Tuesday 31 January 2012

Chapter 19 - Miscellaneous bets & January summary

Alas. I was a silly fool and tried placing a few non-matched bets on a few games here and there. The Gods were NOT on my side...

What can I say apart from that I managed to lose £30 through my silly behaviour.

I will try to update my blog as regularly as I can but I will be spending the next week on a remote island so I may not be able to place many bets. Thanks for following my blog through the last month though!

Overall profit (January): £222.02 - £30 = £192.02

Monday 30 January 2012

Chapter 18 - Blue Square

Blue Square were doing an offer where you bet £25 and then receive a £25 free bet.

For my qualifying bet of £25 I bet that there would be under 2.5 goals in the match between Fleetwood Town and Braintree at odds of 2.75. I tried to place a lay of £25.56 against there being under 2.5 goals at odds of 2.74 but Betfair could only match it to £22.02. I accepted their offer and placed a further lay of £3.51 at odds od 2.76. I lost the bet so lost my £25 at Blue Square but received a payout of £24.25 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.75.

For my free bet of £25 I bet that the correct score in the game between Sudan and Angola would be 0-0 at odds of 7.5, and placed a lay of £22.11 against a 0-0 score at odds of 7.4. I lost this bet so lost the free £25 at Blue Square but received a payout of £21 at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £21 - £0.75 = £20.25

Overall profit: £201.77 + £20.25 = £222.02

Saturday 28 January 2012

Chapter 17 - 888sport (Stage 6)

Stage 6 of the 888sport offer.

For my first bet I bet £10 that Dundee Utd would beat Motherwell at odds of 2.2, and placed a lay of £10.33 against Dundee Utd at odds of 2.18. I lost this bet so lost £10 at 888sport but gained £9.81 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.19.

For my second bet I bet £10 that Hamilton would beat Ayr at odds of 2.4, and placed a lay of £10.21 against Hamilton at odds of 2.4. I lost this bet so lost my £10 at 888sport but gained £9.70 at Betfair - a loss of £0.30.

For my third bet I bet £10 that Preston North End would beat Leyton Orient at odds of 2.05, and placed a lay of £10.10 against Preston North End at odds of 2.08. I lost this bet so lost £10 at 888sport but gained £9.59 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.41.

For my fourth qualifying bet I bet £10 that there would be more than 2.5 goals in the game between Betis and Sevilla. I lost this bet so lost £10 at 888sport but received a payout of £9.45 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.55.

My account was then credited with a free bet of £10. I bet £10 that Beggers Belief would win at Kempton at odds of 11 and placed a lay of £9.13 against Beggers Belief at odds of 11. Beggars Belief did not win so I received a payout of £8.67 at Betfair.

Profit for this chapter: £8.67 - £0.19 - £0.30 - £0.41 - £0.55 = £7.22

Overall profit: £194.55 + £7.22 = 201.77

Thursday 26 January 2012

Chapter 16 - 888sport (Stage 5)

The fifth stage of the 888sport bet once again involved placing four bets of at least £10 and recieving a free bet of £10.

For the first qualifying bet I bet £10 that Pacos Ferriera would beat Setubal at odds of 2.1, and placed a lay of £9.86 against Pacos Ferriera at odds of 2.18. Pacos Ferriera won so I won £21 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £11.63 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.63.

For the second bet I bet £10 that Fulham would beat Newcastle at odds of 2.1, and placed a lay of £10.14 against Fulham at odds of 2.12. Fulham did beat Newcastle, so I won £21 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £11.36 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £0.36.

For the third bet I bet £10 that Glentoran would beat Ballymena at odds of 2.2, and placed a lay of £10.33 against Glentoran at odds of 2.17. Glentoran won the game so I received £22 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £12.08 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.08.

For the fourth an final qualifying bet I bet £10 that Peterborough would beat Brighton at odds of 2.1, and placed a lay of £9.95 against Peterborough at odds of 2.16. I lost this bet so lost £10 at 888sport but gained £9.45 at betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.55.

For the £10 free bet I bet that the result between the Leicester v Nottingham Forest game would 0-0 at odds of 10.0, and placed a lay of £8.61 against a 0-0 result at odds of 10.5. I lost this bet so lost my free £10 at 888sport but recieved a payout of £8.18 at Betfair. A profit of £8.18.

