Betfair

[booyaka]

anyone here use the above for betting?

been keeping an eye on some of the bets etc and tempted to open an account and have a few quid here and there, nothing major!!

I understand the whole backing/lay situation but was wondering if someone could explain the following potential situation.

If i wanted to lay (i.e bet against the following happening) what would happen?

This is the half time/full time market.

Chelsea (HT)/Wycombe (FT) - 140 is the market at this time.

So if i layed this bet and for instance it was a draw at half time and chelsea won at full time i would win?

Am i basically betting against that one combination ? it if wycombe led at half time and chelsea at full time - i would win again?? is that right or am i getting confused???

thanks - any experiences of betfair also would be useful!

[booyaka]

despite the distinct lack of replys decide to have a few pennys on the game

started with £25 in account and have ended the night with £45.80!!!

won on the wycombe scorer (easter) and also on the draw which i got at odds of 7/1 roughly with 30 mins to go.

lost 2 x £2 bets on others but happy with first nights work!!

I guess you got the hang of it already, but yes, you were right in the op. Some other punter has backed that bet at 140, so you take his stake. If it is Chelsea HT -- WW FT, and only that, then he wins, you payout, otherwise you keep the stake.

Other way to make money on betfair is not to pick winners, but to look for the value bets, and then trade in play.
But beware! there are thousands of bots out there trading on the shifts in markets, irrelevant of what the outcome might be, just cashing in on people reacting slowly to changes (eg if a player gets sent off, lay the team losing the player, and then buy back at a higher price in a few seconds when the market settles at its new price)
It is impossible, imo, to beat these people who have direct electronic access to the market (ie one-click betting) when you have to do it manually. And never listen to the betfair forums, lots of people on there giving intentionally wrong advice to try and change the value of their bets.

Good luck

[RMCF]

I have been a football fan all my life, and have backed football teams each week (only £5 or so) since I was 18 until a few years ago (total of about 15 years).

Bottom line - the bookies will win and you will lose. Sorry to be so harsh but its the truth.

[LFC_SL]

Don't need to apologise. It is the truth - I've never heard of a bookie's going out of business. Have you?

[booyaka]

absolutely - never seen a poor bookie !!!

i agree that big time gambling is 99% of the time, for mugs - only a select few people can make money on a consitant basis over the long term.

however with betfair you are not directly betting with the bookies, really you are betting against other punters but still as both of you have said in the long term it is not a good percentage game to make money.

however - i don't do the lottery so for the sake of a few quid - maybe £5 a week, i think a bit of interest on a saturday afternoon etc can be good for the soul!!!!