Soccer Betting - What Are the Advantages of Using Betting Exchanges?
Betting exchanges operate by matching back bettors (those "backing" a team to win) with lay bettors (those "laying" a bet that a team will lose) directly, removing the bookmaker from the equation altogether. The lay bettor essentially becomes the bookmaker by setting the odds and making the offer, and back bettors that like the bet take it directly through the exchange. This revolution in betting has led to many advantages over using traditional bookmakers for a skilled punter.
The primary advantage to the lay bettor is the opportunity to set his own odds using his own calculations as opposed to those formulated by traditional bookies. The odds set by traditional bookmakers take into account their need to make a certain amount of money to pay for their overhead expenses (their brick-and-mortar buildings, licenses, advertising, and so on). On exchanges, the lay bettor usually does not have all the overhead expenses of a traditional bookmaker; this means that he can set better odds and therefore is more likely to attract back betters. The exchange operators make their money by taking a commission on all winning bets, so they do not care which side wins any particular bet, similar to a properly balanced high street bookmaker.
Likewise, the primary advantage to the back bettor is also the improved odds. The same factors that allow the lay bettor to give better odds also make exchanges more enticing for traditional back bettors. Further, betting exchanges also present the opportunity to take advantage of amateur lay bettors. Anyone that can participate in an exchange can become a lay bettor; however, the actual process of calculating odds can be a tricky one and all lay bettors are under pressure to make their offers more attractive in order to attract a matching back bettor. These factors - the lack of expertise with calculating odds and the pressure to offer generous odds - can lead to overzealous amateurs making bad lay bets that the clever back bettor can use to his advantage.
Beyond the primary advantage of better odds, another major advantage is the option of offsetting your bets if circumstances change. Since the punter has the option of playing both sides of the bookmaking process if he decides that an earlier bet is not as sound as he originally thought, he can offset it to guarantee that he at least breaks even. For example, a person bets £10 on team XYZ to win (a back bet) at three to one odds. However, on the day before the match XYZ's star striker injures himself thereby seriously changing the odds. The bettor can offset his back bet by placing a lay bet of £10 against XYZ winning. If XYZ wins, the punter gets £30 on his first bet and loses £30 on his second, breaking even. If XYZ loses, the first bet loses £10, but the second bet wins £10, again breaking even. What would have been a loss is now a push and no money has been lost. Further, a shrewd punter can work out ways of betting on both sides that give a 50-50 chance of winning money against the alternative of merely breaking even.
Bet exchanges offer a wide range of opportunities to the skilled punter that did not exist before. By signing up with an exchange, carefully reading all the rules, and learning how to use all the features, a whole new world of soccer betting can be opened to the skilled punter.
About the Author:
Dean S is a long-time punter that has experimented with many of the betting systems on the market today. After years of trial and error he invented the
Home Team System, that has given him the best results.
Other related Lay Betting articles:- Soccer Betting - What is Lay Betting and How Does it Work? Betting Basics – Lay BettingBetting Exchanges And Lay Betting - An Introduction
Betting Exchange Place Markets - Wise Up And Win
