How to make profit when back/lay selection?

Question

i have fiddled about with back/lay calculators and its baffled me. i could make a profit if the lay price was about half of the back price, suppose that could happen with ante post bets on the National

Answer 1

dont take this answer the wrong way ! but there is a book called "betting on betfair for dummies" i no your not a dummie but the book is very useful you should be able to get it off the racingpost web site

Answer 2

What are back/lay calculators ?.

I bet horses here in the U.K. but still don't know what you mean.

Answer 3

If you are backing and laying the same selection on the same exchange you don't need a calculator so long as you can manage to back at bigger prices than you lay. However this is easier said than done and you cannot do it randomly so you have to be knowledgeable of the market you're playing. It is not a market where mugs are lined up for you to exploit so you must know what you are about.  If you want to bet with the bookie and lay off on the exchanges you need to take into account the exchange commission. If you lay a tenner at 4-1 you are actually laying 40 to 9.5 which is 4.21 to 1. If you bet at 4-1 you need to lay below 3.8 to 1 before you can show a profit.