Profit from this chapter: £8.18 - £0.63 - £0.36 - £0.08 - £0.55 = £6.56

Overall profit: £187.99 + £6.56 = £194.55

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Chapter 15 - 888sport Mobile

888sport had a mobile offer which I took up. The offer was that if I were to place a bet (minimum bet £1, minimum odds 1.5) and if it were to lose then they would give me a refund (up to £5).

For the first bet I bet £5 that St. Mirren would beat Hamilton Academicals at odds of 2.2. When laying the bet, I decided to try underlaying so I placed a lay of £4.21 at odds of 2.28. I used the trickybet lay calculator to work out that if I were to win the bet then I would get a profit of £0.61, whereas if I were to lose then I would make a loss of £1.00 but would also get a £5 refund. St. Mirren won 1-0 so I won £11 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £5.39 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall profit of £0.61.

I still have a long way to go before I get the grasp of these risk-free bets...!

Profit from this chapter: £0.61

Overll profit: £187.38 + £0.61 = £187.99

Monday 23 January 2012

Chapter 14 - 888sport (Stage 4)

The fourth stage of betting at 888sport once again involved me placing four bets of at least £10 in order to recieve a free £10 bet.

For my first qualifying bet I bet £10 that Maastricht would beat Willhem II at odds of 2.6, and placed a lay of £10.20 against Maastricht at odds of also 2.6. Maastricht won, so I won £26 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £16.32 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.32.

For my second bet I bet £10 that the HT/FT result in the match between Manisapor and Fenerbahce would be Fenerbahce/Fenerbahce at odds of 3.0, and placed a lay of £9.84 against Fenerbahce/Fenerbahce at odds of 3.1. I lost the bet so lost my £10 at 888sport, but gained £9.35 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.65.

For my third bet I bet £10 that match between Adanaspor and Denizlispor would end up in a draw at odds of 3.25, and placed a lay of £9.85 against a draw at odds of 3.35. The match indeed ended up in a draw, so I won £32.50 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £23.15, leaving me with a loss of £0.65.

For my fourth and final qualifying bet I bet that Adanaspor would beat Denizlispor at odds of 2.0, and placed a lay of £9.76 against Adanaspor at odds of 2.1. This was split into two lays of £6.45 and £3.31, both at odds of 2.1 - this was because I had trouble trying to match all of my bet in one go. In the end Adanaspor did not win so I lost my £10 at 888sport but gained £9.27 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.73.

My account was then credited with a free bet of £10. I bet this free £10 that the score in the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona would be 1-1 at odds of 7.5. I placed a lay of £8.39 against a 1-1 result at odds of 7.8. I lost this bet so received a payout of £7.97 at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £7.97 - £0.32 - £0.65 - £0.65 - £0.73 = £5.62

Overall profit: £181.76 + £5.62 = £187.38

Saturday 21 January 2012

Chapter 13 - 888sport (Stage 3)

The third round of the 888sport offer involved me placing 4 bets of at least £10 and receiving a £10 free bet.

For my first qualifying bet I bet £10 that Marseilles would beat Lille at odds of 2.0. I intended to place a lay of £10.05 against Marseilles at odds of 2.04, but accidently placed a lay of £10.50 instead... Marseilles did not beat Lille so I won £20 at 888sport, leaving me with an overall loss of £0.92.

For my second bet I bet £10 that Marseilles would be ahead of Lille at half-time at odds of 2.87 and placed a lay of £10.14 against Marseilles being ahead at odds of 2.88. I lost this bet, so I lost my £10 at 888sport but received £9.63 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.37.

For my third bet I bet £10 that the HT/FT result in the Marseilles v Lille game would be Marseilles/Marseilles at odds of 3.6, and placed a lay of £10.29 against Marseilles/Marseilles at odds of 3.55. I lost this bet so I lost my £10 at 888sport, but gained £9.78 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.22.

For my fourth and final qualifying bet I bet £10 that the match between Laval and Istres would end up in a draw at odds of 3.1, and placed a lay of £10.16 against the draw at odds of 3.1. I lost this bet so lost my £10 at 888sport but gained £9.65 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.35.

I then received a free bet of £10. I placed it on a result of 0-0 in the game between Wigan and Man City at odds of 17.0, and placed a lay of £8.67 against a 0-0 result at odds of 18.5. Man City won the game 1-0, so I lost the free £10 at 888sport but gained £8.24 at Betfair.

Profit for this chapter: £8.24 - £0.92 - £0.37 - £0.22 - £0.35 = £6.38

Overall profit: £175.38 + £6.38 = £181.76

Friday 20 January 2012

Chapter 12 - 888sport (Stage 2)

The second stage of the 888sport offer was that they would give me a free bet of £10 after placing four £10 bets.

For my first qualifying bet I bet £10 that AC Milan would beat Inter at odds of 2.2, and placed a lay of £10.14 against AC Milan at odds of 2.22. I lost this bet, so I lost my £10 at 888sport but gained £9.63 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.37.

For my second bet I bet £10 that Cesena would beat Novara at odds of 2.0, and placed a lay of £9.95 against Cesana at odds of 2.06. Cesena did beat Novara so I won £20 at 888sport, but paid out a liability of £10.15, leaving me with a loss of £0.15.

For my third bet I bet £10 that Braga would beat Lisbon at odds of 2.5, and placed a lay of 10.12 against Braga at odds of 2.52. I won this bet, so won £25 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £15.38 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £0.38.

For my fourth and final qualifying bet I bet £10 that Parma would beat Siena at odds of 2.2, and placed a lay of £9.87 against Parma at odds of 2.28. Parma did beat Siena so I won £22 at 888sport but paid out a liability of £12.63, leaving me with a loss of £0.63.

For my free £10 bet I bet that the HT/FT result in the match between Anderlecht and Club Brugges would be Brugges/Brugges at odds of 10, and places a lay of £8.61 against Brugges/Brugges at odds of 10.5. I lost this bet so lost my £10 at 888sport but gained £8.18 at Betfair.

Profit for this chapter: £8.18 - £0.37 - £0.15 - £0.38 - £0.63 = £6.65

Overall profit: £168.73 + £6.65 = £175.38

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Chapter 11 - 888sport (Stage 1)

The next bookie I signed up with was 888sport. They did an offer exclusively through olbg where you could claim up to £100 in free bets.

The first stage of this offer was to place a £10 bet in order to receive a free bet of £10. I bet £10 that Albion would beat Stirling at odds of 2.0. I then decided to try underlaying, so I placed a lay of £9.80 against Albion at odds of 2.02. Albion did not beat Stirling, so I lost my £10 at 888sport but gained £9.31 at Betfair, resulting in a loss of £0.69. Would have been better to not underlay...

I then received a free £10 bet. I bet that the HT/FT result in the Newcastle v QPR game would be QPR/QPR at odds of 10, and placed a lay of £8.61 against QPR/QPR at odds of 10.5. I lost this bet so lost my free £10 at 888sport but gained £8.18 at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £8.18 - £0.69 = £7.49

Overall profit: £161.24 + £7.49 = £168.73

Monday 16 January 2012

Chapter 10 - Ladbrokes Mobile

Ladbrokes were doing a nice offer - deposit £10 in you first transaction using your phone on their mobile web page and they will give you 3 x £10 in free bets.

For my qualifying bet I bet £10 that Barcelona would beat Espanyol at odds of 1.25. I then placed a lay at Betfair of £10.33 at odds of 1.26. The match ended up in a draw, so I lost the £10 at Ladbrokes but gained £9.81 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £0.19.

For my first free bet of £10 I bet that the score between Tottenham and Wolves would be 1-1 at odds of 13.0, and placed a lay of £8.92 against a 1-1 score at odds of 13.5. The result of the football match was indeed 1-1 so I won £120 at Ladbrokes but paid out a liability of £111.50 at Betfair, leaving me with a profit of £8.50.

For the next free bet of £10 I bet that Sunderland would beat Chelsea at odds of 9.0, and then placed a lay of £8.56 against Sunderland at odds of 9.4. Sunderland did not beat Chelsea, so I lost the free £10 at Ladbrokes but gained £8.13 at Betfair.

For the final free bet of £10 I bet that the HT/FT result in the Brighton v Bristol City game would be Draw/Bristol City at odds of 9.0, and placed a lay of £8.74 against Draw/Bristol City at odds of 9.2. I did not win this bet, so I lost the free £10 at Ladbrokes but gained £8.30 at Betfair.

Profit for this chaptet: £8.50 + £8.13 + £8.30 - £0.19 = £24.74

Overall profit: £136.50 + £24.74 = £161.24

Sunday 15 January 2012

Chapter 9 - Titan Bet

Another bet I did was the bet £25 get £25 bet over at Titan Bet. I deposited £25 and found I had a bonus of £0.01 - how generous of them. I placed a £25.01 bet on Sunderland to beat Wigan at odds of 2.75 and placed a lay bet at odds of 2.88. Sunderland won indeed so I won £68.78 at Titan Bet, but paid out a liability of £45.68 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £1.90.

