A Betting Exchange training guide for arbitrage sports betting..

Get in the know with Betfair's arbitrage sports betting.

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1. Betfair markets can often overreact at certain events and you can get yourself a risk free bet. Take a market where the English football team is playing another country. The nearer you get to the kick off the lower the odds become as English supporters want to show their patriotism by betting them to win.

So back the team well before and then lay them when the odds have shortened near the kick off to get that arbitrage sports profit

Another example of overreaction is if a footballer gets sent off - the stricken team's odds rise significantly more than the situation warrants.

2. Election markets are nearly always right as people bet with their intentions to vote - the American presidency is almost certain to go the way of Barack Obama. And the UK General Election.....?

Next I list a Summary of Useful features followed by ten Do's and Dont's when using Betfair:

The use of decimal odds makes calculating profit and loss much easier although you can request fractional odds as well

Get real time information on an event by using the Listen Now button available on the markets page - radio produces the fastest information on a live event.

Use the Search Markets option at the top left of the markets page. This will bring up a list of all the events that the selection is entered for. Say you want to know what races Kauto Star is entered for - just enter the name and hey presto, up come all the races you can bet on.

On the markets page use the More Options drop down list for Profit and loss display, display the 'what if' figure which shows what will happen to your Profit and Loss if unplaced bets were matched.

Odds options including the ability to show fractional odds.

You can bet on the outcome of Multiple Markets eg Football Leagues

Betfair now produces its own Starting Prices which you can request before the start of an event - this ensures your bet will be matched at the Betfair Starting price.

Use the Profit and Loss function to assess arbitrage sports betting opportunities. Watch for large amounts of unmatched money on one side of the market. So bet on the other side. When the market accommodates this money the odds will swing the other way and it may be possible to secure a risk free bet.

Say you fancy Tiger Woods to win the British Open so you back him before the start at 5.0 for £100. As play continues Tiger is soon slaying the opposition and his odds drop to 2.0. You can now lay him to lose for £250 to realise a risk free bet.

If Tiger goes on to win you stand to win £400 and lose the lay part £250 giving a profit of £150. If Tiger eventually loses you lose your £100 back stake but win the lay one of £250 giving a profit of £150.

Using Arbitrage sports betting which is similar to risk free betting except that the bets are struck in different markets eg with Betfair and a bookmaker -

I have previously mentioned that Wes Wiseman produces an excellent Book for Arbitrage sports betting

One word of warning when dealing in various arbitrage sports markets, make sure you are aware of the rules governing a bet as not all markets and bookmakers will have the same rules eg what places are paid out in a horse race.

Use Refer and Earn by introducing Betfair to your friends. You can earn £20 for every referral who signs up and wagers £150 within a year.

Your friends will each be credited with an additional £25 once they have wagered a total of £25

For example my refer and earn code is : 9RWMTCTQG so if you have not yet got a Betfair account you can sign up and quote this code. Click on My Account and then at the bottom left Refer and Earn. Get a Betfair account

Visit the Forum to get tips or the latest information from other punters

Arbitrage sports

Ten Common mistakes

1. Not Reading the rules - found by clicking the Rules Tab on right of market

2. Laying the wrong odds - eg omitting the decimal place when laying say at 1.35 and placing the bet at 135

3. Laying when you mean to back - make sure you don't click the back price when you mean to lay and vice versa. To help avoid this click More Options at the top left corner of any market. Under Odds Options you can change the colour of the lay column to make it clearly distinguishable from the back side of the market.

4. Taking the available odds immediately in quiet markets - eg during a cricket match or football game. It is best to enter the odds you think are realistic and wait to see if they get matched.

5. Betting just for interest - do your homework before placing a bet

6. Chasing Your losses - establish a plan and stick to it. If your planned bets have resulted in a loss, leave betting for the day and spend time preparing your next bets

7. Assuming a market goes in-play - if your arbitrage sports betting strategy depends on taking a position and then relying on the option to trade out of it while in-play, check that the market rules state the event will go in-play before placing a bet

8. Leaving unmatched bets open - make sure you are kept informed of the progress of a market. Say you have unmatched odds on a horse but before the off, unknown to you, the horse sweats up in the paddock and then runs away with its jockey on the way to the start. Your odds will certainly get matched but the chances of winning are now seriously compromised

9. Betting on an arbitrage sports market in-play when your information is not live - Don't rely on a TV broadcast to give real time pictures of an event as they can be delayed by several seconds. Radio is often the most reliable source of real time information

10. Spending too much time on Betfair - be selective in your betting and avoid remaining logged in to Betfair without good reason

Arbitrage sports

Ten Top Tips

Heeding the advice and experience of of the Betfair users will inform and improve your betting. Here are the top ten most popular pieces of advice

1. Have a betting bank - set aside an amount of money you can afford to lose and don't go beyond it. Do not use money you intend to use for other regular outgoings as this will increase the pressure on your need to win. This could result in the making of poor betting decisions

2. Use Control Settings to assess your position - eg change the colours of the back and lay columns. Show a separate future position to assess what your bank balance would be if you went through with a bet

3. My Markets - found on Sports home page and allows you to select only the markets you're interested in to appear on the menu

4. Open several Betfair screens to quickly navigate through a number of chosen markets

5. Invest in the best equipment - gaining fast access to markets is invaluable. betfair allows software programs to trade through their own interface. Find out about these systems at http://bdp.betfair.com

6. Use keyboard shortcuts - eg the up and down cursor keys to adjust the odds or the enter key to submit a bet

7. Get In The Zone - by pooling all the markets of a sport on one page which can also lead to information sources. These can be found from the navigation bar on the Sports home page, with links such as Multiples, Horse Racing, cricket etc

8. Check your bet with the bet details pop-up page before placing it

9. Try the % Book Function at the bottom right of the place bets panel. This displays the combined % odds at which you're backing or laying

10. Beware of typing errors - there are numerous daily instances of users confusing back and lay bets resulting in extreme movements in the odds available

This guide on Arbitrage sports betting using the Betfair exchange is the copyright material of Chris Wigg

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