March 19th, 2015 | 
Author: In the past, bookmakers, especially those in the UK, typically displayed their odds in fractional…
Bet, lay or leave them open?
Since the advent of the betting exchanges, the ability for ordinary punters to lay bets as well as back horses has completely changed the face of the gambling landscape in the UK.
But is it better generally to back and lay, or is it preferable to simply place your bets using the best race guides you can find and let your wagers take their course?
You will of course hear punters being equally adamant in either direction. Obviously, with backing and laying back at shorter odds, you’re playing more of a percentage game and hoping to benefit over the long term through the shrewdness of your value selections. If you lay a horse back at a lower price, you can effectively have a free bet on the odds difference if things move favourably for you. But this is no different, in theory, to letting the odds ride. After all, if your selections are good, you’ll win on the same number of occasions but your wins will be bigger. The downside is that you’ll lose your entire take on more occasions.
But there are other situations where you can profit no matter what happens by laying back more than your stake at shorter odds and taking a profit.
Of course, this is no different to the way bookmakers have been operating for many years.
It’s really a question of trial and error and seeing what works well for you. One easy way to find out is to establish two exchange accounts and to run them simultaneously with the same selections. One will lay the horses back at a pre-set price you decide on, and one will not. Then, see which works best for you over time.
Each punter is different and what worked well for one won’t necessarily do so for another. If, for example, you’re a value hunter by nature and can see that a 20-1 shot, for example, Arsenal in the Premier League title race, actually has more like a one in 16 chance of winning, then backing at 20s and laying back at 15s may be the way to go. But by running two accounts and being consistent in your approach on each – you should find out which system suits your gambling style best on the bottom line.