For the free bet I didn't have much luck finding lucrative odds with liabilities that I could afford. Aware that time was running out on the free money I bet £25 that the match between Forfar and Aberdeen would end up in a draw at odds of 4.88, and placed a lay of 18.48 at odds of 5.3. The match was won by Aberdeen so I lost the free money at Titan Bet but gained £17.56 at Betfair. Not the best return from a £25 free bet.

However, Titan Bet works in Euros, and the bank I'm with has exchange rates for withdrawals and deposits in Euros. When I withdrew £25 my bank statement records me withdrawing £22.71 (what I suspect happened was they debited my account 25 € and then my bank applied extra charges). When I withdrew winnings of £68.78 my bank statement shows I received 59.58 €. When factoring in the exchange rates, this means that for the qualifying bet my overall loss was actually £8.81. I am not a happy bunny!!

Profit from this chapter: £17.56 - £8.81 = £8.75

Overall profit: £127.75 + £8.75 = £136.50

Friday 13 January 2012

Chapter 8 - Stan James (Round 4)

On to the fourth round of the Stan James offer where they match the value of your next four bets with a free bet (up to £40). For the first qualifying bet I bet £40 that Sunderland would beat Peterborough at odds of 2.0 and placed a lay of £39.80 against Sunderland at odds of 2.06. Sunderland indeed won, so I won £80 at Stan James but paid out a liability of £42.15 at betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £2.15.

For the second qualifying bet I bet £40 that Sevilla would beat Rayo Vallecano at odds of 2.4 and placed a lay of £39.18 against Sevilla at odds of 2.5. Rayo Vallecano won, so I lost the £40 at Stan James but gained £37.22 at Betfair - leaving me with a loss of £2.78.

For the third qualifying bet I bet £40 that West Ham would beat Sheffield Wed at odds of 2.5, and placed a lay of £40.82 against West Ham at odds of 2.5. In the end West Ham lost against Sheffield so I lost the £40 at Stan James but gained £38.78 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £1.22.

For the final qualifying bet  I bet £20 that Napoli would beat Palermo at odds of 2.2, and placed a lay of £39.11 against Napoli at odds of 2.3. Napoli won indeed, so I won £88 at Stan James but paid out a liability of £50.84 at Betfair, leaving me with a loss of £2.84.

My account was then credited with a free bet of £40. I tried to place a bet on the result of the Angers v Monaco game being 0-0 at odds of 8.5 but Stan James could only match this to £20. I accepted this, and then placed a lay of £17.14 against a 0-0 result at odds of 8.8. I ended up losing this bet so lost the free £20 at Stan James but gained £16.28 at Betfair.

For my second free bet I bet £20 that Panionios would beat Panathinaikos at odds of 7.0. I placed a lay of £18.90 against Panionios at odds of 6.4. I lost the bet and therefore lost the free £20 at Stan James, but gained £17.95 at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £16.28 + £17.95 - £2.15 - £2.78 - £1.22 - £2.84 = £25.24

Overall profit: £102.51 + £25.24 = £127.75

Thursday 12 January 2012

Chapter 7 - Victor Chandler

So my next move was to bet £25 at Victor Chandler in order to open up a £25 free bet offer. I bet £25 that Dundee would beat Aberdeen at odds of 2.00 and placed a lay of £24.63 at odds of 2.08. However, Dundee did not win so I lost the £25 at Victor Chandler but gained £23.40 at Betfair - an overall loss of £1.60.

For the free bet I bet £25 that the match between Espanyol and Barcelona would result in a draw, at odds of 7.0. I then placed a lay of £20.89 against the draw at odds of 7.2. The match indeed ended up in a draw so I won £150 at Victor Chandler but paid out a liability of £130.07 at Betfair, leaving me with a total of £19.93.

Alas, winning at Victor Chandler meant I had to stake at least 4 times my promotional bonus before I could withdraw my winnings - I had hoped to avoid this... Having gained £25 free cash this meant staking £100. Firstly I bet £50 that Angers would beat Monaco at odds of 2.05 before placing a lay of £49.04 against Angers at odds of 2.14. Angers won indeed so I won £102.50 at Victor Chandler but paid out a liability of £55.66 at Betfair, leaving me with an overal loss of £3.16.

To reach a total stake value of £100 I had to place another stake of £50. I bet that Manchester City would beat Liverpool at odds of 2.2 and placed a lay of £49.33 at odds of 2.28. In the end Manchester City did not win so I lost the £50 at Victor Chandler, but gained £46.86 at Betfair. This left me with an overall loss of £3.14.

