Betfair Basics

[welshman 2005]

Sorry for being behind the times, but i dont really understand Betfair. But I want to learn.

my questions are:

saY i wanted to lay Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The price at time of writing is 1.96, why then does it give you a choice of either increasing the odds or decreasing them.

Is Liability what I have to pay out, If Barcelona Win.
And obviously profit is what i get paid,when they lose.


sorry for being thick as, but i need things explained very very slowly and in depth

[western skies]

saY i wanted to lay Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.

OK, first things first - are you sure you want to LAY them - by that I mean do you realise what LAY means? It means you do not expect them to win them the game, so you are accepting other people's bets that they will win - i.e. you're acting as the bookmaker. It means if Barca draw or lose, you win.

The price at time of writing is 1.96, why then does it give you a choice of either increasing the odds or decreasing them.

As BetFair is a betting exchange and not a bookie, you can ask for higher or lower odds and see if anyone is prepared to match you. In this case (LAYING Barca) you could ask for odds of 1.94 or 1.92 or even lower, and see if anyone is prepared to back them at those odds. As prices tend to move around a lot before kick off, you might find that your price is the best value when someone who wants to back Barca places their bet.

Is Liability what I have to pay out, If Barcelona Win.
And obviously profit is what i get paid,when they lose.

Yep and yep.

[welshman 2005]

1 western skies.

right so if i layed Barca at 1.96 for £10.
then if they won the match, £9.60 would be taken from my account.
And if they Lost or drew the match then £19.60 would be my winnings

is that right?

[Cassius Marcellus]

No, mate.

You only win what you took, the £10, less commission.

The £9-60 will go from your account when you lay the bet, and it will come back, with the profit, if you win.

[Cassius Marcellus]

Sorry for being behind the times, but i dont really understand Betfair. But I want to learn.

Once you start to lay you will learn quickly.

Once you start to bet you will learn quickly.

Always remember that on Betfair you can back or lay throughout a footie match, a cricket match, horse racing and lots of other sports or events. You can even bet in running on some greyhound races now.

Lay the team you want beaten, in this case Barcelona. If and when the price changes to suit you, (after a goal from the opposing side) back them, and make a profit either way.

If they score first, you can either sit it out and hope they draw or get beaten, or reduce your loss by backing them at the new lower price.

Best of luck.

[welshman 2005]

so if they lose i get my £10 plus £9.60 "winnings".

[kevsul]

Originally Posted by welshman 2005

so if they lose i get my £10 plus £9.60 "winnings".

yeah less 5% commission

[slick mick]

If you intend to a fair bit on Betfair it's worth getting this book,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winning-Betf...3343526&sr=1-1
I got a copy free from betfair but at under a fiver it's cracking value and will explain all the in's and out's as well as things like greening which is what Cassius is talking about.

[welshman 2005]

5% commission - is that on the £19.60 together, or just the £9.60 "winnings".

5% of £19.60 - 98 pence
5% of £9.60 - 48 pence.

is the above correct?

sorry for being a bloody dunce, Maths was never my strongest subject at school.

[SteveO]

You only pay commission on your winnings ie 5% of the 9.60 in the above example. Be careful though if you lay a team or horse etc you don't back it my mistake this is a very easy mistake to make.

[welshman 2005]

thanks everyone, finally grasping it.

thanks for your patience.

[friskyfitz]

The easiest way that I find of understanding this may confuse you but its how I learned it.

With a bet you want to lay..

Say Barca at 1.96


You then put youself in the shoes of the bookie.

Now, somebody wants to back Barca for a tenner. You would have to pay them £19.60 if it wins (Their £10 + £9.60 PROFIT)

So in reality the bet will cost you £9.60 if you lose and you'll win £10 if the punter gets it wrong and Barca dont win.

By pretending to be the bookie for any LAY bet, you then get to understand it.

[Dodger]

Have a look at the Betfair Demo...it takes you right from the very basics and should be a big help.

Also one quick note on the commision...say there is a ten runner race and you decide to back three of them and one wins...you only pay commision on your overall profit on that race.

Once you start betting with Betfair you may never go to the bookies again!

[Cassius Marcellus]

Be wary if you start laying horses for places.

On Betfair, when a horse is declared a non-runner, and an 8 horse race becomes a 7 horse race, the odds are reduced on those left in to account for the non-runner. This is the Betfair version of the course bookies Rule 4 deduction. But you still still pay the first 3 places if you are laying. Obviously, if you are backing, you get paid the first three places.

Same thing in handicaps with 16 or more runners, if it gets reduced to 15 runners, 4 places are still paid out.

As Dodger said, you should never go into a bookies again, unless it's for a placepot, jackpot or a multiple bet.

Final note:- get yourself a debit card to fund your Betfair account. Under a new law passed in the summer of 2006, funding a betting account with anybody, with a credit card, will cost you 3% (I think it was 3%) of whatever you put in.

Debit cards charge nothing as it's your money.

A general view of Betfair is that the big 3 hate it, it costs them customers.

The only 'good' word came from Victor Chandler.

He said ' My only regret about Betfair is that I didn't think of it first.'

Take things one step at a time and enjoy yourself

[welshman 2005]

Take things one step at a time

i'l be like a toddler, for the first 6 months. .

thanks again to everyone for giving some good advice.

[welshman 2005]

You would have to pay them £19.60 if it wins

so £19.60 is the overall liability of the bet

my original tenner
+
their/my £9.60 profit

so if my bank was £100, before a bet
if i had a losing bet with £19.60 liability, then the bank afterwards would be £80.40.

and if i had a winning bet i would get my original stake (£10) and profit (£9.60)
so bank after a wiining bet = £109.60

[Ronnie]

when laying you have only the £9.60 to pay out as you are playing bookie and standing the £10, if the backer loses you win the £10.

[welshman 2005]

standing the £10

what do you mean standing?.

is my breakdown in the post above on the right lines though.

if bet loses- i lose the £10 and £9.60
if bet wins - i get my £10 back and £9.60 profit off someone else ?

yes/no - 1 word answer please

[Ronnie]

Originally Posted by welshman 2005

what do you mean standing?.

is my breakdown in the post above on the right lines though.

if bet loses- i lose the £10 and £9.60
if bet wins - i get my £10 back and £9.60 profit off someone else ?

yes/no - 1 word answer please

you don't lose the £10 as it's the other punters money, that is your winnings if the result goes in your favour.

if the bet goes against you you'll have to pay out £9.60.

Win bank is £110
lose bank is £90.40

[welshman 2005]

its clicked now, it helps with this site www.playbetfair.com/

example

bank before bet - £100
Man Utd v Roma - Draw/Draw - lay at odds of 5, with a stake of £10

if i win i get £10 - making the bank £110
and if the bet loses - i'm down £40 - making the bank £60

, am i right