Matched Betting Question about the free bet

[Lex345]

Morning! I am hoping to get a bit of help please from someone more experienced. I havent even opened accounts yet, so I am still researching and making sure I fully understand what I am doing before I start.

My question is I have found Bookmaker A who is offering £30 free bets if I make a £10 bet. I am fully comfortable with this step. I have found a football match with low odds and well matched on Betfair.

Odds are 1.25 on the back, 1.3 on the lay. Liability will be £3 in the exchange and will lose 50p on the qualifying bet. I am fine with this.

I now get my qualifying bets. I could follow the same process and assuming I stick to lowish odds to keep my initial liability in the exchange low, I am looking at £14.18 profit.

BUT

(This might be controversial now, but bear with me), the qualifying bets are not my money. Whatever I do at this point, as long as I make 50p I have lost nothing.

There is another football match. Bookmaker A has odds on all 3 possible outcomes as Win 2.9 Draw 3.2 Loss 2.1
Now the game could be called off or another random act might happen (but if it does betfair and the bookmaker may take different approaches anyway).
If I place a £10 mug bet on each possible outcome (which would normally be a terrible idea) since one will happen-

Win £19 Draw £22 Loss £11

For this I will not have to find the money for the liability in the exchange and since one outcome will definitely happen-and the stake is free-the worst that could happen is I make £10.50, the best that could happen is I make £21.50 (accounting for my 50p loss on the qualifying bet).

Is this a completely stupid approach? I would only ever do this on free bets and never on qualifying bets-I would always lay these.

I realise I am relying a little on chance here in the hope the higher odd outcome occurs, but even if it does not-I would still be in profit (even if slightly less than if I used the exchange to lay a bet)

Please be kind as I am still learning and have not risked a penny yet until I am confident :) Thanks for any help!

It's been a while since I did any matched betting and my brain is a bit scrambled reading your OP so I haven't checked your figures are right, but the key here is all the matched betting websites teach you in a way that shouldn't lead to you to become addicted to gambling, therefore all their recommendations will always be no/low risk.

As you say, you are 'relying a little on chance', this is exactly what these websites avoid advising as they don't want people to start feeling the thrill of winning a bet through making the correct choice.

Yes, I see that-by relying a little on chance I mean I do not knowbfor definite what my profit will be-it will either be £10.50, £18.50 or £21.50. I will have covered all outcomes but not on the exchange with my free bets

Don't do it OP.

You might find all your free bets cancelled because you are covering all the possible outcomes. This could lead to a gubbing which will mean you won't get any further bet offers from that bookie. Which will cost you profit when you come to do reloads.

Stick to the process certainly until you have a decent bank and are more experienced. I did find a few profitable punts as I became more experienced but they relied on 1. Having the right mentality to gamble and 2. Knowing that not every one would make me money.

You are just starting, loads of easy profit to be made with no risk whatsoever. Stick to the process.

I agree with @BlueSpottedGiraffe, the matched betting websites are crucial if you want to do this seriously. Their tools take any guesswork and emotion out of it, you just plug in the criteria and it gives you the best options for each deal. Worth every penny of the monthly fee,

Ok, I'm a bit rusty but I have a few comments:-

• I think some of your terminology is wrong - the £10 bet is your qualifying or 'trigger' bet, the 3 x £10 bets are your free bets
• the odds on your £10 trigger bet, don't look high enough, have you checked the t&cs? Usually they are odds of 1.5 or higher for your trigger bet (depending on bookie)
• £14 from a £30 free bet is much less than you should be expecting to make. Depending on matches, you expect to make around 70-80% of free bet including loss from trigger bet so around £21-£24
• the whole idea of matched betting is that you maximise your guaranteed profit on the £30. And I don't think you'll be allowed to place each £10 bet on each of 3 the outcomes knowing that one will definitely happen and even if you are, this will almost certainly get you gubbed meaning you can't use that bookie in the future for reload offers meaning your matched betting journey ends at that (potentially lucrative) bookie. In any case, mug betting even with free bets is not a good idea to get drawn into as this is simply gambling.