Profit from this chapter: £19.93 - £1.60 - £3.16 - £3.14 = £12.03

Overall profit: £90.48 + £12.03 = £102.51

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Chapter 6 - ApolloBet

So I noticed ApolloBet were doing a nice little offer and decided to try it out. Deposit £40, bet it on odds of evens (2.0) or greater and get a £20 free bet. However I did run into dificulties when I noticed that ApolloBet wasn't listed on either freebets4all or oddsmonkey - both of which I use to help me find the best odds to place bets on. So I resorted to doing the betting manually. Decided to stick to just the English football and after a LOT of cross-referencing found the best deal was to bet £40 that Birmingam would beat Wolves at odds of 2.4, and to place a lay against Birmingham at odds of 2.56. Addmittedly this was not a particularly good bet but it was the best bet going at the time. The match ended up as a draw so I lost the £40 bet at ApolloBet but gained £36.34 at Betfair - and overall loss of £3.66.

Once that bet had been settled I emailed the support team at ApolloBet requesting my free bet. I got a free bet of £20 and after a lot of manual searching I placed it on the best bet I could find - I bet that Sheffield Wed would beat West Ham 2-1 at odds of 11.0. I then placed a lay of £16.74 against a 2-1 score at odds of 12.0. In the end Sheffield won 1-0 so I lost the free money at ApolloBet but gained £15.90 at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £15.90 - £3.66 = £12.24

Overall profit: £78.24 + £12.24 = £90.48

Sunday 8 January 2012

Chapter 5 - Stan James (Round 3)

The third step at Stan James was that they would give me free bet of up to £30 for the average of my next three bets.

For the first bet I went over to the Spanish football market again and bet £30 that Sociedad would beat Real Mallorca at odds of 2.1, and placed a lay of £30.42 against Sociedad at odds of 2.12. Sociedad won so I gained £63 at Stan James but paid out a liability of £34.08 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £1.08.

For the second bet I bet that Cambridge United would beat Southport at odds of 2.1, and placed a £29.86 lay against Cambridge at odds of 2.16. However, I was multi-tasking by betting with a few facebook conversations and completely fudged the numbers, panicked at for some reason ended up placing a £14.22 bet on Cambridge at Betfair... Luckily, Cambridge won. I received a £63 payout at Stan James, and somehow ended up with a payout of £18.71 at Betfair. Factoring in the £20 I bet at Stan James and the £14.22 I bet at Betfair, my overall loss was only £0.07.

For the third bet I returned to the Spanish football scene and bet that Cordoba would beat Espanyol at odds of 2.75, and placed a lay of £30.22 against Espanyol at odds of 2.78. Cordoba won, so I won £82.50 at the bookies but paid out a liability of  £53.79 at Betfair, leaving me with an overall loss of £1.29.

For the free bet I tried to bet the free £30 that the final score between Gimnastic and Murcia would be 0-0, at odds of 8.5. However, Stan James could only match my bet for £26. I accepted this offer and placed a lay of £21.31 against a 0-0 result at odds of 9.2. With the remaining £4 I bet that the score between Guadalajara and Elche would be 0-0, at odds of 9.0, and placed a £3.06 lay at odds of 10.5. Neither of the matches resulted in a 0-0 draw so I lost all the free money at Stan James, but gained £20.24 and £2.91 respectively at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £20.24 + £2.91 - £1.08 - £0.07 - £1.29 = £20.71

Overal profit: £57.53 + £20.71 = £78.24

Friday 6 January 2012

Chapter 4 - Ladbrokes

Another bet I did was over at Ladbrokes, where I placed a £20 bet on Inverness CT to win at odds of 2.5 over St. Johnstone, in order to unlock a free bet. I placed a lay of £11.86 at Betfair... however, disaster! When calculating what lay to place I forgot that the £20 was a SR bet! I ought to have bet £19.76 instead!

Thankfully by the time I realised my mistake the match between Inverness CT and St. Johnstone had been cancelled... The Gods must be on my side! The bets were classed as 'void' both at Ladbrokes and at Betfair so I lost nothing at Betfair and got my £20 back at Ladbrokes.

I then placed the £20 bet on the football - bet that Everton would beat Bolton at odds of 1.53. Placed a lay bet at odds of 1.55. However Everton did not win, so I lost my £20 at Ladbrokes but gained £19.38 at Betfair - an overall loss of £0.62.

