Laying on Betfair

An Gaiscíoch

Hey folks. Can I just say fair play to all of those involved in the Cheltenham competition. I'll definitely take part next year. Congrats to Wishy Washy.

I'm new to Betfair and am a little lost. Can I lay anything to lose and I win from it ??? But I can lose more than I put in ??? It's all a bit much for me at the mo. Great concept though, if even a bit strange !

Any help would be much appreciated

wb

Dia Duit an Gaiscíoch.

Laying on betfair works like this:

If you really believe a horse will loose, you can decide to 'lay' it.

Let's say you want to lay a horse on betfair that is available at 6.0, for example. ( best lay odds are displayed in the pink box) - That works out at 5/1 in traditional odds (always take away one)

So, if you believe the horse will loose, and you want to win say ten quid on that belief, you simply enter €10 into the 'backers stake' box and go ahead with the bet.

If the horse loses, you keep the ten quid, but if it wins, you must pay out €50 because you more or less became a bookie and offered 5/1 (6.0 in betfair odds)

Just remember... It is not as easy as it sounds to just pick losers. If you do a lay at say 10, (9/1)
and the horse wins, you will need to have 9 more losers to break even. Any more winners and you are on a very slippery slope. Be careful and use small stakes when starting. Better still, paper trade for a while. If you need to get around the betfair minimum, check out the sticky.

Hope this makes sense.

ádh mór ort!

fr wishy washy

wbailey wrote:

Dia Duit an Gaiscíoch.

Laying on betfair works like this:

If you really believe a horse will loose, you can decide to 'lay' it.

Let's say you want to lay a horse on betfair that is available at 6.0, for example. ( best lay odds are displayed in the pink box) - That works out at 5/1 in traditional odds (always take away one)

So, if you believe the horse will loose, and you want to win say ten quid on that belief, you simply enter €10 into the 'backers stake' box and go ahead with the bet.

If the horse loses, you keep the ten quid, but if it wins, you must pay out €50 because you more or less became a bookie and offered 5/1 (6.0 in betfair odds)

Just remember... It is not as easy as it sounds to just pick losers. If you do a lay at say 10, (9/1)
and the horse wins, you will need to have 9 more losers to break even. Any more winners and you are on a very slippery slope. Be careful and use small stakes when starting. Better still, paper trade for a while. If you need to get around the betfair minimum, check out the sticky.

Hope this makes sense.

ádh mór ort!

Well put,I made the mistake of thinking it was easy to lay and it cost me but I've learned to be more careful when laying and I never lay anything at bigger than about 4/1 in case i get caught out.

An Gaiscíoch

Thats brilliant thanks. Yeah I'm sure it can get pretty out of hand if in the wrong hands. Risky business.
Much appreciated.
Go raibh míle maith agat

An Gaiscíoch

Whats the story on betfair with being able to change the odds when backing or laying ? Is ithat if a horse is quoted at best 2.85 that you can change it to 3.0 to see if anyone will take you up on it ? And the same with laying ?

Sorry to be a nuisance but I feel if not fully understood it could turn out to be nasty !!!

wb

An Gaisc&#237 wrote: »

Whats the story on betfair with being able to change the odds when backing or laying ? Is ithat if a horse is quoted at best 2.85 that you can change it to 3.0 to see if anyone will take you up on it ? And the same with laying ?

Sorry to be a nuisance but I feel if not fully understood it could turn out to be nasty !!!

Yep Thats how it works.

2.85 is the best possible price available at the moment. If you think this is good value, you should take it, otherwise you can 'leave an order' for a higher price, but you will risk it not being matched.

This is one of the good things about betfair. It feels good to leave an order and get it matched at better value than what was available. But on the same token, it is very annoying if your order is not matched and the horse wins (Happened to me yesterday with Royal County Star)

Deciding whether to take the price is often hard. If you click on the horse name, a graph will appear showing the betting trends, which will give you an idea if the betting is drifting or not. Also, underneath the price, it will display how much money is available to be matched. If there is a load of money available to be matched at the low price, it is unlikely that your high price will be matched.
It is probrally best to leave orders early, as they have a chance to get matched as the betting goes up and down through the day. There is no point in leaving an unrealistic order a few minutes before the off time

When it comes to laying, it is the same principle, only you will be looking to get matched at the lowest possible price


By the way, you are not being a nuisance. Feel free to ask questions no matter how silly they may seem as it is the only way to learn. Betfair can be a bit of a maze when starting out, and it takes a bit of practice. I would start by only backing horses at first, to get a feel for it, using very small stakes. Like you say, If you plough ahead without knowing what you are doing, you will get burned. especially laying.

An Gaiscíoch

So if the horse is 2.85 and I try for 3.0 and lay or back it 10 euro but nobody matches it then the bet doesn't happen ?

wb

Do you want to lay or back?

wb

You did not say if you wanted to back or lay it, but assuming the 2.85 is available in the back (blue) box, you can either take it, or leave an order. If you leave an order for 3, and the price has not risen to 3 at the off, the bet will be cancelled (all unmatched bets are cancelled at the off)

An Gaiscíoch

Yeah thats what I wanted to know. And does the same apply to laying ?
Thanks again.
Just like to say that you guys do a really good job here and I'm sure I speak for everybody when I say that I really appreciate the advice etc and the personal touch with every query etc. I've been backing for about 5 years ( I'm still only a youngster now ! ) but only in the last year have I began to hone my interest for the sport of kings. Backing a horse and seeing it win is one of the best feelings in my opinion and having a bit of help makes it so much easier. So just to say go raibh míle maith agat and looking forward to doing business with you soon ! "Ní bhíonn airgead amadáin i bhfad ina phóca"

wb

No problem. Ask as many questions as you need as it is the only way to learn.

Im fairly new to this part of boards myself, but most of the lads here are more than helpful.

Regarding laying, yes the principle is the same when leaving orders, only it works the opposite way around. i.e. you leave an order for lower than what is currently available, as opposed to looking for a higher price when backing.

lets say the best available lay price in the pink box was 5, but you only wanted to offer 4, you could leave the order for 4 and hope it gets matched. Again, if you give it a couple of hours, and are not unrealistic, most bets will be matched because of the price fluctuations through the day.

Again, as with backing, all lay orders that are unmatched will be cancelled before the OFF

An Gaiscíoch

Cheers. It's all becoming clear !