While matched betting is often considered a confusing and time-consuming activity, this only really applies to the initial learning process. Sure, it may take a while to come to grips with how the process works, which offers you can use it on, and how to maximise your profits, but with a bit of practice and the right guidance, you will be off to a flying start and have an easy introduction to matched betting.
Of course, we are human and make mistakes, but it is easy to identify and fix these errors or even prevent them from happening in the first place. In this blog, we will look at some common mistakes people make when matched betting and tell you how to spot and even avoid making them yourself.
Understanding the Basics of Matched Betting
Matched betting, in its simplest sense, covers all bases of a bet to maximise security, no matter the outcome. This is done while taking advantage of free bet offers that many bookmakers give to new and loyal customers. Once you have placed both of the required bets, everything is covered; a team to win and the same not to win, for example. The main confusion comes from the fact there are hundreds of different bookmakers, all with individual offers, and it can be difficult to find the best ones for you to potentially make money online in the UK with without spending hours upon end traipsing the internet to find them.
The steps to matched betting are simple; find a free bet offer, complete the criteria, take the free bet and place it on the market with matchable odds, find the opposite bet on a betting exchange, and place the bet with however much money is needed to balance out the returns from both this bet and the free bet.
As there are maths involved in the process, some people can struggle to keep on top of it, so the matched betting calculator was created. Matched betting is one of the most effective ways of making money from betting sites, and along with this effectiveness, it is also 100% safe when done correctly. Understanding the basics is the best starting point, much like with any sort of process, as laying the foundations means you have somewhere to start and can build from this knowledge.
Not Using a Betting Exchange
One of the biggest things people ignore if they do not learn matched betting properly is that you must use a betting exchange to cover the opposite market. A betting exchange, such as Betfair or Smarkets, is a bookmaker that offers Lay Bets – a bet on an event NOT occurring – rather than Back bets.
Once you have placed your Back bet, let’s say Liverpool to win their upcoming game, you are led to believe that covering the other options here would just be placing a bet on their opponent to win, but this would not cover the Draw result, meaning it has 2 different chances to lose instead of just 1. To fix this, you use a betting exchange, which covers the event of “Liverpool to NOT win”, meaning a draw is covered, as well as the other team winning, all in a single odds value.
This mistake is easily avoided by simply signing up for a betting exchange and understanding how to navigate it, depositing the required funds, and always covering both sides of the market.
Use a Calculator for Your Bets
The third – and possibly simplest mistake made when matched betting is doing the maths and calculations manually. Of course, you may be exceptional at maths and be able to do the needed equations in your head easily, but using any form of betting calculator makes your life, and the process, so much easier. As mentioned earlier, the matched betting Calculator was created to make the process easier for everyone. Using the calculator, you can determine how much you need to place on each side of the bet to maximise profit. On our site, we have a few different calculators, not only for matched betting but also for accumulator bet calculators and other multiples.
Check Terms & Conditions
Quite a few sign up offers on bookmakers will have sneaky wagering requirements or other pieces of info hidden within the terms and conditions. While many people skip over these T&Cs, reading and understanding them while completing the matched betting process is important. This is especially important because you will be using a whole plethora of different bookmakers during your matched betting adventures, and each one will have its own set of rules you need to follow and criteria you need to meet.
As with the previous common error, this one is easily avoided by paying attention to the Terms and Conditions. Making sure you read the T’s+C’s in full, no matter which bookmaker you are using for a specific matched betting wager, is an important part of the process. When using OddsMonkey for any matched betting information, finding what you are looking for is simple.
Keep Track of Your Bets!
This is quite a big issue and comes into play once a few different offers have been used. This issue arises mainly because people lose track of which bookmakers they have placed their qualifying bets with and lose track of where their money and profit are stored. It is important to have some method of tracking each bet placed, which side of the bet won, and where your money is at all times during the matched betting process.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to track the process is by creating a spreadsheet with all of your funds and used offers. This could even be split into 2 sheets; one for tracking money and one for tracking offers. The overall issue is manageable as long as you take the time to set up proper management for it – the initial setup of a spreadsheet like this would take longer than actually using it.
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand some of the common mistakes to avoid when starting matched betting. We have an array of useful guides to matched betting to check out, such as our latest best odds guaranteed explained article.
