The Betfair Screen | How to Back and Lay Effectively and Profitably

A conventional Bookmaker will only allow you to BACK a selection in a given contest.

Around 2001 a new experimental wagering platform was introduced which comprehensively changed the betting landscape for ever. The Betting Exchange was born, and for the first time a sports bettor was able to LAY a selection.

The largest betting exchange is Betfair both in volume of traded bets -- which leads to good liquidity -- and in the amount of available markets to trade.
In second place is the Betdaq exchange with similar protocols and a similar interface. Betdaq would have lower liquidity levels across most markets, but it is a liquidity level that is still more than satisfactory for all but the highest of high rollers.
For anyone who is serious about reaping the rewards of sports trading an account with Betfair or Betdaq ( or both) is essential.

Creating an account with both Betfair and Betdaq is a simple process.

Click on the Betfair banner for quick straightforward account creation and you will be credited with a free £25 bet.
It is advisable to also create an account with Betdaq as back-up and as a viable alternative.

On Betfair you can bet that an outcome will happen or that it won't happen. I.E., you can Back or Lay an outcome..

Betfair also allows you to choose the odds at which you want to bet that outcome.

The regular Betfair "grid" screen.

On the left, Blue -- are the Back Buttons. The Pink buttons on the right are to Lay. The available amounts to both back and lay are displayed underneath the odds in each price cell.

The first Blue box in the above screenshot (taking as an example the second favourite "IMPOSING") shows the price at which IMPOSING is available to Back to win.
The Pink box is the best available Lay price.

If you click ( using the real Betfair screen) on the blue box for IMPOSING you would be matched immediately at 7.0. Similarly by clicking the Pink box your Lay bet will be instantly matched at 7.6.

You will notice a slight discrepancy between the Back and the Lay sides -- the "Spread". A gap such as this will exist in varying magnitudes in the Back and Lay prices in every Betfair market.

If clicking on the blue box to back IMPOSING, you will be "crossing the spread".
The profit- minded trader will always avoid this crossing of the spread. Instead he will put in an "request" of 7.6 or perhaps 7.8 to back IMPOSING. Such a difference may seem minor, however by taking the offered odds the sportstrader is reducing his value quotient and lessening the extent of his potential profit on the event when later closing out the trade.

For long-term profitability, the trader really has to avoid only taking the odds on offer -- crossing the spread. The successful trader will always attempt to secure the best odds that he can.

In the long term, not crossing the spread will make the difference between achieving a good annual income and an excellent one.

To avoid crossing the spread in a practical efficient manner, something more specific to this purpose is required. Hence the API, of which more on the following page.