Betfair Guide
Betfair is not really a bookmaker as such, it is a betting exchange. It links people from all over the World and allows them to both bet on outcomes and bet against outcomes, taking other peoples wagers. When you take someone elses bet, this is known as "Laying" it.
It is very important to know exactly what you are betting on and the outcomes before you submit the bets because they are binding and can not be cancelled because you made an error by phoning Betfair and requesting it. You can cancel any bets before they are matched, but once matched you can only "unwind" them by placing opposing bets on the same markets taking the current best odds available.
We strongly recomended that to start with you place £25 into your betfair account and use it for an evening. You will be able to back events in the future at current odds (in blue) and also try to bet on events in the future by requesting higher odds (they will go purple) and you can wait to see if they are "matched". You can take other peoples bets which have been requested earlier (the purple) and see how that changes you balance, ir the amount of "liability" you have. You should back and lay multiple outcomes on the same market, watch what that does to the total liabilities as they are combined. Randomly place £2 bets here and there and see what actually happens, and how the site works.
Also to learn how the odds fluctuate and why it is an idea to find an "in play" market, you can tell it is live because there is a small lime green square by it. You can see that for example the odds on the Draw in a Soccer match will slowly drift lower as the game progresses because obviously at the start of the game it is not as probable to end in a Draw as it is if the score is 0-0 after 89 minutes. However the odds dont just jump from the start 3.25 to the end 1.01, they follow a curve, and they jump/spike on major events, like a goal would cause a huge change, and now the reverse happens and the Draw odds drift outwards, there is now less and less chance of a Draw if it is 1-0 at present as the game goes on. It is possible to actually trade the odds, backing and laying at differnt stages, to lock in and garuntee profits if you wish.
Betfair is the most powerfull tool you will ever own whilst gambling online, it offers consistantly better odds and infinitely more control and options than stand alone bookmakers can do. In fact it allows you to lay all outcomes of an event and actually be a bookmaker.
There are guides on the Betfair site explaining how to back/lay and you can read a lot elsewhere too, but really the only way to fully understand it is to roll you sleaves up, deposit £25 and USE it yourself, just play about making multiple random bets but see how and what it does. Take bets at the current odds, place bets at different odds, see if they are or are not matched and what that does. You will spend a few hours getting to know it well, but it will be well worth the effort and you will never look back.
So click to Join Betfair now and remember to copy and paste UKJAHQ7HF into the "Promotion or Refer a Friend" code box for an extra £25 cash after you have won or lost £100.
There are many advanced strategies to using Betfair profitably so for further reading try:
