andym1988 wrote:
Anyone tried trading on the exchanges before? If you can get your lay matched it seems a great way of making easy money, unless you back something months in advance at a fancy price and then lay it on the day at a shorter price which would mean you wouldn't really have to worry about getting the match. Looks like you would need a decent sized bank to win much though.
Not sure what form of Trading you mean in all honesty, cant be just lay something and watch the pounds roll in as its simply not that easy !!
However, a few pointers for you if you want to trade / arb. The days of been able to get numerous amounts on inflated football coupon prices and then arbing them back on Betfair for a guaranteed profit are long gone. Any prices above Betfair are quickly cut on the EPOS system and if they arnt, then Im sure you will be restricted to a limit of something like £25. There might be the odd one or two that arnt cut, there was a 13/8 shot yesterday which was trading at around 2.3 on Betfair. Was available at 11am, but by 1pm it was 11/10. I know the local independents use the Super Soccer coupons and they can be hit quite hard, but its dependent upon the bookmaker what they pay out on as they use the carbon copy Super Soccer coupons, their prices are updated on the screens so you have to check fully before commiting to a decent trade.
Theres still the opportunity to trade on horses when taking early prices (even better if its BPG) and the horse drifts pre race after you have traded at much lower odds. However once again the bookmakers are quick to cut and any sizable bet will set the alarm bells ringing and you'll probably have a marker on you instantly.
One way that I feel you can trade to make money is greyhounds. Theres always a good gamble on each race and if you can spot the signs early then theres money to be made, but its not entirely easy. Example this morning, dog opened 4/1 at Sheffield, was 3/1 on Betfair to lay. Getting a good sum on, you could have traded out at around 3.65 at its lowest point. The dog won easy at 5/2 having hit 9/4. Now I'll tell you from a personal point that I made a few hundred doing this. Any dog that was below Betfair compared to its current price on the boards, I instantly hit for £200 and then traded £210 out at a lower price so basically it became a free bet on the dog, sometimes to win upto £100. However, having hit a few winners at 3/1, 4/1 and 11/2. I was quickly limited by most online firms (this was only after the second day of having a go) and my stakes were quickly reduced to a max of about £8.76 and in some cases were referred to traders which took another 30 seconds, which isnt good when your trying to find out if your on or not and then having to lay it off before the start. Theres been plenty of occasions too where a 2/1 shot has been 2.5 on Betfair, Ive had £200 on at 2/1 but by the time Im on and clicked back on Betfair its out to 3.25 and another dog has been backed in. Then you have to accept your going to get a loss and basically work out the best case scenario.
Have an Excel spreadsheet open on your PC with a simple formula to work your return out and try it out for small stakes, say £10 per race. Watch the betting and watch Betfair. And try and get on the ones that are cut on Betfair. Then lay the selection for £10.55 (assuming your on 5% commision), its a free bet. And see how things pan out.
And just for info, Ladbrokes used to have Mega Hours in shops where you got your stake refunded on certain dogs if they didnt win (but they dont tell you until the off). Imagine having £200 on a dog at 2/1, trading it off for £211 at 2.5 and then hearing its a Mega Hour refund dog on the off. You go from wanting it to win to wanting it to lose so that you hit a nice £200 profit from it. Dont know if they still have the same offers, but I doubt Id get much on even if they did anyway !!
And P.S. Always factor in Betfairs demise and there constant breakdowns, make sure you have something in Betdaq just in case anything crashes and you struggle to trade off as Betfair wont be bothered about it in all fairness.
