw the funds. All methods of deposting funds have to used to the full amount you deposited before they will let you choose the withdrawal method that best suits you.
    The minimum bet is €2 which is way higher than most gambling sites.
    Betfair is very poor for multiple bets on most sports.
    Oh yeah and recently they have started up virtual racing on the sports site. Their games section is clearly not doing as well as they would like, they started by sticking advertisments all over the sports site and now have virtual racing on it.
    'Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it's not the best thing for you' - Bill Belichick

    Comment


      #3
      I agree with some eagle eye, but I think you're mistaken about some things.
      Originally posted by eagle eye View Post
      Some problems with Betfair.

      Their customer service is terrible. Its very easy to get somebody on the phone but not easy to get a problem sorted.
      There is glitches from time to time in their software.
      I've found all customer service poor in general, Stars, PPP, etc, some are obvious worse than others. My only dealings with Betfair was a sign-up bonus didn't go on (due to me not entering the code), I email and they gave me a bonus anyway, for a greater amount.
      When I was at home they often rang me up, and emailed too with various offers, which was always welcome.

      They often shut down overnight and all your lay bets are cancelled. They don't email their customers to let them know that there is a planned downtime.
      To be fair that's for your own safety. Would you rather, the lay bet remained and you had no idea when it was back, or worse where unable to get online to ancel if you needed to. As I said above, leaving orders has its risks.

      Prices can be worse in less popular markets like college American football, college basketball, Rugby Union, Ice Hockey, Baseball and others.
      Often times a price in available for something that has lost after an event has finished in less popular markets.
      That's true. Especially annoying for me in the MMA markets, as I feel i've a decent edge here, but the market is poor.
      Although, as you'll see in part 2, I would encourage everyone to keep an account with as many bookies as possible.

      If you deposit 100 using a credit/debit card and 100 using moneybookers and then wish to withdraw 200, they will make you use both methods to withdraw the funds. All methods of deposting funds have to used to the full amount you deposited before they will let you choose the withdrawal method that best suits you.
      you can get around this by email, say you've lost the card.
      To be fair, I didn't say not to use a creditcard, you should of listened
      The minimum bet is €2 which is way higher than most gambling sites.
      Betfair is very poor for multiple bets on most sports.
      2 euro isn't the minimum, there is a way around it that i'll detail in part two. I had to remove it from part 1 to get the words under 10k
      I'm not sure if it applies to multiples.

      Oh yeah and recently they have started up virtual racing on the sports site. Their games section is clearly not doing as well as they would like, they started by sticking advertisments all over the sports site and now have virtual racing on it.
      LOL, how is that any different than any other gambling site who flood inboxes with casino and other nonsense ventures. There is no edge here, so ignore it. It's not hard.

      Comment


        #4
        Mellor are you working for Betfair or something? I didn't expect a response to my little addition, its just some advice for newbies.
        'Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it's not the best thing for you' - Bill Belichick

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by eagle eye View Post
          Mellor are you working for Betfair or something? I didn't expect a response to my little addition, its just some advice for newbies.
          I agree with most of what you said. Was just pointing out some of the bits i'll cover in part 2. And some of the ways around your problems, part two will be up tomorrow.

          You're lucky, they are far worse in Oz, for some bizarre reason, I can't bet in running. This even included tournaments in running, not just matches/races.
          Say for example, the world cup, once the first game is played, I can't bet on the overall winner of the world cup. Or the WSOP, I wanted to lay the shit out of Ivey before the November FT. I tried to do this in August, but couldn't as the tournament was still in-running.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Gimmeabreak
            and this has zero to do with Betfair and everything to do with Australian legislation.
            True, it's annoying though. Especially aussie are one of the biggest nations of degenerates around. I was shocked with the amount of bookies here.

            I was told Paddy power don't restrict bets from Aus (if you already have an account with cash in it). But mine empty, so can't test that.

            Comment


              #7
              Part 2
              • Getting around the minimum
              • Betting in running
              • Bots


              Getting passed the minimum
              Betfair has a minimum stake, which is 2euro at the minute on most markets, but there are ways to get around this. Some people like to do this when they are backing or laying at very long odds (100-1000). (this is more relevant when the min was originally 4euro but I might as well include it).

              To bet at less than the minimum
              1. Make your selection as normal
              2. In the odds box change it to something that will never get matched, so for a back bet increase the amount way passed the best odds, up to 1000 or so etc. (Important: for a lay, you need to reduce it down to 1.01 or similar) It won’t work if the horse is available to be matched at the max (or min).
              3. Enter the stake as 2euro (or the current minimum) and submit, and it won’t get matched.
              4. Now, up the stake to 3euro and submit again,
              5. Betfair will separate the bet into two bets, the original for 2euro and the new for 1euro (or less if you up’d it to 20c etc)
              6. Cancel/Delete the bet for 2euro, and now change the bet for 1euro to stake that will be matched.


