The Laying Game

20 June 2018

If you are a lay betting type then being able to do this successfully using low priced selections is very much the holy grail. I became involved in the sports betting review world after a costly venture into lay betting in 2010 where the headlines and the reality were very much opposed. The experience also introduced me to a former system developer who has forgotten more about racing and betting than most know and who always said he had searched for a system to lay low priced horses but never managed it.

The Laying Game is targeted at finding the low priced favourites that the author does not think will justify their support. He uses form analysis in similar fashion to those who try to tip winners and accepts that he is not going to get it right all the time but with the prices low any pain should be both minimal and quickly recoverable. He advises that he will probably find around 6 possibles a week.

A betting bank of 25 points is recommended with normal staking at 1 point per selection. Occasionally selections are advised at half stakes. With selections at the top of the market liquidity is not an issue here.

Selections are advised by email which includes the rationale behind the choice. Normally there is no price limit but when considered appropriate a maximum is advised. The services results are assessed at BSP but  the user is advised they can back at any time if a price is below a maximum set. This is good practice allowing potential clients a clear view of what to expect.

Just a quick note about the BWR proofing – the system used will only take BSP into account for calculating performance metrics. This does not matter here where the service is happy to accept that BSP is its yardstick. I would also mention that some time into the trial the half stake option was introduced – this is not an option on the system so all stakes shown are 1 point. (The net effect of this is to reduce profits shown on this site by 0.43 points)

The trial has seen 108 bets with 74 (68.5%) successful at average odds of 3.49. The highest price seen was 11.5 and we went as low as 1.39. A winning sequence of 12 bets was seen with the worst losing run 4 in succession. After a slow start the progress seen was good through to May when a losing run meant a set back although this was almost recovered by the end of the month. June saw a poor start but again recovery is well underway and overall we are showing a profit of 12.86 points having seen a 21 point peak. The Return on Stakes is over 4% which is on the low side now.

The author does not hide away from the performance and has discussed the recent downturn openly and that he will be fine tuning his process. I often comment on the need for confidence where laying is involved and the way this service has operated has underpinned this area even when a poor run is seen. There is no doubt that the subscribers bank is a prime consideration in the process.

When we consider value against the subscription levels the low number of bets means margins are tight. We were seeing 5 points a month profit until recently which at a cost of £6 to achieve is well into the mid price range. Staking £25 per point would leave a profit of around £100 per month when performing well.

If the present recovery continues then the prospects are good here. A genuine service with the punter very much at the top of the consideration list. A positive rating is justified and hopefully the numeric rating improved when we update the review.