BACK TO PROBABILITY THEORY HOME - BACK TO BETTING EXCHANGES HOME - COPYRIGHT 1996-2005 Peter Webb / Optic Ltd. - LEGAL NOTICE HOW TO PLACE A BET ON BETFAIR - FOR LESS THAN THE MINIMUM AMOUNT If you are experimenting with betting exchanges, testing new strategies, greening up, getting used to strategies, transferring money from one outcome to another at high odds or just getting used to the exchange environment then you may want to back or lay below the £2 minimum bet size. Here is how to do it. In the following examples which include graphics I will place a bet on both the back and lay side for only 1p. Contents: - Backing at less than the minimum stake Laying at less then the minimum stake Why does this work? Backing at less than the minimum stake STEP ONE - Place a bet by backing the minimum amount at "Stupid" odds. Make sure the market can accept these odds without filling your order. STEP TWO - Go into the "My bets" section of the screen and modify you order for £2 + £amount you want. In this example you can see that we want to place a bet for 1p so I have modified the order value to £2.01 When you have done this submit this bet. STEP THREE - The new order will enter the market. But not as one, but two orders. One bet for the original stake of £2 then another bet for 1p. STEP FOUR - Now cancel your original bet of £2 at "Stupid" odds. STEP FOUR - Modify your new order for 1p to the odds that you want it to be matched at or the current odds. Submit the bet again.You have now succesfully placed a bet for 1p in the market to back at odds of 4.9 to one. Why does this work? Betfair operates all bets placed on the system to be put in a que and matched on a FIFO basis. In order words if you placed a bet for £10 at 14:01 then modified the bet to £20 five minutes later the amount will be seperated into another bet and the Betfair system will place the balance at the current time 14:06. The system will show not one bet at £20, but two. One for £10 and 14:01 and another for the same amount at 14:06. This is so you can not jump the que in order to get matched first. If bets were not put into a queing system you would have chaos in each market as everybody tried to trump each other and get to the front of the que. It is this system that allows us to bypass the minimum bet level. Laying at less than the minimum stake Here is the opposing situation to backing a small amount. You can see I have used the same principle but had to modfiy the way I place the bet because I am on the opposing side of the market. Laying at very short odds instead of backing at very high odds. STEP ONE - Lay at "stupid" odds (1.01) STEP TWO - Modify the bet amount to minimum+the stake you want to lay. In this case £2+£0.01 or £2.01 STEP THREE - Submitting the new price has created two bets (neither of them filled by the market because of the silly price offered by you. STEP FOUR - Original bet cancelled and new 1p bets odds are modified to fill at the current price. You just laid 1p @ 4.7