What do you wish you'd known/done in preparation for when you started Matched Betting?

[MBsoon]

Just that really.

I've read that its recommended you open a dedicated bank a/c for MB and to set-up a new email address for the sign-up offers etc. Also, advisable to have a spreadsheet to track the back and lay bets.

Where can i find examples of the these MB spreadsheets?

Is there anything else that you wished you'd known about or done when you started matched betting?

Thanks.

Team Profit had free spreadsheets that you could download, at least they did a few years back when I used to do it! I just made my own basic tracker eventually though, see pic.

And getting a separate bank account and dedicated email address is crucial! If you get into it, the amount of emails you will get and monies going in and out of your account make it virtually essential to have separate accounts.

Thanks Noodles. I've aleady set-up dedicated bank and email a/cs. I've been reading-up on it for ages... more so as i'm resident in an EU country so its a bit different from the UK and winnings are taxable.
I can only see one column in your picture.

Apart from the basics you mentioned, I would have used a different starter strategy to the usual recommendations.
Signing up for all the introductory bonus offers works well initially in building a substantial pot of money for 'working capital' or for gaining a bigger profit quickly. But I found within a few months I was overwhelmed with reload offers. It became unmanageable as I didn't have enough time to study how they all worked to make the most of them and lost motivation.

I stopped MB for a while, then restarted with just 2 bookies I'd already signed up with. I really studied all their reload offers and gained confidence in using them regularly to build a regular income. Then I waited until big sporting events to sign up for a further bookie to maximise their offers and bonuses. (Signing up with bookies who gub quickly is best timed around big events for maximum profit).

This proved to be an easy to maintain strategy keeping about 5 or 6 bookies eventually. I don't sign up with another one unless I get gubbed by a current one. It provides a steady (ish) profit stream over time with minimal input.

I also found this strategy meant I didn't need to keep track of individual bets after a few weeks as it was obvious by checking lay bets (I only use one exchange), so paperwork/charts are a minimal, once weekly effort.
I have a weekly chart with 7 columns headed as follows:
bookie; starting balance; deposits, withdrawals; pending offers; end balance; profit/loss. I complete this once a week on a Monday (which is quiet for bets).

How timely @seekingasimplelife! Yesterday I drew-up a list of all the bookies the exchange suggested registering with and had planned to register with them today. I was beginning to worry that i'd find it overwhelming.

The country I'm in you have to wait 30 days after registering before you can place any bets. Also, here they banned sign-up offers a couple of years ago so once the 30 days are up, there will be re-ocurring offers (i guess they're like reload offers). We also have to pay tax on any winnings as when you sign-up you have give your social security number.

I'll make a chart with the headings you suggested and see how I manage with that.

Thank you so much! I'll take your advice and register with a few for now and see how it goes.

@MBsoon If there are no introductory offers permitted where you are, then I would start with a bookie that offers a regular weekly bet club (if it's available).
Usually such offers involve a minimum spend - about £25 - £30 each week in return for a small free bet the following week. These often stipulate minimum odds for the bets, so study the T&C's and expiry dates carefully.
Once mastered, a couple of these weekly clubs will provide a regular basic profit of about £10-£15 a week ongoing with minimal input. It's a very gentle way to start and won't require too large a starter money pot.

From there look out for weekend offers from the same two or three bookies, and their offers around larger sporting events which are usually more profitable.

One thing to be aware of - the exchange platform to lay the bets. Choose one that will allow very small increments (some have a minimum of at least £1 here, and incremental increases of at least £0.50p). If you can stick to one that permits small increments of 1p or equivalent in your country, it is much easier to lay bets to make a profit. Good luck.

Thanks again @seekingasimplelife for your advice.

I've registered at a few bookies and now have to wait 30 days till I can start.

I haven't discussed this with many people in RL as the couple spoke to about it were so negative without knowing anything about it. Its a shame as i'd like to talk about it and see how others are doing.

Just do it very, very slowly. I had a couple of minor mistakes to begin with but managed to earn a couple of hundred pounds from it. DH however just got too cocky with it, rushed through and couldn't get the hang of it at all.

Don't take money out from the bookies if you win, play it through and take the money out via betfair etc. Cashing out your winnings from a bookie is what is most likely to trigger someone to look at your account and get you gubbed.

Sometimes this might mean less profit, but it will be more longer term profit if you avoid being gubbed.