Are you using OM or PA as they explain all the above much better than I can!

Ah, I hadnt thought of the gubbing. Thank you! Was my maths at least sound? I am happy to stick to the process-I just wondered if this was a possibility for the free bets but it makes sense that it wouldnt be allowed as such. Thank you!

It's called dutching and there's specific mb calculators for it but I wouldn't recommend doing it as a newbie and you certainly can't bet on all outcomes at the same bookies

Stick to the method until you have a good bank and understand the process

I have been reading a lot about it, I have done some tutorials on the process. I am not quite ready yet, but this occured to me this morning. I know I need higher odds on the free bets to maximise profits but of course then the liability goes up in the exchange.

Thank you so much, glad I asked :)

Thank you Pizzaand, will stick to the basic process then :)

If you have a small fund in your exchanges do the 3 x 10 free bets separately. It's a pita if your bookie bet wins because you have to wait for the withdrawal but you will maximise your return.

@HighlandCowbag

If you have a small fund in your exchanges do the 3 x 10 free bets separately. It's a pita if your bookie bet wins because you have to wait for the withdrawal but you will maximise your return.

Yes and then you can sometime combine your liability, which is helpful of you don't have a large bank.

Agree with pp minimum odds for a trigger bet is normally 1.5 and sometimes 2 so I would check that before you place a bet.
If you look at bet 365, for example, the small print details that you cannot bet on more than one outcome for the same event with your free bet credits.
Team Profit has some good video tutorials that are worth watching.

Thanks so much-good suggestion on the splitting the free bets into 3 and stagger it. I have figured I can invest £100 to start up-this obviously restricts which odds I can choose to make sure I cover the liability in the exchange. I am so grateful for all the advice and pointers!

Some of the bookies offer smaller free bets eg Coral is 4 £5 bets which makes it easier if your ‘bank’ is smaller. I think Ladbroke is one £20 bet so worth waiting until you have built up some more cash before signing up.

Good advice thank you! I am planning on using some swagbucks cash I have earned as my start pot so just waiting to build that up to around £100. Nearly there :) I have seen PaddyPower are doing a good offer but I have to use a different exchange for that one, so I am leaving that for now.

Good to see that you’ve taken on board not to cover all 3 outcomes with the same bookie - definitely not good for account health!

As others have said, follow the process exactly as the matched betting guides tell you - and you WILL make guaranteed profit without gambling.

I promise you, everyone and his dog thinks that they’ve found a great loophole/strategy, but they haven’t!

A very common one I’ve seen is people deciding that, using their own funds, they’re going to just lay a chunky amount on the outsider in a horse race. As, you know, that horse has no chance of winning. And then the horse wins and they’ve lost a huge amount due to the large liability.

I started with £100 and ended up making around £3k in 12 months just by following the guides. I never got into some of the more complicated offers as I didn’t have the time or inclination.

I remember when I first started dabbling in betting, I was cautious too. I found that trying out different strategies, even if they seemed a bit unconventional, helped me grasp the concepts better.

As for your specific approach, it's definitely an interesting idea. It's sort of like hedging your bets to ensure you come out ahead no matter what. While there's always an element of chance involved, especially with higher odds outcomes, it's all part of the game. Plus, as you mentioned, since it's with free bets, you're not really losing anything if it doesn't pan out as expected.

Just keep in mind to stay within your comfort zone and only bet what you're willing to lose. Exploring different methods like this can be fun and educational, but it's important to find what works best for you. And hey, if you ever need more advice or tips, this community is here to help!

Oh, and speaking of finding the best new betting sites, I stumbled upon this great resource recently that might interest you. They've got some solid recommendations and insights that could complement your research nicely.

Just stick to the process op. Don't get greedy. You strike me that you may veer into gambling with that approach.