              You’ve just bet under the min.
              I'm not sure if this is possible on multiples, as you can't request odds. Which is unfortunate (we all love a 20c every PL match accumulators)

              Betting in running
              This is one of the biggest advantages of Betfair, while Paddy Power offer in-running on most big events (and an increasing number too) Betfair offers it on most markets, and it also allows for a much quicker change of prices. In a market like Horse-racing, which last all but a few seconds, the prices change rapidly and if you know your form and history you can stand to clean up. I don’t bet in running on horses, simply because I don’t know enough to compete with the best of the best (and you need to be able to) and I don’t have the fastest pictures available. I find it much more comfortable betting on football and similar markets in-running. Because the prices change much more often, and by greater amounts once play has started in-running provides far more opertunities to trade prices and lock in your profit, or eliminate your outlay. I’ll go into this a bit later, but first, Here’s some things to consider if betting in-running;

              Betfair Refresh Rate
              There is a slightly delay in the refresh rate on Betfair, I have heard 3 seconds quoted a lot. This combined with the process of entering a stake, odds, processing, and confirming the bet* adds to 5-10 seconds (*it’s possible to turn off the confirmation step in settings, in-running aside, if it annoys you get rid of it). A lot can happen in 10 seconds, so everything you can do to reduce this time will obviously increase your EV. The obvious way to reduce these delays is to use a Bot for in-running, it’s pretty much essential. There are free one available that do everything you need. See more on bots below.
              I probably don’t need to say this, but you need a good broadband connection to bet in-running, don’t try it with mobile BB, it could cost you. (Unless you are a degen with a laptop at the track, as you’ll bypass the TV delay)

              TV Delays
              LIVE television isn’t actually live. There is a small delay which varies depending on your source.
              The fastest pictures are available on SIS (via satellite), this is the TV feed that most bookies have. It’s not cheap, unless you are betting huge amounts; it’s unlikely you could pay it off.
              Even among the standard ways we get everyday TV (Sky digital, NTK Cable) the delay differs a lot. Most of us will have noticed that there is a few seconds delay between a show on Sky Digital and regular TV in another room. (I remember during Ireland’s last world cup, hearing a loud cheer from next-door before we even played the ball). But you may not be aware that Sky+ may have an extra delay over Sky Digital, NTL Cable is slightly faster than both, and Terrestrial (aerials) are the fastest of common household feeds (although, who even has on anymore). So if you have the option to switch over from Digital to NTL for the football or the racing, you should.

              One other thing that may make a difference, the station affects delay too. If you are betting on Spanish league, the local Spanish stations will be ahead of RTE and the likes, If you plan to bet in-running a lot, check out your options for various matches and get to know which is best for each market for you.

              Bots
              Now, Bots are normally frowned upon around here, as their use in poker is generally banned as they are programmed to make a player decision for them. However, when referring to Betfair, Bots are kosher. They automate certain tasks, but still require input of decisions from the punter. The range of things they do will vary from Bot to Bot as well as between free and paid versions. I use Bet Angel; they have a free version that has all the key features, such as one click betting, continuous refresh (prices update much quicker than on the regular site, very important to grab the mistakes of others), and a green-up function which automatically bets across a market to lock in any profit you’ve earned due to price change.
              It also removes the need to enter the stake every time, once you enter the stake stays there and if you get your price, one click and the bet is confirmed. If you are considering in-running or trading prices then a bot is a must.

              I use the basic (free) version, http://www.betangel.com/bab/, there is the professional version that has more options for the more-serious gambler (such as multi-market trading) and also Soccer Mystic, a bot specifically for Betfair soccer markets.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Mellor View Post

                I use the basic (free) version, http://www.betangel.com/bab/, there is the professional version that has more options for the more-serious gambler (such as multi-market trading) and also Soccer Mystic, a bot specifically for Betfair soccer markets.
                Just a quick addition.

                I tried the free BetAngel bot and didn't warm to it at all.

                I am now using the bot available from http://geekstoy.com/ for free and find it excellent.

                Different strokes for different folks of course.
                May you live in interesting times!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Ok it's about time i setup an account on here as everyone says the prices are much better than the bookies. Mellor i see something to do with the site in your sig. Want me to sign up with your code and do i get a bonus?

                  FWIW i won't be reading your guideline posts until tomorrow just incase you have already awnsered the questions im asking in your posts.

                  Comment

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