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?
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.
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)
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)
Comment