Matched betting...could anyone talk me through it?

[TwllBach]

I've seen matched betting as a viable option to earn a little cash but am wondering if anyone can

a) tell me if it's worth the time/effort
b) explain how to get started in one words of one syllable

So my thinking is this...

Today I am going to follow the same steps as yesterday but only using the £10 free bets, which is the equivalent of two more bets. I will only bet on things like tennis or horse racing, where there is just a win/lose outcome, so I don't get confused like piraterach said I was.

Tomorrow, if I make any profit from today's bets, I will go on to the second step on Profit Accumulator, and sign up to the next two betting things. I will use £5.00 of any profit I made from Coral/Betfair to access the free bets on BetFred (I think it is) and go from there.

TBH, I have so little disposable income that I am not happy to invest more money, the £17 or so that I did yesterday was about as much as I could afford to lose, so I'm mostly happy that I've got that back! Now I am a little bit ahead I will only use what I 'win' to 'invest' further.

Be very, very careful. I'd recommend joining Team Profit (it's free) and getting help on their live chat or FB group.

Team Profit has a step by step guide you can follow.

If you don't understand the basics then you will lose money. I've been doing this for 18 months and have made nearly £6k. So it's certainly possible to make money.

If you want to post your planned use of free bet I'm happy to check it for you. But I'd definitely recommend joining OddsMonkey and Team Profit.

There are always things to learn and there's a lot of help out there.

Oh Crap, I'm confused now - so I've put a bet on a horse to win on Coral, so on Betfair I put the bet on for each way?? but then the stake the calculator tells me to put in doubles. I must need to put each way though, because there's no point in putting two win bets on is there??

No - you're not going each way.

If you've backed a horse on Coral (say at odds of 4.2) you then LAY the same horse at Betfair exhange (pink box) at whatever the odds are, after having worked them out using the calculator with SNR selected if it's a free bet

Without wishing to be rude, STOP and read all the guides again. Team Profit start at £10 and make £100 sounds like a good starting place for you if you don't have much cash flow.

Watch the videos. Read the guides. Do a dummy run on PAPER. Watch again. Ask questions on Team Profit's Facebook group or live chat. Don't just throw your money away which you will be doing if you don't understand the concept and steps.

I think you’re right Freckled I need to stop. I followed the steps on profit accumulator yesterday which has worked out fine and I’m following them again now, but I don’t understand so it’s not much good really!

Just out of interest, this is what I’m seeing on betfair - it’s stormin norman. You say I need to lay the bet here because I’ve backed the horse on coral, but the second picture shows the options I’ve got and it’s either to win or each way?

1st picture

2nd picture

You've not attached screenshots but looking at Coral the odds are 3.75. You leave the 'each way box' unticked.

Betfair lay odds are 4.1. Screenshot attached.

Is it is a free bet you're using? If so you want closer odds ideally. Something like 4.0 back odds and 4.1 lay odds to maximise profit.

If it was a £10 free bet with those odds then you'd make £6.45 profit. I tend to try and make at least 80% of the value of the free bet. Are you using oddsmatcher on odds monkey? If not then I'd definitely sign up. There's usually an offer where it's only £1 for 7 day trial.

Are you sure you're on Betfair exchange, not sportbook? That screen doesn't look right.

Here's a screenshot from
coral. You just click on the price 3.75 and DON'T do an each way bet.

ahh that's exactly where I was going wrong, I'd just typed betfair into the search bar and wasn't on betfair exchange. And to think people trusted me with a class full of 3/4 year olds

If you look at the Profit Accumulator website it talks you through the first 2 bets, it has really good videos and a write up on how to do it.

You need to really understand what you are doing. I am OK with it now but still make the odd mistake. I did one in the summer that could have cost me £100, ended up making £100 but it could just have easily gone the other way.

And remember when you are calculating your free bets to change the calculator to stake not returned (SNR).

I'm using the PA website, I found it the easiest one to understand yesterday and followed the steps... then got excited this morning when I realised I had made a tiny profit and got cocky typed betfair into the search bar and just clicked on the first link, not realising that I needed betfair exchange.

I have placed another bet already but I am going to leave off a bit now and do some more reading as a PP suggested, so I actually understand the numbers part too.

Sorry to jump in this...really want to try this, but does everyone use their normal bank accounts for this? Or open a new one? Im looking to get a mortgate soonish and dont want anything to look bad in the run up!

I'm using my own account because I have no hope of ever getting a mortgage ever but I did read on one thread someone had started a new bank account for the same reason as you

It's best to use a new account just to keep your finances separate but also if you are applying for a mortgage the bank will want to see statements and it looks bad if you have loads of transactions from betting sites (they don't understand that it's matched betting). It doesn't affect your credit score though.

You inspired me Op. I’ve been meaning to look into matched betting for a while and not got round to it, but you reminded me and it seemed a good way to spend a hungover Sunday.

I followed the step by step guide on TeamProfit, and my first five bets are running currently!

Hopefully you will understand it better than I have Mrs

Right,

I'm being an idiot now and I am doubting my basic common sense and maths skills.

I put £5 into Coral yesterday and now my account is £14.83.
I put £12.68 into Betfair yesterday and now my account is £17.22.

By my reckoning, that equates to £14.37 profit? The two accounts add up to £32.05, minus £17.68 which is what I put in, that makes £14.37.

Right?

Right??

Ah thanks i will do that!

Yes looks like you're up, I think that might be by luck though!!

Personally, as a newbie, i would stick to football (and bet before the match has started) as the odds are nice and stable. Horse racing odds can fly around and mean you can lose money without meaning too (unless you are doing it quite a bit in advance). Don't do tennis - it's not as straight forward as you'd think (different bookies calculate things in different ways - even 2 years down the track I avoid it).

I'd take the advice upfront and either pay one of the sites like Profit Accumulator, or one of the free ones. I did go with PA as I found the walk throughs etc mean I could follow it easier and it paid for itself. But I know others have had just as much luck with the free sites.

I would strongly recommend signing up with William Hill - as well as the sports betting they do a lot of genuinely no risk slots offers - I made £70 from a risk free roulette offer a couple of weeks ago (now that really is blind luck, but if they're giving me £5 to have a go for free, I'm not complaining).

Definitely more luck Trent!

I am following Profit Accumulator but did just have a nice chat with a TP online advisor which was helpful. I don't want to pay for anything as yet though, so I'm sticking with PA, Coral and Betfred. William Hill sounds good but unless I pay PA, the oddsmatching tool only do it for Coral and Betfred!!

Turns out I didn’t understand it as well as I thought! Accidentally bet on the same outcome on both sites, and lost both!

I'm still looking into this, got scared when I worked out that if my bet on William hill had won then I would have won £160 but my Betfair said my liability would have been £126 ?? If I'd gone wrong on the bet it's not how much I bet on Betfair that's the problem it's how much i would have to of paid out? Did I understand it right?

It was a free bet on WH so surely I may as well of just done the free bet with a possible win of £160 and nit done the lay bet on Betfair too?

@twllbach, I'd say your healthy fear of gambling is your biggest skill for this.