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BETTING EXCHANGES ARTICLE

FOOTBALL BETTING MATCH ODDS MARKET AT BETFAIR

FOOTBALL BETTING MATCH ODDS MARKET AT BETFAIR

By Matthew Walton of Betfair THE MATCH ODDS FOOTBALL MARKET ON BETFAIR

Match odds market at the heart of the matter

For the casual or committed punter, football betting is concerned with one question: which team is going to win the match?

Once you’ve decided on this, your view will have a direct bearing on all manner of other related Betfair markets, many of which are discussed throughout this publication (over/under 2.5 goals, first goalscorer, asian handicaps etc).

However, seeing as the match result is at the heart of most of the main markets on the exchange, what better way in which to use this opinion (and profit from it) than by getting involved with the ‘match odds’ market itself?

Playing the odds

Let’s take one of the new season’s opening day fixtures as an example of this market, which of course, involves only three possible results. Hence, at White Hart Lane, we find Spurs 3.50, Liverpool 2.28 and the draw 3.40 as the available options for the 90 minute match result.

When selecting a bet on this market any number of factors can be considered but, whatever the process involved, the final decision is made a lot easier by the limited number of potential outcomes: either Spurs or Liverpool will win, or it’ll be a draw.

It is no surprise that such a simple market is by far the most popular when it comes to the amount of punters betting on it, and thus the liquidity available. Whatever your bet and whatever your stake, you’ll be able to get on. Furthermore, as is the norm pretty much right across Betfair, you’ll find the best prices on offer for any given result - far better than with most fixed-odds bookmakers anyway.

So, think about it. You’ve got the simplest of bets, with the highest levels of market liquidity, added to the best possible odds … playing this market suddenly makes an awful lot of sense!

Even more so when you note that the match odds are always the first set of prices to go up on Betfair about a match. This enables you, as a backer or layer, to secure the best of the early value - possibly trading in and out well before the game itself. Assuming the market moves in a favourable direction as far as your bet is concerned, you may well have secured a “green book”* before the match has even kicked off.

Keeping it simple

A study of this market also highlights a valuable point about betting in general. Namely the benefit which can be had in concentrating your efforts on one specific bet in one particular market. As such, the match odds offer a gentle introduction to the possibilities of Betfair with a market which all football punters know well and can easily comprehend.

Moreover, this starting point comes with a market that has long been the curse of conventional bookmakers. For years they limited match betting solely to live matches, games played within the top divisions or with the ludicrous requirement you backed in trebles!

The match bet win single remains the most potent weapon in the armoury of the backer (and now the layer) in that the bet is concerned purely with one aspect of one match. Do your research, know your form and evaluate the odds on Betfair and you’ve got an excellent chance of backing a lot of winners.

So you might back Liverpool at 2.28 because you simply think Rafael Benitez’s team are the better side, lump on Spurs at 3.50 because the form is good (Spurs have actually won five of the last 10 home matches against the Reds, making the price a fair piece of value) or you could plump for the draw at 3.40 as being early season, it might be a tight match. The choice is yours.

Top Tip

Some teams have a very good record when it comes to winning matches but they may not be necessarily the best of starters. Look for teams who very often start at odds-on and either leave it late before breaking the deadlock or tend to go a goal behind before they get going. Lay them pre-match and then back them in-running if they go behind or are locked at 0-0 after a while.

By Pendil at British Betting and Gaming Sites.