Matched betting, or ‘lay betting’ is a form of wagering where you contribute a bet (or several smaller bets) to a pool and take advantage of statistical betting odds. You don’t risk losing anything but you also don’t have to worry about whether you’ll win or not.
Why should you try out matched betting? Well, for one thing, it’s a great way to get in some practice while playing a game you might enjoy, like poker. For another, matched betting is legal in most countries and there are a variety of sites where you can practice on. And finally, it’s a harmless way to spend your gaming time. You’re not going to hurt your wallet or bank account, so long as you keep within the limits set by law.
Setting Up A Pool Of Money
The first step in matched betting is to set up a pool of money. This is simply a collection of funds (usually in the shape of a pot) that you and your fellow participants contribute to. The amount doesn’t matter; it could be as little as a few pounds or as much as several thousand. As long as everyone in the pool has the same stake (i.e. everyone contributes an equal amount), then everyone’s an equal participant in the pool. The amount of money in the pool should be larger than the maximum bet in whatever game you’re playing, just in case there’s a sudden shift in the betting odds and you end up losing your entire investment!
This step is more important than it seems. You must ensure that everyone in the pool is on the same page when it comes to risk and return. It would be best to get a trusted friend or family member to help you out with this part, as it can be somewhat tedious to keep track of multiple gambles and win/losses across multiple financial accounts. Setting up a website or blog that tracks your progress can also be helpful. Keeping detailed records of what you’ve done, how much you’ve won or lost, and learning from past mistakes are all essential parts of successful matched betting!
Choosing The Games
After setting up a pool of money, you can begin to play. The best part about matched betting is that, as mentioned above, you don’t risk losing anything. This means you can take part in almost any game that’s legal in your country. You don’t even need to choose poker; you could play dice, bingo, blackjack, or even roulette. The possibilities are endless!
The disadvantage of this flexibility is that it can be difficult to find the best game for you. You might like playing poker, but if that’s not available where you are, you’re out of luck. You might prefer dice, but if no one you know plays online, you’re out of luck as well. It’s not just the availability of the game that matters either; the level of competition, the rules of the game, and how experienced the players are all affect the enjoyment you get out of the experience. Simply put, there’s a game out there for everyone!
Playing The Game
Playing a game involves two steps: making the wagers and seeing the results of your efforts. After you’ve set up a pool of money, you can begin to play, making wagers (i.e. contributing money to the pot) and checking the outcomes (i.e. seeing whether you won or lost).
There are several different ways you can make a wager. For instance, you could put up a pound for each ace that comes up in the next card that’s dealt (this is known as ‘standard play’ in most cases). Or, you could make a wager on the total number of hands until a specific condition is met (such as when two cards of the same value are dealt). Most sites will allow you to make a wager in an entry fee (i.e. ‘play to win’) or rental (i.e. ‘play to lose’) format. These are just a few examples; the options are really endless.
As you might imagine, the flexibility of the games available through matched betting sites makes it easier to meet players from all over the world. Additionally, because there’s such a variety of games, you’re sure to find one that suits your personal taste. Not only that, but you’re also sure to find a variety of games that you can learn and improve upon. This is one of the primary reasons why playing games is so valuable beyond just having fun!
Learning From Your Mistakes
A fundamental tenet of any good gambling strategy is learning from past experience. This is especially important when playing a game you’ve never tried out before, but where you have some experience from playing other games. This is where the concept of no risk matched betting comes in. If you’ve tried out a game or two in the past and had some success, you can venture into the unknown with confidence. Or, if you’ve never tried out a game before but have heard of it, you can also learn a lot from the experience, even if things don’t work out as you’d like them to.
For instance, let’s say you’ve tried out roulette before and enjoyed it. You might play a bit on a simulator now and again, but mostly you’ll play in real life. If you get excited about a game you’ve played before but haven’t really paid attention to since, you might think, “Oh, that’s interesting. I wonder if that game is still around, or if it’s been replaced by something else.” If you’re curious enough, you might search for roulette on Google and find out that there’s a version of the game where you can actually play for real money. This is something you would have never found out about if you hadn’t played before. This is also where the idea of no risk matched betting comes in; you can actually try the game out and, if it’s not for you, you don’t lose anything. This is better than most gambling sites do, where the risk is usually quite high. It all depends on how you play; some sites make money through charging fees (and those are usually the ones you want to avoid), while others simply take your money and don’t give any value in return.
As you can see from the examples above, there are a variety of ways to implement matched betting. Simply put, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to gaming or gambling strategies. It’s all about what you’re after and how you want to play.