Matched Betting Basics And How To Profit Today
What is Matched Betting?
Matched betting is a proven method that allows you to profit from placing bets by taking advantage of bookmakers’ offers and promotions. Unlike traditional gambling, matched betting eliminates the element of chance and ensures a positive return on every bet you make.
Understanding Bookmakers
It’s crucial to comprehend how bookmakers operate in order to succeed in matched betting. When people place bets, whether in person or online, they often choose the first bookmaker that comes to mind or the one they last saw advertised on TV. However, what many don’t realise is that there are hundreds of bookmakers, each offering slightly different odds on the same events.
Why do bookmakers offer different odds? The reason is simple: the odds they provide are not an accurate representation of the true probability of an event occurring. Bookmakers aim to make a profit, known as their “edge,” by adjusting the odds in their favor. This means that over the long term, they anticipate being profitable regardless of the outcomes of individual bets.
To illustrate this concept, consider a game of roulette. The most common bet is to choose either red or black. Logically, one might assume there’s a 50% chance of winning, as there are 18 red and 18 black slots on the wheel. However, casinos introduce a green slot to create their edge. This additional slot reduces the actual probability of winning to 48.65%, despite the odds presented to players as a 50% chance.
The same principle applies to sports betting and other forms of gambling. Bookmakers invest significant time and resources in determining the true odds of events and adjust their odds accordingly. By doing so, they secure their profitability in the long run.
Have You Ever Been Profitable?
Before we delve further into the world of matched betting, let’s ask a crucial question: Can you honestly say that you have been consistently profitable from traditional betting? While occasional big wins may occur, tracking every bet over time reveals that very few individuals are genuinely profitable in the long term. Bookmakers refer to those who consistently lose money as “mug punters.” These bettors provide the bookmakers with their largest source of income, as they regularly place low-value bets on odds that do not reflect the true value.
Bookmakers are not naive; they possess vast amounts of data that the general public doesn’t have access to. They use this data to determine the true odds of events and adjust their odds accordingly, ensuring their profitability even before a game or race begins. Unless you can confidently claim that you have discovered an edge over bookmakers and are genuinely profitable in the long term (with evidence to support it), we urge you to refrain from placing further bets until you have explored matched betting.
Offers and Promotions: Unlocking Value
The competitive nature of the bookmaking industry works to our advantage as matched bettors. Bookmakers continuously vie for new customers and strive to retain existing ones. This leads to a constant stream of enticing offers and promotions. For us, this translates into opportunities to profit.
Most bookmakers compete with offers such as “Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets” to attract new customers. For the average bettor, this offer might make a difference in choosing one bookmaker over another. However, as matched bettors, there’s no limit to the number of bookmakers we can sign up with. This means we can take advantage of every bookmaker’s sign-up offer, multiplying our potential profits significantly.
Backing and Laying: The Core of Matched Betting
Now that we have a foundation in understanding bookmakers and their offers, let’s explore the essence of matched betting. It all revolves around the concepts of backing and laying.
A back bet is a traditional bet made with a bookmaker, where you predict a specific outcome, such as Liverpool to win a football match or Red Rum to win the Grand National. On the other hand, a lay bet is a different type of bet placed on a betting exchange. Here, we act as the bookmaker, offering our money, at specified odds, that something will not happen.
By combining back and lay bets, we cover all possible outcomes of an event, ensuring a guaranteed profit regardless of the result. This strategy separates matched betting from traditional gambling, as we eliminate the element of chance and focus solely on securing a positive return.
Making the Most of Free Bets
One of the most exciting aspects of matched betting is utilizing free bets provided by bookmakers. These free bets are often granted as part of sign-up offers or ongoing promotions. To maximize our returns, we strategically place these free bets using specialized calculators.
When using a free bet, it’s important to remember that you usually do not receive the stake back if your bet wins. This is referred to as “stake not returned” (SNR). The calculators we use take this into account, balancing the potential outcomes to ensure almost equal returns regardless of the result. With proper utilization of free bets, we can generate substantial profits.
Navigating the Betting Landscape
While matched betting offers incredible potential, it can be challenging to identify the best matches between bookmaker odds and exchange odds, especially for beginners. That’s where advanced oddsmatching software comes in. These tools scan live odds to pinpoint the closest matches, allowing us to optimize our profits and save valuable time. At Back Yourself Betting, we highly recommend utilising oddsmatching software to maximise your matched betting earnings.
Join the Back Yourself Betting Community
We invite you to join the vibrant community of Back Yourself Betting and embark on a profitable journey in matched betting. Our dedicated team of experts is here to provide guidance, answer your questions, and ensure your success. Take control of your financial future with matched betting and discover the incredible potential it offers.