I'll be taking it very slowly. Its taken a good six months of reading all the threads and other sites to get to a point where I'm familiar with the terminology and understand how it works.

The signing-up process has been a bit bumpy. I've only signed-up with a few but they require .jpegs of both sides of my i.d., pic of a utility bill, selfies of my face ..sides and front! The exchange also requires a bank statement showing my address, my online statement doesn't show my address. I may have to go in to a branch and ask them to prepare one for me.

Thanks again for all the advice :o)

Can I ask a question. I have started matched betting, all going ok but I am starting to feel very guilty. The reason for this is that when I first started I thought it was just about beating the bookies but now the penny has dropped that when I lay beys on the exchange I have become a mini book maker. But I don't really want to be one because I'm assuming the people on the exchange with me (apart from other matched bettors) are at minimum fools that I'm taking advantage of, and at worst, victims of gambling addiction. I don't want to give up because I would like the money and I've invested time learning it but I don't want to be responsible for someone else's misery. Can someone please help!! Are casino offers actually more ethical because there is no exchange? What us the likelihood of getting pulled into addiction throughout? Definitely don't want that. Thanks for any thoughts.

@hastalavista Interesting one. Your assumption that 'people on the exchange with me (apart from other matched bettors) are at minimum fools that I'm taking advantage of, and at worst, victims of gambling addiction'; raises some questions.

Questions to think about...

Half of all adults in the UK engage in gambling. A tiny percentage are gambling addicts. Most are people who enjoy it responsibly as a leisure activity and have fun doing so.
Should adults be able to choose to enjoy participation a legal, regulated, leisure activity with their own money? Why is this unethical?

What causes gambling addiction? Gambling, alongside the use of substances like drugs and alcohol and even activities like shopping, sex, extreme sports can become an addiction when its use becomes compulsive and spirals out of control. People become addicts because they have addictive personality types, mental ill health, are high risk takers, or have low impulse control.

Should we refuse to visit or work in pubs and restaurants because some will become alcoholics? Refuse to work in supermarkets because some will become addicted to overeating? Ban extreme sports? Sex? Shopping? Too much internet browsing? Social media?

Betting and gaming duties raise £3.5 billion a year in revenue for the UK government - worth about £124 per household. Should we stop collecting this and charge every household an extra £124 each year in tax?

Do you pay into a pension? How is it invested? FTSE 100? If so, you already have shares in the bookmakers by default as they are listed companies. How is this any different or more ethical?

All activities in life involve some risk. Adults are mostly free to choose their own level of risk in leisure activities, provided it is legal. Alongside this, regulations are in place to protect the young and the vulnerable, and it's why regulatory authorities such as the Gambling Commission exist. Controls and checks could perhaps be greater, more effective, better enforced in many walks of life, but the UK Gambling sector is one of the most highly regulated markets in the world.

One individual matched bettor alone cannot police or take responsibility for the risks of other adults in their entertainment choices.

Thank you for your reply. I do want to continue with MB but it does make me uneasy. Would you say that exchanges are less predatory than the exchanges? Eg marketing etc.

I'm not trying to persuade anyone into MB if it's not for them and they are uneasy with it. That's completely an individual decision.

I don't agree with the premise that the betting and gaming industry are any more predatory in their marketing than other industries which operate within the law in a capitalist system. They are offering an entertainment service which they are permitted to advertise and promote (under highly restrictive conditions).

Are fast-food outlets predatory for advertising their unhealthy food with large neon signs, free collectable toys targeted at children, with iPads to play on in store whilst eating?

Are supermarkets predatory for their 2-for-1 offers on processed, high calorific food - when they rarely post offers on basic staple food items?

Are garages predatory in offering a free 'winter-ready check' for my car, in the hope of touting for business, playing on fears of breaking down in bad weather?

Is a vet predatory for offering a yearly free pet health check, in the hope of making a sale on some product or service they think might just be discovered?

Are travel companies predatory for doubling or tripling their prices in school holidays?

Are banks predatory for offering introductory Credit card rates - sometimes at zero percent? Why would they do that?

Are pubs and clubs predatory for offering free entertainment, music, quiz nights and more in order to boost alcohol sales?

If we have free will as adults to make our own choices - it means taking ownership of those choices good and bad and the consequences of them. Take a wrong path and it's our responsibility to deal with consequences and make changes or seek help to do so. And I would say that applies to leisure choices too, including the choice to gamble.

Thank you for your message. It was very thought provoking. I'm not sure how I feel. Thank you.