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Today, I am continuing with Part 2 of my guide to using the betting exchanges to maximise your racing profits
If you missed Part 1 on this subject, you can read my first 5 betting exchange tips here
OK, back to business with Tips 6 through to 10…
6) Don’t Bet If The Value Has Gone
Although it’s down as point 6, in actual fact it is one of the most fundamentally important points to consider when betting full stop: VALUE.
All successful punting is based on the concept of value betting – the fact that the odds for any particular bet are priced in your favour. The odds you take on a bet really matter.
If you can get 5/1 on a horse that should be 4/1, then you have a strong value bet.
Yet if the same tipped up horse at 4/1 is only available at 3/1 – the opposite applies.
If you constantly are taking too short a price on a horse, you will lose money.
Which is why it’s important to ONLY bet if the value is still there.
Many good tipsters recognise this and put up their minimum value odds to make you aware of where the value cut-off point actually lies.
They recognise that a tip might see market support and if it does, you know where to draw the line.
If restricted to exchange betting, look out for this and stick to the minimum value thresholds – they are there for a reason and they will guide you as to the prices to take.
And whatever you do – never feel obliged to place a bet regardless the price. The next value bet will be along before you know it. Feeling you NEED to have a bet for the sake of it is not healthy for you or your bank balance!
7) Recognise You Will Win Some, Lose Some
Mindful of the need to take a value price, if exchange betting you must accept that sometimes you will miss out on a bet if the odds are too low.
Yet on the flipside, you might also get BETTER odds on other bets when the odds drift.
Whilst on occasions, you might miss out on a winning bet because you can’t get the right odds, on other occasions you will enjoy a bigger payout through this strategy.
If and when this happens, remember the logic behind it all and try to be as phlegmatic as possible.
All gamblers HATE missing out on winning bets, especially if they feel they should have been on it, yet they very rarely remember the times they missed out on a bet that lost.
My suggestion here is to consider keeping a record of each occasion you miss out on a bet (both winners and losers) or get a greater value price than you might have originally. Through this, you can track the ups and downs and see at a glance exactly how you have fared overall.
“I Like That SBC Is Independent”…
““I like that the SBC is independent. I know that when they recommend a tipster, or upgrade or downgrade an existing rating, that their opinion is based on results and judgement, not on hidden commissions.”
As written by ‘K’ – SBC member
Click here to read more from K on his SBC membership experience
8) Don’t Worry About Drifters
Flowing on from this last point – don’t also get too bogged down by the idea that a ‘drifter’ (a horse whose odds get bigger as the race draws nearer) is no longer worth backing.
Racing pundits like to bang on about horses being weak or friendless in a market, yet the reality is they have no idea if this market move is significant or not. They are often just filling airtime.
If market support was so telling – everyone would simply lump on a horse at the first sign of it being backed in.
Unless there is clear evidence a horse has something wrong with it before a race, don’t be unperturbed by backing a ‘drifting’ bet.
Look at it instead as a chance to get better value. If you can get 10/1 about a tip advised as value at 6/1 earlier in the day – take it!
After all, unless the horse in question has a major problem – if a tipster you trust said that 6/1 is a value price, then 10/1 will represent a massive increase.
9) Can’t Get Matched Straight Away? Put In A Request
If you can’t get on a bet earlier in the day at a value price, you might also like to consider putting in a request to get matched on the exchanges later on that day.
There are two ways you can do this – requesting a price pre-race and also in-play.
Pre-race betting is easy – you set the odds you want to take and put the request into the market to hopefully be matched. If come the start of the race it isn’t matched, the bet is cancelled.
Putting a bet in the in-play market is different as it ensures the bet will also remain available throughout the race as it takes place.
When doing this, it’s important to be aware that you will ALWAYS be matched in-play on any bet that loses the race BUT there is no guarantee you will be matched on a winner.
Therefore, you do have to approach in-play betting with caution and it is best when used in conjunction with watching a race live and an understanding of racing in general.
You also might only want to leave a bet to be matched in-play, when the odds pre-race are very close to those you wish to take OR perhaps risking only half stakes.
Equally if you have a good knowledge of racing, you might want to make judgements based on the competitiveness of each race, the merits of each horse (does it prefer setting the pace or being a backmarker) and the distance run.
10) Don’t Limit Yourself To Just Betfair
When most punters think of betting exchanges, they immediately think of Betfair, which is only natural as they were the original and now biggest exchange.
These days, Betfair do standout for another reason – they charge a higher commission rate then many of their rivals.
Betfair’s base rate starts at 5% commission on all bets – a sum that does decrease but only once you place a significant number of bets with them.
Instead I recommend you open and use accounts with 2 exchange rivals: Smarkets & Matchbook – both of whom charge much lower commission rates. Smarkets for example charge a flat 2% commission on all bets.
This 3% difference might not sound like a lot but it really does all up over time.
Another alternative option is also Betdaq, although their commission rate also starts at 5%.
My suggestion therefore when exchange betting is to try and place your bet with either Smarkets or Matchbook first.
Usually you will be able to obtain identical odds to those on Betfair, yet you lose less in your winnings to commission.
MAKE MONEY BETTING WITH TIPSTERS
I do hope over the course of this 2-part guide I have helped provide some answers to questions you might have about betting on the exchanges.
If you are looking for further assistance with your racing betting (or just betting in general) then you might like to consider a Smart Betting Club membership.
We track hundreds of tipsters each day in order to independently report back on the best experts that can realistically make money betting – whether on the exchanges or with the bookies.
So why not join up today and see how we can help you and your betting.
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See you on the inside.
Peter Ling
SBC Editor
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