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Fixed Odds Betting
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Betting on the Internet is fun, easy and safe, and one of the major advantages it has over high street betting shops is that you have the chance to compare odds from a host of different bookmakers before you bet. To help you find the best odds for any event or team quickly and easily, readabet.com and betgenius.com have teamed up to bring you a betting search facility. You can use it to search for odds by team, or find all the best odds on a particular event (just enter one or more keywords into the search box). The range of events available is immense.
Free Bets
Many Internet bookmakers also offer free bets and other promotions for new and existing clients. These change regularly, so it is worth checking back every now and then with our special offers search to find out the details of the latest deals.
Odds Formats
You can choose whether to display odds in British (fractional) or European (decimal) format. In Great Britain and Ireland odds are usually quoted as fractions, so that (for example) 9/4 means you win 9 units for every 4 units staked. In most other countries decimal odds are used. These odds include the stake, so the figure quoted is simply the amount of money you get back for every unit staked.
Table View
When you select an event, you will see an easy-to-read table showing the best odds for each selection and a bookmaker offering those odds. You can click on either the odds or the bookmaker logo to place a bet on that selection. Alternatively, by clicking on "Show All Bookmakers" you can see a full table of clickable odds for every selection with every bookmaker.
Best Price Percentage
For events in which every possible outcome is quoted (such as the 90 minute result of a football match), you can get an idea of value by looking at the best price percentage (BPP). Each bookmaker builds a margin or "over-round" into its odds, but by taking the best odds available this margin is usually dramatically reduced and occasionally removed completely. The lower the BPP the more value there is in betting on the event, and on the rare occasions when it drops below 100% you can make sure money by backing every possible outcome!
Each way terms
For certain events it is possible to back a particular selection to finish in the top few places without necessarily winning the event. To do this, you must have a normal bet on the selection to win the event, and a second bet of equal size on the selection to be "placed" (note that £10 each way means two bets of £10 each for a total stake of £20). The place bet is paid at lower odds than the win bet, and the each way terms tell you the number of places paid and the factor by which the odds must be divided. British-style odds are used when doing the division, so that for example a horse at 8/1 with each way terms of a quarter the odds for three places would pay 2/1 the place. Note that if the selection is placed but does not win then the win portion of an each way bet is lost.
Spread Betting
Click here to visit the Spread Betting Training Ground
How it works?
At first glance spread betting does appear to be quite tricky to understand. Once the basic principles have been grasped however, it then becomes a fairly easy concept to comprehend. Below is an example for how the mechanics of spread betting works. In the next section some of the most popular markets will be studied in more detail.
Example:
At the start of the last football season, Ipswich Town were quoted by the spread-betting firms to reach between 37-39 points for the season. This means that it was expected that Ipswich would finish the season with a total points tally of between 37 and 39.
Those who believed Ipswich would struggle to come anywhere near to this total would have sold the number of points at 37. On the other hand, the more optimistic would have believed that Ipswich had been severely underrated and consequently would have bought the total points at 39. You always specify the unit stake, i.e. the amount per point you wish to bet, when first opening the bet.
Important to remember: Buy at the higher end of the quote Sell at the lower end of the quote.
At the end of the season the number of points Ipswich had collected was an unexpected 62. For the buyers at the start of the season, there was a 23point profit (62-39). If the unit stake had been one pound per point then the total profit would have been 23pounds.
For the sellers, then there would have been a 25point loss (62-37). If the unit stake had been one pound per point then the total loss would have been 25pounds.
Important to remember It is possible to stop a spread bet before the event has finished
If after one game or a few games, you had a change of mind about Ipswich, it is possible to close (stop) the bet and take the loss or win. For example after four games, the quote for Ipswich may have moved up slightly to 41-43points.
Had you originally sold the number of points but now believed that this was wrong, the bet could be closed by buying the number of points at 43 for the same unit stake. This would mean a loss of 6points (43-37)
If you had originally bought but now wanted to take a profit and not worry what happened in the future then a 2point profit (41-39) could have been taken.
In-Running Betting
It is possible to spread bet during a sporting event. If you think that there is a trading possibility during a match then a bet can be placed within seconds. It is important to always ask for the price, as this will be constantly changing to reflect the current match situation as well as the amount of time left.
For Example the quote for total goals in a match between Derby and Newcastle may start at 2.7-3. After thirty minutes the game is goalless but the game is becoming more open. You may decide to therefore buy the total goals. The quote will however have fallen from 2.7-3.0 to reflect the amount of time that has already elapsed.
The Spread Betting Firms
Unlike the conventional bookmakers, there is only a limited number of spread betting firms. A table of the different companies and where to find them is provided below. A table of the different types of accounts is also provided.
Football Markets
(Below is a selection of football markets by the spread betting firms)
Total Goals:
The quote for total goals in a football match may be offered at 2.6-2.9. If you think the game is expected to be exciting with plenty of goals you would buy at 2.9. If you think the game will be dull with little goalmouth action then you would sell at 2.6. Buyers would hope for three goals or more to be scored while the Sellers on this market would wish to see no more than 2 goals.
Total Shirt Numbers:
The shirt numbers of the goal scorers are added up to give the final make-up (total). The starting quote will depend on the numbers the players are wearing.. Assuming a match has a starting quote for shirt numbers at 27-30 you would buy at 30 if you thought the game was going to have goals scored by players with a high shirt number. If you think the game will not have many goals or the scorers will have a low valued shirt number then you would sell at 27.
Total Corners:
This market is purely based on the number of corners in the match. A typical quote for corners is 11-12. If you expect there to be a high number of corners then you would buy at 12. If you expect the game to be played mostly in the midfield and therefore the corner count will not be high you would sell at 11.
Bookings:
This market is dependent on the number of yellow and red cards in the match. 10 points are awarded generally for a yellow card and 25 points for a red card. A typical quote at the start of a game is 38-42. This quote is effectively saying that there will be four yellow cards. If you believe the game will be a passionate affair and the referee will therefore show the yellow and red card several times you would buy at 42. If however you thought the game would be a clean match and therefore a lack of cards you would sell at 38.
Time Markets:
There are a number of time markets normally offered. These include time of first goal (match, home and away teams), time of second goal and time of first yellow card. If the first goal for the home team is quoted at 42-44 minutes but you believe the home team will struggle to score then you would buy at 44. If however you thought the home team would start the match very fast and go for an early strike then you would sell at 42minutes.
Hotshots/Shooting Stars:
For each football match four different players will be nominated. Generally if a player scores they will be awarded 25points and 8points if they do not participate in the match. The nominated players will normally be the strikers or attacking midfield players. Only these players can score points for this market. For a quote of 36-40 it would need two goals from one or more of the nominated players to show a profit for buyers at 40. If only one goal is scored or none at all then there will be a loss for buyers at 40. |
