smart betting strategies<\/strong><\/a> such as hedging, exchanges have no issue with them, as they charge a 2% commission on exchange bets.<\/p><\/div><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n Lay Odds\n <\/h3>\n \n\n \n Lay odds can be tricky. While back odds work the same way as regular odds, lay odds come with liability, meaning you can potentially lose more than you bet. <\/strong> \nLay bets mean betting on something not<\/em> to happen<\/strong>. If you place a lay bet for a team to win, you are betting that the team will not<\/em> win, meaning you are betting on a draw or the other team to win.<\/p>\n\n\n Betfair Exchange Lay Odds: Example\n <\/h3>\n \n\n \n Let us use a lay bet at odds of 2.0 (1\/1) for \u00a3100 with 2% commission at Betfair Exchange as an example.<\/p>\n\n
\n If you win the bet, you will win \u00a398 for your \u00a3100 stake. However, if you lose your bet, you will lose \u00a3100, plus \u00a3100 liability, adding up to \u00a3200.<\/p>\n\n
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(Source: Betfair)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nHedging Betting Strategy<\/h2>\n \n\n \n There are plenty of ways you can take advantage of movements in odds. Here are a few of the main strategies for hedging bets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Outright market hedging\n <\/h3>\n \n\n \n An outright market lets you bet on who the final winner of a tournament or competition will be.<\/strong> For example, you can bet on the Champions League winner, the Premier League winner, the top goal scorer, who will win Wimbledon and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n Usually odds start very high, even for favourites, but gradually get lower as the competition progresses.<\/strong> For example, a team with odds 10\/1 as outright winner might have odds 3\/1 or lower as the season progresses. As odds for a certain win get lower, odds for that win not to happen get higher.<\/strong> You can take advantage of this by laying the bet or placing an opposite bet.<\/p>\n\n\n Example\n <\/h3>\n \n\n \n Early on in a hypothetical Premier League season, most bookies are offering odds 2\/1 (3.00) as for Manchester United to win the league. You feel confident in your bet and put down a bet of \u00a3100. You see good value in this, as the team has a good squad and you want to take advantage of the odds while they are still high.<\/p>\n\n
\n If Manchester United wins the league, you stand to win \u00a3300, with a profit of \u00a3200.<\/p>\n\n
\n However, as the season progresses, you see that Liverpool is also doing well and is only a few points behind. Although you are confident Manchester United still has a good chance, you want to guarantee profit. While you could sit back and watch the rest of the season nervously, you could also hedge your bet.<\/p>\n\n
\n This is where betting exchanges come in handy<\/strong>. By choosing lay odds (betting for something not to happen), you can insure yourself against loss. At the time of writing this article, Betfair is offering 1\/4 (1.25) odds for Manchester to win, meaning you can place a lay bet on these odds. If you bet \u00a3100 on Manchester United not to win, you will effectively ensure yourself against any possible loss:<\/p>\n\n