How to Lock in Profits

One of the core benefits of peer-to-peer betting is the ability to lay bets - essentially, offering out odds to other punters - which is a very handy way of minimising risk, when betting on In Play markets. If used correctly, sites like Betfair.com can really make a difference to your gaming success rates by locking in profits, and here's how...

Lets assume you had taken a wild £10 flutter on Senegal to beat France in the opening game of this year's World Cup. Senegal's odds taken from Betfair were a fairly generous 13 - surely they wouldn't beat the previous tournament's winners? France, of course, were odds-on favourites to win the game, but as followers of football form know, Senegal would be no pushover. The team had done well in the African Nations Cup, neither scoring nor conceding many goals, and looking quite sharp on the counter attack. When any team starts a match at double-figure odds, there is always a case for value, and knowing the historical upsets associated with the opening game of the tournament - plus France's lack of competitive action prior to the competition - Senegal at 13 represented true value.

After the African team scored the opening goal, mouths dropped, and Betfair temporarily suspended the In Play market so that revised odds could be offered to reflect the 1-0 scoreline. Senegal's price to win was dramatically slashed from 13 to 5, and would continue to fall for the remainder of the game. assuming France failed to bag an equalizer. The beauty of exchange betting is that you can lock in value by hedging your bets - the initial £10 stake leads to a potential return of £120, but what if France score?

The nervous chancer might have instantly laid a £20 bet on Senegal to win when the market first re-opened at 5, leading to a win-win situation. Given the final score of 1-0, this would have paid out 13 x £10 @ £120, minus 5 x £20 @ £80, taking a profit of £40. If Senegal had failed to win, the original £10 stake would have been lost, but the £20 lay bet would have come in, thus giving you a return of £10.

However, for those who subscribe to the 'who dares wins' ethos, the rewards would have been far greater. With just ten minutes to go, Senegal became odds-on, and it is then sensible to lay a bet on Senegal to win (ie: paying out short odds should Senegal win).

£100 could have been laid at 1.2, paying out just £20 in the event that the African team maintained its lead to the final whistle, reducing the original £120 win to £100, but safe in the knowledge that had France snatched a draw or win at the death, the £100 stake taken for 1.2 on a Senegal win would have come in, less your original £10 stake on Senegal to win at 13.

The outcome, therefore, is either a profit of £100 or £90, and of course once bets have been hedged in this manner, you can sit back, relax, and watch the remainder of the game knowing you have made a decent return.