Backing and Laying are betting terms for the placing of bets.
Backing is what you do when you place a bet on something happening (what you do when you think something will happen), laying is where you take someone else's bet (so realistically you don't think it will happen).
Backing is the standard punter / bookie transaction, it's what you'd do if you go to the bookmakers on the highstreet, it's what you do when you go to a traditional bookmaker online.
The bookmaker will offer you odds on the outcome of the event, and you can either taken them or walk away. If you take the odds that are on offer you will then follow the event and hope that your selection wins, because if it does you will be paid out at the odds you took.
The same can be done at BetFair (or Smarkets or BetDaq etc) but with the added benefit of being able to set your own price.
Setting your own price doesn't mean you will get a massive difference in odds compared to a traditional bookmaker (there are true odds for the outcome of events and the market odds won't stray too far from them), but you could receive around 10-20% better than bookmakers are offering, and that all adds up.
Let's hand over to BetFair themselves now to look at the basics of how BetFair transactions work.
Backing is what you do when you place a bet on something happening (what you do when you think something will happen), laying is where you take someone else's bet (so realistically you don't think it will happen).
Backing is the standard punter / bookie transaction, it's what you'd do if you go to the bookmakers on the highstreet, it's what you do when you go to a traditional bookmaker online.
The bookmaker will offer you odds on the outcome of the event, and you can either taken them or walk away. If you take the odds that are on offer you will then follow the event and hope that your selection wins, because if it does you will be paid out at the odds you took.
The same can be done at BetFair (or Smarkets or BetDaq etc) but with the added benefit of being able to set your own price.
Setting your own price doesn't mean you will get a massive difference in odds compared to a traditional bookmaker (there are true odds for the outcome of events and the market odds won't stray too far from them), but you could receive around 10-20% better than bookmakers are offering, and that all adds up.
Let's hand over to BetFair themselves now to look at the basics of how BetFair transactions work.
Laying is the other side of the BetFair equation. It's essentially what the bookmaker is doing when he takes your bet on the highstreet.
You think something will happen, they think it won't and will offer you odds accordingly. The ability to use a betting exchange to both lay and back events has opened up far more interesting betting opportunities for the average punter, and a number for the professional as well.
As with backing, you can also set the odds you're willing to offer on an event, putting you in control and ensuring you are only involved in a bet at a price that suits you, provided you can find someone to accept your bet anyway.
A huge advantage to being able to back and lay bets has been that it allows a customer to take both sides of the betting equation. This means that there is profit to be made in changes to the odds on an event, and also opens up the potential of Matched Betting and Advantage Play Betting where profits can be achieved through the use of bonuses and moneyback specials.
You think something will happen, they think it won't and will offer you odds accordingly. The ability to use a betting exchange to both lay and back events has opened up far more interesting betting opportunities for the average punter, and a number for the professional as well.
As with backing, you can also set the odds you're willing to offer on an event, putting you in control and ensuring you are only involved in a bet at a price that suits you, provided you can find someone to accept your bet anyway.
A huge advantage to being able to back and lay bets has been that it allows a customer to take both sides of the betting equation. This means that there is profit to be made in changes to the odds on an event, and also opens up the potential of Matched Betting and Advantage Play Betting where profits can be achieved through the use of bonuses and moneyback specials.
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Smarkets is everyone's second favourite betting exchange. Prices are normally the same as BetFair, there's a sign up bonus of £20 and if you're matched betting you know at some point you'll need a second exchange, and it should be Smakets.
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BetFair is the go-to betting echange. It might not be as far ahead of other betting exchanges as it once was, but it still offers an powerful combination of liquidity, events and offers.
If you haven't got an account yet, I'd be amazed, but also jealous at the amount of bonuses you're about to get! Sign up to BetFair now. |
