What are you really doing when you bet?

[moeee]

When we place a wager,we are not trying to pick winners.We are saying to another party that we are more right than you.
If I thought that Kingston Town rated as an Even money chance but bookies were offerring only $1.60,then I should make an effort to lay the horse,even though I thought it will win.
To make money you don't need to pick winners,just be more right than the opposition.
If I had a credit card I would be straight off to one of those Betfair things.Not for the seemingly fairer odds,but the opportunity to lay a horse.

[Floydyboy]

you can do bank transfer...... its not as easy as it seems and often the lay price is a lot longer than the tab but then again so are the win prices but the lay prices can get very high especially when you get away from the fav and especially in small markets

[Mr J]

Your average punter wants to win. Someone who is serious about profiting is looking for positive expectation over time. Ie value bet after value bet.

That said, a higher strikerate is better if the edge is equal. There will be less variance, so you'll be able to justify staking more at the same level of risk. That leads to greater turnover and greater profits.

[knowledge]

mr j, do you ever bet large sums on short odds? (i.e. 1.20 or 1.30)

[Mr J]

Yes. Most of my betting is against the spread, but in tennis where it's all h2h there are alot of bets at short prices.

It realy depends on the sport to whether short favourites are generally a bad bet or not.

[moeee]

Yes Floydy.I too would be to scared to lay animals at big odds.
But one thing we all deed to work on is faith in our computations.
I would like to get myself into the Mr J mould of trusting in his bets whereas at the moment,if I back a winner,I usually experience surprise!