BETTING STRATEGIES 

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BETTING GUIDE: BETTING STRATEGIES

When placing bets, whether they be recreational or professional, an effective betting strategy is imperative if trying to secure long-term profit. These strategies can take many different forms, subjecting your bets to different levels of rigor. Very often, strategies will involve a trading aspect which often serves as the foundation for the best trading strategies.

FIVE SIMPLE BETTING STRATEGIES

Value Betting: Value betting is the premise of finding a bet where the odds are longer than they should be. It comes when the probability of a selection landing exceeds the odds offered by a bookmaker, i.e. a value bet. The strategy involves backing all selections considered ‘value’ against the odds being offered, with your stake varying in size based on the discrepancy in odds.

Pros:

  • Allows the punter an edge over the bookmaker.
  • Can be more lucrative than other betting strategies, as it does not involve trading out. You either win a bet or the bet loses.

Cons:

  • Increases potential of stake and account limitations from bookmakers.
  • Variance means that long losing runs may have to be endured.

Arbitrage Betting: Arbitrage betting is when two bookmakers or a bookmaker and an exchange platform are utilised for a profit to made on an event regardless of result, this is also widely known as match betting. This method is commonly used with exchanges and is one of the most regularly used Betfair trading strategies. A good example would be finding a selection, let’s say a team to win the Champions League at odds of 10.0, but which can be laid at 9.4 on the exchanges. This means that no loss can be made in the bet.

Pros

  • No risk in any of your selections, a profit is guaranteed.
  • Existing positions can be traded on to guarantee further profit, another Betfair strategy.

Cons

  • Profit margins are often quite small due to how close the selections are priced.
  • Profit comes out of spotting pricing mistakes which can lead to account and stake restrictions.

Hedge Betting: Hedge betting is a strategy used to reduce the level of risk of a bet, or to guarantee a profit. Like arbitrage betting, the method involves backing a value selection before placing a bet to ensure a profit on the same event.

Pros

  • Decreases your risk when betting.
  • Not taking advantage of pricing errors, meaning account restrictions are less likely.

Cons

  • The initial bet can still drift or lose in play, meaning the hedge cannot always be completed profitably.
  • If the initial bet was to win, you have decreased your profit with something that likely is not a value bet.

Back to Lay/Lay to Back trading using an exchange: Back to Lay/Lay to Back trading is like hedging but is used exclusively on exchange platforms. It is one of the most popular trading strategies and it involves backing or laying a selection when you believe the selection will either shorten or lengthen, at which point a profit can be obtained. This is particularly popular in sports such as horse racing, where a selection may lead, therefore shorten in the market before a separate lay bet is placed at shorter odds to guarantee a return despite the result.

Pros

  • The bettor can decide on the price they wish to lay off or back at, this can often allow greater profit.
  • Similar to other methods, a profit can be guaranteed regardless of the result.

Cons

  • The selection may not shorten/lengthen in a manner to which was initially predicted, meaning the bet cannot be covered.
  • The initial selection can win, making the subsequent cover bet decrease your profit.

Dutching: Dutching is the process of narrowing a betting market down to several selections and splitting your stake across the selections. This is effective if you do not fancy a favorite in a betting market and want to oppose it. You can then get several bets onside.

Pros

  • Increases the likelihood of a winner on a particular market.
  • Can still be lucrative, especially if the selection you are opposing is a shorter price.

Cons

  • You lose more than once if you are unsuccessful in your bet.
  • Can end up overexposed in a certain market.

WHICH ARE THE BEST BETTING EXCHANGE STRATEGIES?

A large part of strategy in betting is the use of certain types of trading strategies, including the use of Betfair trading strategies. An effective example is back to lay trading. This is widely utilized in horse racing if you foresee a selection making the running, therefore shortening in the betting in which you can trade out your position at a shorter price and ensure profit. This is a particularly effective betting exchange strategy as it can still be lucrative while guaranteeing profit.

A great platform for utilizing these strategies is MadMarket’s ProBet42 platform. The service offers competitive pricing across a variety of markets, often better than those of bookmaking competitors. In many cases, this allows for more trading opportunities to arise.  When exploring the best potential trading opportunities or the best trading strategies, you can use MadMarket, and the Mystic Mac tipster on our Telegram channel. The channel provides up-to-date analysis that can aid your betting strategies.

A standout feature on MadMarket is the Edge platform, which can also prove useful for betting research. Edge showcases betting odds from over 10 bookmakers and exchanges, which gives you many options to fine tune your betting strategy before placing a wager.

CONCLUSION

Betting strategies are something that any bettor should look to add to their skillset to improve their chances of making a profit. These strategies can take many different forms but it is important, in all cases, to make sure that research is at the heart of your methods.

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