QPR v Newcastle / 12th Sept 2011 (betfair)

[Nathan88]

On Betfair....If I lay QPR (bet against them to win) it says BACKER'S ODDS: 2.5 BACKER'S STAKE: £3 Then I click 'payout' and it says £7.50 and under 'liability' it says £4.50 So because it said £7.50 when I clicked payout, I thought that is how much I would win if QPR didn't beat Newcastle. But then I clicked on Place Bet and it said...

You are betting AGAINST QPR to win. If you win, your profit is the 'Backer's Stake' of £3.00. The amount you stand to lose is the 'Total Liability' of £4.50

So is it true that you only win whatever you decide to put in the "backer's stake" box? I don't really understand how it works, but I would like to. If anyone can explain to me in simple terms I would appreciate it greatly.

[Jase82]

Re: QPR v Newcastle / 12th Sept 2011 (betfair) When you LAY a selection you are acting as the bookmaker, so you would win only the £3, as that is the stake. Should your LAY selection win though you need to have enough funds available in your account to pay the backer.

[Nathan88]

Re: QPR v Newcastle / 12th Sept 2011 (betfair) Thank You. But I don't understand why the odds are so significant then? Because the default odds to Lay QPR is now 2.58 and if you put £5 on that, the liability is £7.90 but if you edit the odds to 1.58, then the liability is only £2.90 Does another human better have to take the bet then, or not? Because what if no one did, would your bet still count?

[stefanos56]

Re: QPR v Newcastle / 12th Sept 2011 (betfair)

Thank You. But I don't understand why the odds are so significant then? Because the default odds to Lay QPR is now 2.58 and if you put £5 on that, the liability is £7.90 but if you edit the odds to 1.58, then the liability is only £2.90 Does another human better have to take the bet then, or not? Because what if no one did, would your bet still count?

Your bet has to be 'matched' by someone else opposing your bet. You need to make sure that your odds are realistic though. Whether you're laying or backing, the player opposing you has to feel that they are getting some sort of value otherwise your bet will remain 'unmatched' and so your bet won't count. The money you either tried to stake or risk as a liability will be returned to your account. Check out the demo on the website as you should find it really useful.

[western skies]

Re: QPR v Newcastle / 12th Sept 2011 (betfair) You need to make sure you know exactly what you're doing before you start laying on Betfair, so be very careful. The odds are vital. When you lay, you're acting as the bookmaker so when you stake £3 at odds of 2.5 (as in your example above) you're being matched with another punter who wants to back at those odds. So, if you win you keep their £3 stake, but if you lose they get their £3 stake back, plus £4.50 of your money. If you change the odds to 1.58, then you're payout will be less, but your bet will only get matched if there's another punter wanting to back at that price (unlikely when the current price is 2.5!).