Back Betting

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Betfair

Welcome to the start of our Basic Learning Tutorial. Here, you’ll learn all of the Betfair essentials needed to place your first bet on the Exchange. When you feel like you have the topic covered, simply click next at the bottom/side of the page.

Back betting is what you would likely have done with any bookmaker, such as TAB or Sportsbet, and is essentially the punters’ traditional style of betting. Back betting is betting on an outcome to happen.

An example is if you place a Back bet on a horse in the Melbourne Cup, you are betting on that horse to win the race. If it doesn’t come first, you will lose your stake. If your horse places first, you win. You will pay a small commission on all winning bets.

Why Back bet with Betfair?

Better Odds – On the Betfair Exchange you are betting against other Betfair punters, just like yourself, from all around the world. This means that the price is a true reflection of supply and demand (the market), rather than one entity managing the price as traditional bookmakers do.

Set Your Own Odds – When you place a Back bet you can take the current price on offer or enter in the odds you choose. You aren’t guaranteed to get it matched if you set your own odds (more on matched bets later) but if the price your selection changes to meet the price you want, it will be at least partially matched, depending on how big your stake was.

The Betfair Starting Price – Put very simply, the Betfair Starting Price (BSP) is a price that is automatically generated at the start of an event and is calculated based on the bets placed by both backers and layers in any market. There is no margin built into the price, meaning you will get a true reflection of the market and you can bet as early as you like with a guarantee to be matched. You can find out more about the Betfair SP here.

learn about lay betting

Now that you know the basics of a Back bet, it’s time to learn about Lay betting. It’s what separates the Betfair Exchange from traditional bookmakers and allows you to bet against results happening.

Click the NEXT button to progress Lay betting education or start your Betfair Basics tutorial here.