How To Lay Dogs on Betfair
Betting exchanges, such as Betfair, offer punters the opportunity to act as the bookmaker and take bets on dogs that they think will lose. This practice is known as “laying”.
With Betfair you can not only lay any selection, but also choose the price you want to take, and how much you are prepared to risk. The shorter the price you wish to lay, the less money you have to risk compared to your potential win. For example if you “lay” a dog for €10 at a price of 2/1, and that dog loses the race, then you win €10 but if the dog wins then you will have to payout €30 (€10 x 2 + €10 stake) however if you lay a dog at a price of 1/2 then you will only have to pay out €15 (€10 x 0.5 + €10 stake). Click on the image below to increase it’s size.
In the example above, you’ve chosen to lay the dog Nambisco at the current odds of 2.38 (11/8) for €10. Note that on the left hand side, your potential loss (liability) is shown as €13.80 but on the right the figure is €23.80. This is because the stake of the person betting with you is included in the Payout figure, as each Betfair user must ‘pay’ for their bet first with the money held aside from their account until the market and each bet is settled.
If Nambisco is beaten then you keep the €10 but if Nambisco wins then you will lose €13.80
Summary:
- Locate your selected race via the menu on the left hand side
- Select the dog you wish to lay by pressing the pink button opposite the Trap Number of your selection
- You can change the odds you are willing to lay the dog at by using the up and down arrows on the right hand column
- Enter the amount of money you are willing to take on this dog
- Select the Place bets button in the bottom corner
- Then confirm the bet
It can take time to become familiar with the practice of laying dogs, but once you get up to speed with it and do your research it can be a great way to make money. To help you get started with laying dogs, Betfair have a special introductory offer whereby you once you bet €20 you get €30 back! Click here to avail of this offer.
Alternatively you can watch this youtube video we have created to describe the process to you: