Hello, who are you and where are you from?

[GlobalSquare]

wow another thread i seemed to have missed where to begin with the history and heroism in my life tale ... well on a dark and windy night many moons .... meh okay lol my name is Mike, 28 and from the mids
Finally took the plunge into MBing around april/may i think and havent looked back since. Never really been into gambling or sports so definatly a hobby my friends are shocked at (used to play on the slots in the pubs occassionally etc but that was it really).
Ive yet to get into casinos etc though im thinking about it more and more as my float builds ... guessing its just time until it happens but i have a bit of an addictive personality (well if its fun it should be done enmass before it gets boring lol).
I guess im a pints half full type of person ... but only if ive drunk the first half

well enough wittering from me will let someone else embarrass them selves now

[toonjangles]

Im Jamie,

Originally from north of nowhere but moved down to newcastle because its warmer down here.

Been matched betting for about a year now and made a couple of grand.

Lessons learned - never, ever bet on france or scotland!

[johpres]

Hi all

I'm John from London. I'm a trader on betfair, a gambler and started matched betting two weeks ago. Any tips on organizing the MB side of things would be greatly appreciated as I'm finding it tough.
Good luck all

John

[tom]

Hi all

I'm John from London. I'm a trader on betfair, a gambler and started matched betting two weeks ago. Any tips on organizing the MB side of things would be greatly appreciated as I'm finding it tough.
Good luck all

John

Different people have different needs for organisation. The best idea is to have a spreadsheet with all the relevant data. For instance I have:

Sheet 1:
A table with columns

• Bookie
• Currency
• a) Total Deposited
• b) Current Balance
• c) Value of Bets Pending
• d) Withdrawals Requested
• e) Total Withdrawn
• Net profit at Bookie (e+d+c+b-a)

Each column is then added up for my total profit

I then have a few "expense" rows such as mobile phone fees for betting, moneybookers withdrawal fees, buying the racing post

And a net profit after expenses

Sheet 2:
Current profit after each month and a graph to show progress, as well as records of non-monetary returns from betting (such as my Aussie Rules football shirt from Lasseters and my freebie T-Shirt from Paddy)

Sheet 3:
List of pending bets, to keep track of when bets are settled, and what bets are matched where.

I've also got a temporary Sheet 4 at the moment, with the dates and matches of the Partybets/Gamebookers No Lose offer.

I don't feel the need to keep a record of past bets, how I made the money (arbs, promotions, sign up), although some other people do.

[munk]

Hi all

I'm John from London. I'm a trader on betfair, a gambler and started matched betting two weeks ago. Any tips on organizing the MB side of things would be greatly appreciated as I'm finding it tough.
Good luck all

John

I like Tom's idea for the 'Accounts' sheet, I'd never tracked p&l for each bookie on one sheet before but it's a good idea. At the moment when I can be bothered or when I'm about to make a withdrawal I just download all the statement data from the bookies into a spreadsheet, one per bookie. From there using Excel 7 tables I can just filter the data whatever way I need to work out how much net deposits I've made or total profit/loss.

If I were starting from scratch now I reckon I might start by using the spreadsheet over on MSE that 'does it all' (not automatcher, the other newer one someone posted over there anyone remember the name?).

Ok here it is:

Ultimatcher.. Brand New Spreadsheet with a difference - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

Ultimatcher it's called. I had a look at it but my system is so 'ingrained' now that it's more hassle than it's worth probably to switch systems! But if I was starting again I'd definitely probably maybe use that one


Personally the setup I've developed (was going to say 'used' but it's kind of grown over time) for the last half year is as follows:

Matcher workbook:
This is a modified version of the matcher_3f.xls spreadsheet by Tom Stickland.
Has 4 worksheets in it:

• The matcher application - this is where I calculate the match bets, does basic back/lay plus back/back / 2way dutches, automated average odds calculations for when you match over various prices, % bonus if win/lose (for those 'if your bet wins, get x% on top as a bonus).
• The matcher log sheet - all the data from the individual match bets from the matcher sheet are stored here
• A worksheet with a pivot table in - this basically presents a breakdown of the data in the matcher log sheet so I can see what bets I placed at each bookie vs how much I placed on the matched / 'other' side for that bookie (ie usually betfair). It's pretty neat, shows me how much I spent on stakes per book, what profit came in/out, how much commission I paid either way, profit ratios, odds ratios and of course profit totals overall for the day.
• A dutcher sheet - this is a modified version of the multiback.xls sheet you can find by searching probably, just allows me to do up to 5way dutches (never actually used it for more than a 3way dutch though!).

That's the matcher book that I have open through the day. At the end of the day I have another workbook where I record the day's profit/loss which is a mishmash of various worksheets:

General Workbook:

• An accounts worksheet - with an entry for each book/casino etc pretty much the same as Tom posted above
• A banking transfers sheet - to keep track of how much money I've invested / taken out from/to bank, how much is pending withdrawal/deposit etc.
• A master profit/loss worksheet - basically 3 columns - date, activity (ie trading/match betting/bonuses/cashback/etc) and notes.
• A pivot table worksheet that breaks down the master p&l data so I can see how much I've made from each type activity over whatever period I want to look at.

I also use MS Money to track my banking details (bank and moneybookers), this is kind of a legacy thing, started using Money before I had the banking spreadsheet above.

I also write a diary entry at the end of every day - more as a way to 'debrief' and allow me to figure out what I need to do / where I need to move money from/to etc rather than to look back at for posterity's sake!

End of the day it's all personal taste, you don't need all of the above to do match betting but I just like to know in intimate detail where every penny of my money is and how it got there

EDIT: just reread this, and Tom, this is 'the secret'... make things as bloody complicated as possible apparently ...

[dingling68]

wow Munk - impressive!

[neoboy259]

Hi everyone! I'm 31 (holy sh*t, already??), born and bred Londoner and Arsenal fan.

Have been matched betting on and off for around two years. My desire to travel next year has prompted me to get back into it!

[lazza_w]

I gave up on keeping recored 6mths ago. until that point I detailed every penny.

There are upsides and downsides to my current haphazard method

DOWNSIDE

I have not idea how much I've made or where the money is

UPSIDE

It takes less time
I'm lazy, this suits me
I have no idea where my money is - I keep coming across a few hundred in random bookies that I'd fotgotten about, which is a nice surprise
I'm lazy
I'm lazy


Overall some form of book-keeping can't be a bad idea. Jono's Christmas Challenge has helped and I also realise that I've made a few bob over the last 3 weeks rather than suspecting that I'm in profit. I'll try to get to grips with Ultimatcher soon and try to stop being such a lazy git.

Maybe


I'm not sure I can be bothered




Hmmmmm

[Kris1310]

Hi My names Kris abit of a newbie only just started matchbetting.

[lazza_w]

Hi Kris. Hope you enjoy your new hobby/way of making a few extra quid/obcession/addiction (delete as appropriate). If you need any help then I'm happy to lend an hand