Another question I get asked often is why do I use Football for my examples and not Tennis, Formula One or Horse-Racing etc.

When we are looking to match our bets (back and lay them) we are looking for good liquidity (lots of money in the markets), close odds and crucially no rule differences. Football is perfect for this as the liquidity is normally very good especially with the more popular leagues e.g. the premiership and as the markets are so competitive the odds are pretty close and the rules are in the main the same at bookmakers and the betting exchanges.

With Tennis and horse-racing the odds might look attractive but the rule differences have left many a person unstuck. Tennis have differing rules on player withdrawals, whereas one bookmaker can have the bet stand if the player withdrawals having played at least one set and others needing the entire match to be played. Horse racing rule 4 reductions are the main culprit, with deductions at bookmakers not equalling the deductions at the exchange and sometimes people feeling they have had an excellent price at bookmakers only to realise that the bookmaker has been slow to update their odds after a withdrawal.

I'm not saying don't look at other markets as it can be very lucrative and I certainly do but make sure you know the rules at all parties before going ahead. Horse racing in particular can greatly increase your profits as the odds are very competitive especially in the last few minutes before the off. Grab a good price at the bookmaker just as the price is coming in at exchange and then lay it off. Seems easy? I wish it was :) you have to be quick, know exactly what you are doing and be prepared for a quick reversal and if you can do this regularly you might as well start trading instead on the exchanges but thats a subject for another day.