My blog

Just another WordPress site

  • Blog Home
  • Latest News
  • Members Area
  • About Betfan
  • Contact

BUYING AND SELLING ODDS – WE DO IT EVERY TIME WE BET

July 10, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Last week I spoke about trebles and why I personally avoid them. I was surprised to get a few e-mails about how I’d got my maths wrong! I can assure you that wasn’t the case at all and having been in this game for a long time I like to think I know what it is I am doing. I promised last week that I’d talk about a bet worth doing that can have large returns for smaller stakes but that will have to wait for next week now.

The reason I’m waiting for next week is because I felt I needed to clarify a few things about what odds actually mean and whether something has a “chance.”

If a runner is priced up at 4/1 it does in fact mean that, that horse has a 20% chance of winning its race. That means that in five races under the same conditions that horse would win once in those five attempts. Now I know one reader did helpfully point out that I had written 1 in 4 and of course it should have been 1 in 5!!

So back to the importance of understanding odds. They are in a sense a commodity. When you place a bet you are indeed “selling” the horses chances of winning that race. The bookie is “buying” off you the chances of that horse winning.

Let me break that down for you. Let’s go back to the 4/1 horse which means that its chances are 20%. That of course is the bookies opinion and is dependent on market reactions i.e the buying and selling of the horses chances. The bookie buys your bet off you for whatever stake you are selling it for. In this case you, the punter are selling it at 20%. The horse wins and you get paid out, the horse losses and you don’t. That last part is simple enough.

Let’s break this down further into “value” and look at why this word “value” is so important.

The 4/1 you took then gets gambled on and the horse goes off at 2/1. At 2/1 this now means that the horse has a 33.33% chance of winning the race. You sold the ticket at 20% and now the horse is worth 33.33%. You’ve effectively sold the horses chances at a reduced rate! The bookie still has to pay you out at the 20% but to him he’s sort of been ripped off as he’s having to pay out more than the true market value!

I hope that makes sense and you can now see more clearly how that market works and when your backing a horse think of it as selling it’s chances to the bookie. Do your homework and you can rip them off for a change!!

I’ll be back next week with this bet that is actually worth doing.

MATR

Filed Under: Back, Bet Kudos, Betting Knowledge, Betting News, Betting Systems, Horse Racing, Lay, Make Money Online, Sports, Trading Tagged With: MATR

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect With Us

Check Out Betfans Top Tipsters

Most Popular Posts

  • Q would be worried about the bookmakers spying on us all 923 views
  • Today’s Sports Betting Preview & BONUS Tips – By Rick Elliott 41 views
  • The Colonel 41 views
  • Spotting Market Moves And How To Play Them 40 views
  • Looking For Value 40 views
  • Bankers Bonus Eyecatchers 40 views
  • Greyhound Master Tipster 39 views
  • Irish Trainers Can Win The Big Races – By Ian Hudson 39 views
  • Did You Do This Last Saturday? 39 views
  • Newmarket July Festival 39 views

Recent Posts

  • Trackside In Ireland – By Declan O’Donoghue
  • Today’s Sports Betting Preview & BONUS Tips – By Rick Elliott
  • Today’s Sports Betting Preview & BONUS Tips – By Rick Elliott
  • Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott
  • Today’s Sports Betting Preview & BONUS Tips – By Rick Elliott

Recent Comments

  • reviewer on Aspire Racing Multi Syndicate/Genesis Systems
  • Reg, Humpage on Aspire Racing Multi Syndicate/Genesis Systems
  • Peter Smith on Aspire Racing Multi Syndicate/Genesis Systems
  • David on The Ultimate Profit Club Trading Video
  • Watson on Simon Holden Racing Club

Copyright © 2021 Betfan Ltd, 65 Morden Hill, Lewisham, London, SE13 7NP | Registered in England No. 07139640. VAT No. GB 997 6437 45