A Betting Exchange training guide for arbitrage sports betting..

Racing past the Grandstand

Get in the know with Betfair's arbitrage sports betting. I have compiled the information I gleaned from my Training Day with Betfair...

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. English supporters want to show their patriotism by betting them to win.

So back the team well before. When the odds have shortened near the kick off you will make a risk free profit.

Betfair cover popular markets in many countries which now include the United States. Discover profitable betting opportunities there at Oddsjam who aggregate and analyse odds from dozens of sportsbooks in real-time.

Another example of overreaction. If a footballer gets sent off the stricken team's odds rise. Much more than the situation warrants.

2. Election markets are often right as people bet with their intentions to vote. See Political Betting

Summary of Useful features

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. This is 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 for which the selection has entries.

Say you want to know the races for which Kauto Star has entries. 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. The 'what if' figure shows what will happen to your Profit and Loss if unplaced bets match.

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 match at the Betfair Starting price.

Beholder races neck and neck

Profit and Loss

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. 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 Loses you lose your £100 back stake but win the lay one of £250 giving a profit of £150.

Use Arbitrage sports betting which is like risk free betting. Except you place the bets in different markets eg with Betfair and a bookmaker -

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. For example what places do they pay out in a horse race.

Visit the Forum to get tips or the latest information from other punters on 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. This makes it distinguishable from the back side of the market.

4. Taking the available odds immediately in quiet markets. For example 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 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. Say your arbitrage sports betting strategy depends on taking a position. You then rely 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 aware of the progress of a market. Say you have unmatched odds on a horse. 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 get matched but the chances of winning are now 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 there will be a delay of several seconds. Radio is often the most reliable source of real time information

10. Spending too much time on Betfair's arbitrage sports bets. Be selective in your betting. Avoid remaining logged in to Betfair without good reason

Arbitrage Sports - Ten Top Tips

Heed the advice and experience of the Betfair users. This 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. 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. This allows you to select only the markets you're interested in to appear on the menu

4. Open several Betfair screens to navigate through many 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. You can find this option 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 many daily instances of users confusing back and lay bets. Resulting in extreme movements in the odds available.

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