What is Matched Betting?
Matched betting is a low risk way of using your own money to release free bet offers from online bookmakers, and once released, maximising the amount of bookmakers' cash you get to keep.
Matched betting involves placing two opposing bets: the first is to bet something will happen. The second is to bet the same something won’t happen. So the bets cancel each other out, removing the usual risks involved when you place a bet.
The question you are surely asking is how can you place only two bets and cover every outcome? Take the Grand National for example, you’d have to place 40 bets for each horse running and mathematically you’d lose out anyway! Well fortunately this isn’t the case, in the glorious age of the internet we can act as a bookmaker ourselves, with the help of what is called a betting exchange.
Now let’s have a look at some terminology. When you bet for an outcome, this is called backing, you place back bets with a bookmaker. When you bet against an outcome, this is called laying and you place lay bets with a betting exchange. The amount you bet is called a stake. When matched betting we use decimal odds as they are much easier to work with.
Why cover all outcomes of a bet?
The simple answer is because it allows you to profit from a free bet. Let's look at how a free bet normally works. The bookmaker offers a sign up bonus for new customers. However bookies don't like to give away their cash, so therefore they ask you to place a qualifying bet, after you place a bet, they will normally release a free bet up to a certain value based on the amount you've just bet. For example let's take a free bet of up to £20. Let's pretend you bet £10 as a qualifier, in that case you get a £10 free bet. However if you bet £20 instead, you'd get a £20 free bet. So therefore by covering all outcomes we can place these qualifying bets without risk to our capital. We can then use the same process but this time bet with the free bet, as we have covered all outcomes we lock in a guaranteed profit regardless of the result. This is the beauty of matched betting.
Yeah but surely the bookie doesn't let you bet both for and against.
No of course they don't. However the introduction of betting exchanges means we can bet away from the bookmaker and without them knowing. A betting exchange is what is known as peer-to-peer, or people-to-people. You bet against a person, not a bookmaker. This adds a different aspect, you can play as a bookmaker, taking bets! You offer odds and if a backer likes them your bet can be matched up.
I can play as the bookmaker? How does that work?
Thanks to betting exchanges, yes you can. A betting exchange is simply a platform between people that want to place a wager. It securely takes each parties funds and then releases them appropriately depending on an outcome of a bet. For this service they charge commission (usually 5%) on the players winnings. At a betting exchange you can bet for and bet against. Betting for is known as backing, this is similar to placing a bet at a bookmaker, however if you win you are charged commission. Betting against is known as laying, this is very different to placing a bet at a bookie. When laying, the amount you bet (stake) is the amount you want to win, and your liability varies depending on the odds. When laying a bet you are also charged commission if you win.
Decimal odds are the way forward
Decimal odds are easier to preform calculations with when matched betting. Betting exchanges use decimal odd and on a bookie's site there will be an option to change the way odds are displayed. So let's say you place a back bet of £10 (stake) at odds of 3.00.. To calculate your winnings take the stake and multiply it by the decimal odds (£10 x 3.00). This equals... £30 (£10 stake + £20 winnings).
Is Matched Betting difficult?
There is a steep learning curve involved with matched betting. But with this said there are many resources. Take Learn Matched Betting for example, they show you a novel way of learning the concept with the aid of flash demonstrations. It is worth taking the time to research matched betting as it is possible to make a nice profit with very low risk to your hard earned money.
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