Sport is made for betting

It's a shame there's no clear favourite for Eurovision this year, I might have been able to repeat this performance from a couple of years back. Stepping back to a slightly lower profile market and trying to lay the field can really pay off - the final position, shown here , comes from hard work laying every selection as many times as you can, bit by bit, for small amounts (at high market percentages), so that you eventually have a healthy green book and can keep on laying. Start early and get laying!

Yesterday's racing was one to behold. I was too busy cashing in to take any screenshots, and then I decided to stop jsut after 4pm thinking that the good run couldn't continue... but it did. Even missed a 1.01 and a 1.05 later on! Here's a look at the carnage on yesterday's UK and Irish racing, listing bottom prices matched as recorded here . This only covers the beaten horses at odds-on, there were plenty of races which had several matched at just over evens (lay three horses at less than 3.0 for level stakes = profit). Ayr 2.20 - 1.23 Ayr 3.20 - 1.52, 1.62 (four-horse race) Ayr 3.50 - 1.25 Ayr 4.20 - 1.08 Ayr 4.50 - 1.05 Ayr 5.20 - 1.78 Listowel 2.25 - 1.10 Listowel 2.55 - 1.53, 1.55 Listowel 3.25 - 1.81 Listowel 3.55 - 1.02 Listowel 4.25 - 1.21 Listowel 6.00 - 1.65 Pontefract 2.30 - 1.06, 1.20 Pontefract 3.30 - 1.52 Pontefract 4.00 - 1.31, 1.66 Pontefract 4.30 - 1.71 Wolverhampton 5.25 - 1.57 Wolverhampton 5.55 - 1.51 Wolverhampton 6.25 - 1.1...

Must admit I don't do this on Betfair too often anymore, mostly because work gets in the way, but partly because of the late non-runners which vary your prices (meaning you can't set up a bot to pre-load them all in the morning) and also I can't be bothered taking the stats I need to 'perfect' this strategy as I am certain that different tracks and different distances will work better with varied prices. But today I felt like a dabble on the last couple of races and I had a vague recollection of some luck at Bath a while ago. I laid all at three prices 2.58, 1.56 and 1.15 for varying stakes. The 2.58 level I like to use on bigger fields with higher-priced favourites (fav was about 5.5 on this race). The theory behind that is laying three horses at

Two great events tonight for Laying the Field on Betfair - the mass start events in Biathlon. Unlike the other disciplines of biathlon, all the racers go at once, so the pressure is on from the start, and there is no early leader who can blow the field away as weather conditions change. Missed shots at crucial stages (20 shots overall, in four batches of five targets - two sets in the prone position, and two standing, can produce huge variations in the Betfair market. So place a series of offers to lay them all at odds-on, I'll let you choose your own price, but remember this, the lower you go, the less likely you are to get two selections matched. If you get two matched below 2.0 for level stakes, you will be all green - two for small profit, the rest for the jackpot. If you get three matched at less than 3.0, it's the same scenario. Make sure you select the 'Keep Bets' option because all the volatility will happen in-play. Last night's Cross-Country 2x15km Pursuit...

Following on from the previous post... Kempton's not a track I get many results at laying the field, the camera angle seems to be too good (you want people to think horses are further ahead than they really are, running direct at the camera is great for that) and all-weather tracks don't seem to throw up the jackpots too often. But today we got lucky :D

One of the most popular search phrases for this blog is 'lay the field' which was one of the fun strategies we used to demonstrate regularly at our Betfair Education sessions. It's been a while since I've made a post about it so today I've decided to have a go and post an example of how it works. Quite simply, we are looking for at least two horses to trade short in-running, with a jackpot occurring if even more do (there have been races where four horses have traded at 1.15 or shorter, my favourite was the day at Worcester when I had three matched at 1.34 and not the winner because it was never in front until the line). In this example I have gone for the double lay - laying £20 at 1.45 on all runners (worst-case scenario -£9 if one horse hits the front and isn't challenged) and then again for £88 at 1.07 (risking another £6.16). Worst-case scenario of -£15.16. The second lay at 1.07 is for the jackpot, when one trades really short, but also not risking enough ...

1. Norway 2. Iceland 3. Azerbaijan Magnificent :) Note how high the volume was relative to this morning's post. Getting in early enabled me to keep laying over and over without additional risk. I love these big markets with national pride and low-moderate liquidity. There were only two countries I didn't manage to lay - Israel and Croatia, who must have been really bad!

I think I've earned a pat on the back with this one - best laying effort for a long time. Take a look at my posts on NASCAR for advice on how to trade a market like this. Bit-by-bit, plenty of margin, try to lay the field. But you must get in early, when the fat margins are there. FWIW, I've laid Norway and the UK for small in the winner market.

Just a dabble on this one with one price, max risk of £3.40, and four of them got matched! Had I gone the whole hog like the previous race at Folkestone, it would have been another jackpot. Think I might quit while I'm ahead and watch the cricket now...

Brilliant! Folkestone is quite undulating and horses often run down both sides of the straight track. I usually find six furlongs a little short to get many matched, but this time, I got one matched at the 1.07 which brought the big result :) This link explains the strategy with a video clip as well, I've just repeated it several times over in the same race. Much better to use software to do it as well, rather than typing them all ineach time.

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...