Anybody else "not getting" matched betting?

pickle18

Looking for a mutual support partner to help with matched betting - to tell you the truth I barely understand betting at all. I am not stupid and have surprisingly always understood maths ...whats wrong with me!! I want to win some money?

Anybody stuck too - maybe we can muddle through together?

Pickle

~evanesco~

Yer, me!!! Not got a clue!!! I intend to try and inderstand it at some point in the future, just not right now.

Evans. xox

immoral_angeluk

Not a clue.

lynzpower

baffles me as well

one day ill get there, but i need time & i dont have it right now

tru

I've read the instructions over and over and the info just will not stick in my brain :rolleyes:

So I gave up trying

Siamese

Have you tried reading the newbie thread over on the Gambling Introductory Loopholes board? I found that once I had read the first few posts a couple of times it started to make sense. Download the matcher spreadsheet (does some of the sums for you), and start with (an imaginary!) 20 quid.

If I was you I'd start on football matches (UEFA cup on tonight - no time like the present ) and just look at simple win/lose/draw odds. So open a window to a bookie's website, open one to Betfair, compare the odds and start putting those figues into the spreadsheet and see what happens.
The folks on the gambling loopholes board are nice so mosey on over and ask questions too!
I'd say Good Luck! but luck has nothing to do with it

Please feel free to PM or mail me if you want a 'prescriptive' start - although you should know that I haven't been doing it that long so am not an expert.

tru

Siamese wrote:

Have you tried reading the newbie thread over on the Gambling Introductory Loopholes board?

Yep, over and over

I think I should open an account, give you my details and you can do it all for me :rotfl:

wiggly

have not got a clue

oscar52

it took me some time, but i eventually got there..... think of it like this... it can only be done where bookies offer free bets

Liverpool V Chelsea - you back liverpool at the bookies and lay at betfair

The odds have to be pretty close - say (for arguements 2.0 v 2.1)

So your guaranteed to double your money (minus a litte commision frm betfair)

Then you have the free bet say Man u V Arsenal (same odds as above)

Do they same back Man U at the bookie (which is free) and lay at betfair.

So first bet either way you "win" £50 (but this is the same as your layout)

Free bet - you only lay on betfair (£25 - to match your free bet) and you win £50

So your layout overall is £75, but you have won £100 (or thereabouts) It can also depend on if your "free" stake money is returned on the win - ie 3/1 bet returned stake = £100, not returned = £75

There is a big thread that goes into more detail, and you need a spreadsheet to work out how much you need in Betfair (thats here too somewhere) - but thats how I understand it above, and have been told thats it - just that the figures dont work out exactly right all the time (as betfair take a small commission as stated)

The only problem (to begin with) is you need a sum of money to begin with AND you need to find the bookies with free bets

oops_a_daisy

took me ages and then one day the penny finally dropped - ask questions on the newbie thread over on matched betting ( they get a bit narky over there if you start new threads asking 'newbie' questions ) I did it for just over a month and I think made about £400 but I havent really got the time at the mo to do it. Keep reading the information on it and look at the examples given and hopefully it will click into place. On your first few 'bets', have them checked on the newbie thread before you place any money to make sure that you are doing it correctly. Took me about a year to finally understand it and even then I just followed the rules untill I started to really understand it.

All the best and good luck - OOPS

Siamese

tru wrote:

Yep, over and over

I did feel like that too, and it may have been because there are professional gamblers on there talking about mysterious things like 'arbing'. BUT, I did intuitively understand about betting at the 'stick a fiver on a horse' level so maybe have a bit of a head start over most people (also is a bit of a handicap if you know anything about horses .
All you need to know about matched betting is that you bet on an outcome(at the bookie - e.g. it will rain today) and then you bet against that (usually at betfair - it will not rain today) - and you make sure that the different bets are at very close odds. This is exactly what the bookies do to minimise their losses on e.g. the favourite in the Grand National. So what happens is that you will win one of the bets - only two possible outcomes . Now, if you have bet your own money - say £25 (almost always necessary to get the free bet) you'll be a quid or two down because of commissions etc but you now get the free bet - say £25 - so, if you do the same thing and lose a quid on that too you'll be around 23 quid up on the whole deal.

You'll only make money out of your free bet , which is why I urge you to stick some figures into that spreadsheet and get a feel for what is going on. Under no circumstances risk your own money until you've had a few dry runs.

I'd suggest moving over to the Loopholes board for further discussion as I'm sure that we can get you started.