How to trade in Betfair?

Step into a trader's shoes with Betfair thanks to Hervé© - Our specialist in trading on betting exchanges. Here, he tells us about one of his typical evening, where he has decided to trade on the weekend's top football match in the Premier League. A shared experience which is chock full of valuable information!

Trading on Betfair: The X â€“ Y match

X versus Y â€“ A key match on the 9th round of the Premier League is about to begin. I've settled down in front of Betfair and switch on Sky Sports to gather information concerning the playing conditions and team compositions. First and foremost, the pitch looks like a real quagmire. Knowing this, I know it will be difficult to create opportunities in these conditions and that we shouldn't be expecting many goals. It's the ideal situation for a trader!

A few minutes into the match, X has more possession of the ball but without really creating any clear-cut opportunities for themselves. Here are the odds at this point in the match:

10th minute into the match: First trade on Betfair

X appear to be the favourites at the moment and there is enough volume to place stakes of 100 or 200 pounds. I place my first trade on a corner for X: I decide to sell X. Corners aren't their strong point and they have only scored a single goal with a header this season.

So I lay 100 pounds at 2.58, which someone immediately accepts, the corner has lowered the odds on X. The punters want to bet on X because, after all, it is a goal-scoring opportunity!

At this point in the game, if X wins, I will have to pay-out 158 pounds (my liability). In other cases, I will win 100 pounds.

As predicted, X doesn't score on this corner and I can finalise my trade by buying (backing) X. I place a bet at odds of 2.70. A few seconds later, I've completed my first winning trade of the evening:

I've placed two bets, a sale of 100 at 2.58 and a purchase of 96 at 2.70. You will notice that I only bought 96 rather than 100 in order to balance out my trade. This way, I end up winning whatever the outcome of the match:

If I stop there and X wins, I'll win 5.20 pounds. Otherwise, I'll pocket 4 pounds (the difference between my sale of 100 and my purchase of 96).

Here's the situation after an hour of trading on Betfair.

I continue buying and selling (backing and laying) according to how the match develops while focusing mainly on a drawn match. I buy a draw and then sell again after a few seconds. As predicted, it is a very tight match and I can't see either side scoring. Therefore, the odds on a draw should start dropping gradually and I intend to take full advantage of this.

Here's my balance sheet after an hour of playing and thus of trading:

A guaranteed profit of 85 pounds regardless of the final result of the match!

I decide to stop there because the match is heating up and I wouldn't like to make that one bet too many which would cancel out these winnings. A few minutes later X scores and I tell myself that I made the right decision.

In total, I have backed 1,354 pounds, laid 1,412 pounds and won 85 pounds.

The 85 pounds have brought my weekend total up to 534 pounds. That's around average. I can go to bed with the feeling of having done my duty.

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How to trade in Betfair?

Trading on Betfair: The X â€“ Y match

10th minute into the match: First trade on Betfair

Here's the situation after an hour of trading on Betfair.

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