Matched betting<\/strong> can appear to be too good to be true. The words \"risk-free\" and \" betting<\/a>\" being associated with each other mean that many will dismiss risk-free matched betting<\/em> immediately. However, matched betting has been thriving for years and if you are a complete beginner to this concept then you might be surprised how easy and profitable the process is.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What Is Matched Betting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Matched betting is the act of taking advantage of bookmaker offers to make a guaranteed risk-free return.<\/strong> This is done by placing bets on a bookmaker and an exchange site to trigger free bet promotions and using these bets to tie up a guaranteed profit. Because of the free bets, you can make nearly twice your stake with each matched bet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initially, the offers to take advantage of will be traditional welcome offers from bookmakers that entice customers to join their sites. However, there are many reload offers that can be taken advantage of when all of these offers have been completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manual Matched Betting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Manual matched betting<\/strong> involves placing matched bets that have been searched for and placed without any help from independent parties. This is not something we personally recommended as there are many offers to be taken advantage of and this will cost you so much time and money in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Auto-Matchers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An auto-matcher<\/strong> is a piece of software that will scan several bookmakers and compare the odds to that currently set on an exchange site to show which bets could be placed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An example of this would be that team A has odds of 3.0 to win their game on Bet365<\/strong>. Meanwhile, the odds to lay against this outcome are also 3.0 on Betfair<\/a><\/strong>. Therefore if you were to place a qualifying bet on these two selections you will break even. On these auto-matchers, it is possible to filter your search to include specific bookmakers or exchange sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matched Betting Services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Matched betting services<\/strong> provide great software and valuable information. The first one being their own auto matcher. This is crucial for anyone who wants to take matched betting seriously. They will also provide a comprehensive list of offers that can be taken advantage of as well as a daily list of reload offers. They scrape matched betting sites to filter through the offers and deals automatically in a matter of seconds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most popular matched betting services in the UK at the moment are ProfitAccumulator<\/a><\/strong> and Oddsmonkey<\/a>.<\/strong> It will cost you about \u00a317.99 to have a monthly subscription with this company.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How Does Matched Betting Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Matched betting revolves around taking advantage of promotions that are offered by bookmakers<\/strong>. These offers range from welcome offers for new customers to reload offers such as a money-back offer if your horse finishes second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using an exchange site<\/strong> it is possible to place a qualifying bet<\/strong> on a bookmaker and lay against this bet on an exchange site with the aim of breaking even. When this bet has been completed we shall repeat a similar process with the free bet. Only this time because we are using a free bet we will be looking to lock in a guaranteed profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Back Bet<\/h3>\n\n\n\nFor matched betting purposes a back bet<\/a><\/strong> will refer to the bet placed on a bookmaker. Therefore if you were to place a bet on horse A, you will be betting for the horse to win. In matched betting, we should always place the back bet first. This is because if the odds change at the exchange site we will lose less money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lay Bet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you place a lay bet<\/a><\/strong> you will be betting against a particular outcome occurring on an exchange site<\/strong>. For matched betting purposes you will be betting against the bet you have placed with the bookmaker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exchange site will take some commission<\/strong> from the bet but if you use a matched betting service this money will be factored into their calculations. Currently, Betfair's commission stands at 5% while the Smarkets<\/a> commission stands at 2%. It is worth noting that Oddsmonkey has a deal with Smarkets that means none of their customers have to pay commission. Over the course of 1000's of bets, this can add up to a significant amount of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mathematics of Matched Betting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It is important to know what to do differently when placing a qualifying bet<\/strong> and a free bet<\/strong>. The purpose of a qualifying bet is to break even and trigger a promotion. Therefore the only thing you will need to consider is the qualifying loss<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qualifying bet<\/th> Stake<\/th> Odds<\/th> Profit<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Bookmaker<\/td> \u00a310<\/td> 3.0<\/td> \u00a30.00<\/td><\/tr>
Exchange site (Lay)<\/td> \u00a310 (Liability, \u00a320)<\/td> 3.0<\/td> \u00a30.00<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Example of how exchange liability affects matched betting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
As you can see from the table above a bet of \u00a310 will return a profit of \u00a320 if the bet is successful. You will break even however because on the exchange bet you will lose \u00a320 because of your liability<\/strong>. This works the other way round. If the bet loses the \u00a310 stake at the bookmaker will be lost but you will win \u00a310 from the exchange and your liability will be returned to your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Free bet<\/th> Stake<\/th> Odds<\/th> Stake Not Returned (SNR)<\/th> Profit<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Bookmaker<\/td> \u00a310<\/td> 10<\/td> Not applicable<\/td> \u00a38.18<\/td><\/tr>
Exchange site<\/td> \u00a310<\/td> 11<\/td> 81.8%<\/td> \u00a38.18<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Example of a break-even.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
With a free bet, your main consideration should be how much profit you will be making. You will need to find odds with the highest SNR<\/strong> available. SNR refers to how much value you will extract from your free bet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this example, the SNR is 81.8%. Meaning that from a \u00a310 free bet you will make a profit of \u00a38.18 regardless of the outcome of the match. Using a matched betting calculator it is possible to change it so that you will break even if the bet wins and make more money if the bet loses. This can be done both ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qualifying Loss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A qualifying loss<\/strong> refers to how much money is lost when placing an initial bet to trigger the free bet promotion<\/strong>. Ideally, we will find odds that mean there will be no qualifying loss<\/strong> but it can be the case that you will lose a small percentage of money when placing your qualifying bet<\/strong>. You should seek to lose no more than 3% of your stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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