For the free bet I bet the free £20 that the score at the end of the game between Wycombe Wanderers and Huddersfield would be 2-1. The odds at Ladbrokes were 9.0. I then tried to place a lay bet of £16.08 - but I made the silly mistake of not checking whether all of my lay bet would all be matched. It turned out that only £7.95 of my bet was matched, and that the odds for the lay had gone up to 10.5. The match was beginning shortly, and not wanting to leave over half my bet unmatched I grudgingly placed the rest of my lay bet (£8.13) with odds of 10.5. Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not... In the end Wycombe lost to Huddersfield 0-6. I lost the £20 free money at Ladbrokes by gained £15.28 at Betfair. Not my best day.

Profit from this chapter: £15.28 - £0.62 = £14.66

Overal profit: £14.66 + £42.87 = £57.53

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Chapter 3 - Stan James (Round 2)

The next stage of the offer at Stan James was that they would give me a free bet matching the value of my next two bets, up to a value of £20.

So I checked out the Spanish football market and bet £20 that Mirandes would beat Santander at odds of 2.5, and placed a lay bet of £20.41 against Mirandes at odds of 2.5. Mirandes won so I received £50 at Stan James but paid out a £30.62 liability at Betfair. This left me with a loss of £0.62.

For the second bet, I bet £20 that Bristol City would beat Millwall at odds of 2.25, and placed a lay bet of £20.55 against Bristol City at odds of 2.24. Bristol City won so I received £45 at Stan James, but paid out a £25.48 liability at Betfair. This left we with a loss of £0.48.

My account was then credited with a free bet of £20. Using freebets4all I found a horse with decent odds, with a liability I could afford - 7.5 for, 7.0 against. I used the free bet to bet on the horse at odds of 7.5 and headed over to Betfair to place a lay of 7.0. However, when I checked Stan James again I noticed that my bet hadn't gone through because the odds had changed. I'd simply gone straight onto Betfair without checking it - rookie error. The new odds were 6.5, but since I'd already placed the lay I saw no option but to place the bet. The horse in question didn't win so I lost the free money at Stan James, but ended up with an £18.30 profit at Betfair.

Profit from this chapter: £18.30 - £0.48 - £0.62 = £17.20

Overall profit: £25.67 + £17.20 = £42.87

Monday 2 January 2012

Chapter 2 - Stan James (Round 1)

Have decided that matched betting is a nice little profitable scheme!

So my next bet was to place a £10 bet over at Stan James in order to open up a £10 free bet. I bet £10 of my own money that Everton would beat West Brom, and placed a £10 lay bet against Everton. Sure enough, Everton won, leaving me with a profit of £27.50 at Stan James and a liability payment of £18.00 at betfair. Factoring in the original £10 bet, the overall loss from this was £0.50.

Now onto the bet using the free £10. I placed that bet on the horse racing at Folkstone and bet that You're So Vain would win at odds of 9.0. Placed a lay bet with odds of 8.6. The horse didn't win, so I lost the £10 free bet but won £8.89 at Betfair. Result!

Profit from this chapter: £8.89 - £0.50 = £8.39

Overall profit: £17.28 + £8.39 = £25.67

Sunday 1 January 2012

Chapter 1 - The Beginning - Skybet

So I'm sat in my room on New Years Eve feeling rather sorry for myself, casually surfing the internet on my laptop. Boredom leads me to log onto TSR (http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/) to check out the forums, and I stumble across a thread entited Money for uni by matched betting. In the back of my mind my remember reading a few pages of this thread a few months ago and making a mental note to save it for a rainy day. I think back to the £400 holiday I paid a deposit for a few days ago and think to myself... could I fund my holiday through matched betting alone??

And here we go - welcome to my diary on matched betting!

Firstly I read through the first page or so on TSR to refresh my memory. Secondly I read through this rather helpful thread on moneysavingexpert.com. And then I placed some bets...

£10 NSR (no stake return) free bet at Skybet - bet that Mostly Bob would win the Cheltenham on January 1st at odds of 12.0.

Headed over to Betfair and placed a lay of £8.49 on Mostly Bob at odds of 13.0. Deposited £110 to cover the £101 liability.

The results:

Mostlt Bob won (at odds of 11/1). Checked my Skybet account and I had £110 profit. Checked Betfair... and it was telling me that the odds had been 11.92! Which means my liability payout was *only* £92 or so, leaving me with a grand profit of £17.28! From a £10 NSR free bet!

No idea what happened there!

Profit from this chapter: £17.28

Overal profit: £17.28