1. About Betting Exchanges

Betting Exchanges have revolutionised the UK gambling industry by providing

  better odds,

  an increased range of markets

  early prices

  the ability to back or lay, and

  some great bet management tools

The only drawback with them is that, as you might expect given the extra functionality they offer, they are a bit different to normal bookies, so it may take you an hour or so to understand how they work.  Its time well invested however, as no-one who has started using a betting exchange has ever regretted it.

We've been using betting exchanges, especially BetFair, for a few years now.  BetFair was the first betting exchange to really hit the scene and because of this generally has a higher number of users (meaning usually better odds on offer), as well as a well thought out site with some great betting tools.  While there are definitely reasons to join the other exchanges such as BetDaq so you have more odds choice etc, we recommend BetFair as the best one to start with.

So how do betting exchanges work?

Betting Exchanges work by matching the bets of punters directly thereby eliminating the bookmaker from the arrangement entirely. While they do take a small commission from winning bets this is a much lower cut than his normally taken by the bookmakers. Hence often this leads towards being considerably better.

Betting Exchanges give you so many options in addition to the great odds that this makes them a bit more complicated than normal bookies.  The following guide is broken down into sections that start with just the basics of making a bet in much the same way as with a bookie (just probably at better odds) and take you through to some of the more advanced things you can do like laying to lose and closing bets.  If you are bit unsure about this then take a look at Stage 1 which is pretty simple, and then move on to other areas later if you feel you need them

Next:  Betting Exchange Basics