Exchange Wagering

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by richard burch

Does anybody ever use it or understand it? I don't see much talk on here about it.

I tried it a few times but could never even get the bet in. Notice TVG even has an infomercial trying to explain it. I watched it several times and I'm still not getting it. Could be in trouble unless it gets easier to use.

If you are a typical $2 Win Bettor, you would be looking at the "Bet For" (blue) options. In that column, Betfair is showing you the best odds that someone else is willing to give you AND how much action they are willing to book at the odds they are offering. Typically, you will find entries where the odds offered are HIGHER than the parimutuel odds available in our standard wagering markets.

From there, you can look at the "Bet Against" market. There, someone else is looking for specific odds on a horse and you can offer those odds to that bettor if you think that the horse will LOSE.

Betfair is not for the standard vertical (exacta/trifecta) or horizontal (double/Pick-3+) player. In Britain where win wagering remains a major staple over the exotics, you can see why an efficient market pricing scheme might well work.

If you want to learn more, my suggestion is to have two side-by-side windows on your PC : one is the odds board of the parimutuel site where you would normally wager (NYRABets or whatever). The second window is the Betfair market of the same race. Watch the odds on both sides. Remember that the Betfair side is priced in "decimal odds" as opposed to what we normally see in the US markets.

It can get more complicated as you apply strategies (similar to options trading), but let's keep it simple for now.

I hope that this helps.