When LAYING to LOSE you are effectively taking on the role of a Bookmaker without the overheads. You have no staff to pay, no High Street building to run. All you need is a PC with, preferably, a highspeed connection, and of course an account with a Betting Exchange. Unlike the High Street Bookmaker, who has to offer odds for every race, you can be selective, cherry picking your favoured events.
In the previous chapter I selected Dami and BACKED to WIN.
In this chapter I don’t think Dami is going to win so I’m going to LAY to LOSE. It is advisable, if you don’t think a horse is going to win, to select horses with as low LAY ODDS as possible. Don’t forget you are taking on the role of a Bookmaker and if the horse wins you will have to pay out at the odds taken.
I have decided to LAY Dami to LOSE and have taken £20 at 4.00
This gives me a potential
At this stage I HAVE NOT taken the bet. I must now SUBMIT and then CONFIRM
As stated in the chapter “BACK to WIN”, odds can change very quickly and can be missed. You may not like the odds being offered. The beauty about a Betting Exchange is that you don’t have to take what is on offer—you can ask for your own odds, with the hope of being matched.
To the left of the LAY ODDS you will see three columns under the BACK area. These are odds where a person is asking for his own odds, as a Bookmaker, and is waiting to be matched. As Bookmaker you are looking to keep odds as short as possible to lessen the amount you have to pay out if a backed horse wins. The role has been changed and someone is placing a bet with you.
