Introduction To Laying - Final Thoughts

Introduction To Laying Final Thoughts

Be wary of early shock results from whatever betting strategy you have started to use. 

What happens if it turns out they were not shocks after all? 

At this point, it may also be worth mentioning three of Betfair's features.

Markets such as the World Cup and Wimbledon, etc are deemed Express Settlement Market, meaning that as soon as a team or player can't be a winner, it is treated as a loser. 

All bets on that team are then settled before the outcome of the event is known. 

This can help to overcome exposure (keeping your money tied up although you can no longer lose it).

Cash-out is a relatively new feature but allows you to take the early settlement on certain other markets. 

This figure is what your bet is ‘ worth ‘ based on how much you could win ( or lose ) if you wished to trade out of the bet at the current price. 

It simply saves you the trouble of having to work it out, but you may only trade ALL or NONE of the bet.

If done the standard way you can trade part of the bet but that is not an option with cash out unless you place several smaller bets up to the same total stake.

Partial Cash-out is now available, permitting you to cash out whatever part of the bet you want to, or that the odds will allow at reasonable odds. 

As with all Cash-out options, the less liquidity there is in the market, the less value you will get if taking a greater portion of the cash-out.

The What IF feature tells you what your profit and loss would be on a single team if you placed a bet that you are thinking of placing. 

Should it be the first bet on that team you would be aware of that but where subsequent bets are placed (or a trade envisaged) this option is a way of adjusting your bet prior to placing it.

How Were System Results Obtained And Were There Anomalies ?

Systems of any sort can be torn to shreds by using flawed information to construct the system. 

That does not necessarily mean the information was incorrect, just irrelevant to the current situation. 

Always ensure like for like recent information is used whenever possible and certainly where critical. 

You can read a more detailed account of betting strategies and systems at the betting school.

Is LSP Or LTL Better?

This was touched on in a previous article but now it can perhaps be explained further.

If the odds are consistently within close parameters then it should make little difference whether LSP ( fixed stakes ) or LTL ( fixed liability ) is used.

However, if the odds can vary substantially it is of more importance.

I shall use £100 as an example bank but you should set aside a bank for betting whatever the size.

Your favoured selection process indicates many lays over a period and even though after a period the results show a profit to level stakes, the order in which the bets were made can have a major impact on the bankroll.

Over the course of a season, you may lay 100 horses at 10/1 or so and a few of them will no doubt win. 

There is no control over when those winners will come along though. If they happen at the end, then ( hopefully ) all that happens is your profit will dip.

If they are bunched at the beginning of the season, even £3 per bet ( losing £30 each time ) can have a serious effect on both your bank and your nerves. Of course, if they all lose you simply win a string of £3 bets.

Laying many short-priced favourites over the season will inevitably lead to laying more winners. 

At £3 per go, individually they will not have a great effect on the bank as the amounts involved are relatively small.

Now you may think that winning £3 when an even-money favourite gets beaten is scant reward for your efforts and wish to have won say £10. 

Winning £10 when an even-money chance you've laid is beaten gives you a good feeling, but wait! 

You then decide to change to £10 stakes and of course, your next £10 lay is an 11.00 winner. You lose £100 and your bank has disappeared in one go!

Subconsciously you have wanted to win more when a short-priced favourite is beaten without the risk of losing too much should one of the outsiders win.

You could set out with an LTL stake of £10. 

You would now win £10 when the even-money favourite gets beaten but only win £1 when the outsider gets beaten. Now you feel aggrieved to only win £1.

Several even money chances winning will not necessarily be ruinous to the bank but would put a dent in it.

If the spread of big or short-priced winners is uniform ( of course it never will be ) then fluctuations in the bank will be small whilst it is hopefully growing.

In an attempt to cut out violent swings in the bank, I prefer to adopt a mixture of the two methods. I find the extra safety gained is worth the bit of extra effort involved.

By placing a level stakes bet of £2 on each horse and a £10 liability lay on each horse the bank will be in a better position to stand the losers in whatever order they come.

Have An Adequate Betting Bank

It would be reckless to use the stakes mentioned with such a small bank, but it was done to emphasise the problem.

You may not initially be 100% certain how much that may need to be, so err on the safe side as it is paramount not to lose it all in a bad run. 

Nothing can compensate for misjudgment, but losses are inevitable and this is a way to avoid dramatic ups and downs in your funds. 

The protection of your betting bank is always highlighted by those who have been betting and trading for a while, you will do well to take that advice, you will not regret it.