Further Resources: Matt Elliott, BettingExchangeSecrets.com

Yes, I admit it - I'm one of these kill-joys who really hates to be separated from his hard-earned cash. I'm a software developer, a math guy - not a gambler. Therefore, I understand why most betting systems won't work, how odds are calculated and that the offered odds benefit only the sportsbook.

I'll give you a short example here. If you would play a coin flipping game over time, you wouldn't expect to make money, would you? Yes, maybe you would be ahead for a short time, but sooner or later you would end up where you started, because it's an "even bet" with a 50% chance of winning or losing. The fair quote for a game like this is 2.0 - you'll return $2 for each dollar you bet. Now you see the following lines: Tail @ 1.92 vs. Heads @ 1.92 or Team A @ 2.78 vs. Team B @ 1.47. All these lines have a calculated margin of 2% - meaning, that no matter which events occurs, the bookie earns 2% of all stakes. And if the bookie ends up winning in the long run, that means someone has to lose - unfortunately, it's you.

That all changed with the advent of the Betting Exchanges. On a Betting Exchange, i.e. Betfair, you can offer (Lay) or buy (Back) a quote on the same event, which means you can play the bookie's role - at least in theory. In practice, there's no free lunch on the Betting Exchanges either. But there are a lot of strategies on how to make money without gambling at all. In short:

1. Offering and laying odds to profit from the spread, i.e offering an event @ 2.5 and back it @ 2.55 and vice versa.
2. Fishing for odds that have a statistical edge as explained in the example above.
3. Profit from fluctuations that occur if many bettors place money on favorites.
4. Exploiting arbitrage situations for risk-free bets.

It's not all smooth sailing, but you can profit from Betting Exchanges starting with a small bankroll and some training. There's a lot of valuable information available on the internet that shows how to get your feet wet. Stop gambling and start making money like a pro!

[tags]betfair,betting exchanges[/tags]