The betting exchange interface, which is virtually identical to all the exchanges, is very simple but can appear a little daunting at first glance so I’ll run through it here. Once you’ve selected a golf market to bet on, the screen will show 6 columns. The 3 columns on the left display the best prices available to back a selection with the innermost column in blue showing the very best price. Likewise, the 3 columns on the right display the best prices available to lay a selection with the innermost column in pink showing the very best price (ie the shortest)to lay.
It’s important to realize that the best prices to back up are the prices that other punters are prepared to lay. The £ figure under the odds figure in the Back column is the amount of money that one or more users are prepared to lay your selection for. If you like the price available to back in the blue column, simply click on that price and the screen on the right will change to allow you to place your bet. Here’s what it will look like:
However, always keep in mind that you don’t have to accept the best odds currently available if you think they’re too short to back or too long to lay. The great thing about the exchanges is that you can set the odds at which you’re prepared to either back or lay a selection. So let’s say you want to back Tiger but don’t like the present 5.1 (4.1/1 in fractional odds) on offer so decide to ask for 5.4 instead. All you need to do is click on the blue column for Tiger Woods, adjust the odds on the right of the screen using the arrow key and enter your stake. Then simply click the submit button further down and you’re done. Let’s take a look:
Now, as you can see, the bet is currently unmatched. This is because there are no layers willing to lay odds of 5.4 on Woods at the present time. The £10 bet is therefore posted in the righthand lay column (see inside the red circle)and added to the £1180 figure from other backers wanting to back Woods at 5.4. But you can leave your bet at the requested odds in the market for a layer to hopefully match.
It’s often worth asking for better odds than those currently available as prices are constantly fluctuating and your bet will often get matched with a layer, given a little time. However, it’s important to ensure your request for odds isn’t unreasonable asking for 21.0 (20/1) about a presently available 6.0 (5/1) chance is unlikely to be matched! So that’s the basics of using betting exchanges. They’re really very simple to use once you familiarise yourself with them.