Locking In a Profit – The Advantages of Live Betting

Eliminate risk by locking in profit

Types of Bets

Betting exchanges have transformed the landscape of the online gambling industry. The advantages of choosing exchanges are wide ranging. The plethora of markets available in conjunction with the attractive odds on offer, ability to lay (betting against an outcome) makes betting through this medium an attractive proposition.

One facet that has attracted particular interest (and rightly so), is live or ‘in running’ betting. This relatively new concept has facilitated the ability of individuals to place bets on certain teams, players, and horses to win and/or lose. In conjunction with the conception of in running betting, this option has facilitated the emergence of trading on sports and ‘locking in a profit’.

The scope for different betting strategies has been broadened significantly by live betting. Throughout the course of a live sporting event, the incidents, flow of play, or weather can influence the chance of different outcomes at various stages of the contest. This is reflected in the live odds on offer on betting exchanges and the changing odds provide the option for customers to lock in a profit when they are shorter (greater percentage chance of winning) than when the first bet was struck.

The advantage of live betting from the perspective of locking in a profit, can be demonstrated on a range of sports. For instance, a customer may have backed a boxer to win a 12 round fight and be able to bet on the same boxer to lose at much shorter odds when he is comfortably winning after 11 rounds of action. Closing the bet out after 11 rounds and locking in a profit negates the chance of the bettor losing his money if the other fighter somehow comes back and wins by knockout in the 12th round. The profit is guaranteed regardless of the result.

In tennis, an individual may have backed Roger Federer prior to the start of a Wimbledon final, and will be able to lock in a healthy profit by betting on the Swiss maestro to lose at much shorter odds once he is winning 2-0 in sets. An unlikely but possible comeback by his opponent would therefore have no bearing on the profit.

To illustrate the mechanics of locking in a profit, we look at football. Take Stoke v Sunderland for example. Stoke are available at 2.24, which returns £224 (less commission) for a £100 stake.

Stoke take the lead in the first fifteen minutes and when half time arrives, they are still winning one-nil and are trading at 1.55. The bettor decides however that Stoke did not play particularly well and are perhaps fortunate to be leading at the break. The lower odds enable the individual to ‘lock in a profit’. The calculations are as follows:

Back Stoke pre match £100 at 2.24
Lay Stoke half time £144.50 at 1.55

If Stoke win:
Back Profit £124.00 Lay Liability -£79.48
Profit: £44.52

If Stoke fail to win:
Lay Profit: £144.50 Back Loss: -£100.00 Profit: £44.50
A £44.50/£44.52 profit has been obtained (less commission), by half time and without any risk in the second half regardless of the result.

WBX (www.wbx.com) are one of the premier online betting exchanges and they provide significant advantages over traditional bookmakers. A drawback of traditional bookmakers that is an advantage of WBX, is live betting. With the conventional betting firms, once a bet is struck, it cannot be altered and can only be settled upon the completion of the event. As demonstrated above, the live betting feature available with WBX can be utilised to eliminate risk and ‘lock in a profit’ once the conditions of an event or contest are in the bettors favour and the odds of success have increased.