Matched Betting for Dummies! An Idiot’s Guide to Terminology…
In a bid to reach out to more people across the UK with little to no betting experience, we’ve made this guide to Matched betting terminology beginners’ guide.
The article is a quick look at matched betting basics. Many don’t realise but, you could be winning £600 a month* with no-risk cash with betting. The bookies hate it, the Guardian wrote about it here.
Let’s have a look at the most common terms…
Betting Exchanges:
A betting exchange is different from a traditional bookmaker. It functions by providing a fair platform for end-users to bet against each other, thus the name ‘exchange’.
The most famous exchange is Betfair, although Betdaq and Smarkets are also up-and-coming.
Bookmakers:
Available in two formats:
- Shops
Who hasn’t seen a bookmaker shop?
You can literally find a bookmaker shop after every ten meters. These shops promote ‘over the counter’ bets — the old school betting.
Anyone can easily walk into any of these stores and place a bet. You’d be issued a bet slip to validate your bet with a particular bookmaker.
If you win your stake, you are required to return with your slip to redeem your cash winnings.
2. Online (Apps and Desktop)
Online bookmakers offer same services as bookmaker shops.
However, here, unlike the brick-and-mortar bookmaker shops, betting is done online. You’d find a list of all the available bets on their official websites.
If you win an online bet, your winnings will be credited to your bookmaker account. Your bookmaker balances can be transferred, easily, into your local bank account.
While withdrawal duration varies across bookmakers, it usually takes between 2 to 5 business days.
Note: Popular Bookmakers
Don’t trust all the bookmakers you see online. Before you bet, ensure the bookmaker is licensed for operations in the UK and Ireland.
Understanding Betting Odds
For new bookmaker accounts, the betting odds are displayed in fraction. You may need to change those fractional formats to decimals
Medium Article: How Odds Work in Full
Let’s quickly summarize both formats.
Fraction Odds
For example, 4/1 means 4 to 1. So, you get £4 profit for every £1 bet placed.
This means you’d get £8 profit for £2 bet. Plus, the original £2 amount you betted = £10
Decimal Odds
For a more simplified understanding, adding one to the fraction odds gives you the decimal odds.
Meaning, our 4/1 fractional odds in the example will be converted to 5.0 decimal odds.
When calculating decimal odds returns, multiply the decimal odds by your bet — without adding your initial bet amount, as it is already captured in the total.
So, if you place a £2 bet, you would get 2 x 5.0, which equals £10.
Jargon Spoiler
In the real matched betting for beginners’ form, here are some betting codes and their meanings:
- Lay Bet — A bet against an outcome
- Back bet — A bet for an outcome
- Free bet — A bonus offered by bookmakers for your first bet on your new account.
- Trigger bet — The first bet placed on your new account to unlock a free bet.
Opening a Betting Account
Bookmakers often make this step easy and quick to encourage new sign-ups. You may, however, have to provide photo proof of address and age.
Driving license, passport, voters’ card, PAN card, or Identity cards are all acceptable ID proof.
For address proof, bank statement, utility bill, and letter from an employer will do.
Betting types
Presently, people place bet on practically everything — from x-factor winner to Brexit outcomes.
For a start, go for the simplest markets spotted in bigger sporting fixtures. The fixture outcome, winner odds, is the most straightforward market.
In football and related sports where a draw is possible, a draw bet will also be included.
See example:
The game result is usually displayed at bet’s page of a fixture.
The example above shows Arsenal with 2.00 winning odds. The match ending draws has 3.40, and a win for Liverpool is 3.75 odds.
In some cases, it may show ‘away,’ ‘draw,’ and ‘home.’
In the examples, Arsenal is home, Liverpool, away. The team listed on the left are usually the home team.
One of the terms we didn’t mention here is ‘Gubbing’. It’s a big topic so you’re best off reading this article here…
Must read: Gubbing & Account Restrictions — How to avoid them.
*if you’re willing to in an effort to understand how, and then apply.