Many of you may have heard of Betfair and betting exchanges, but what is sports trading?
Sports trading has revolutionised how people interact with betting markets, transforming gambling from a game of chance into a skill-based financial activity. Similar to stock market trading but applied to sports events, this approach allows you to capitalise on price movements rather than simply predicting outcomes.
What is Sports Trading?
Unlike traditional betting, where you’re at the mercy of results, sports trading empowers you to secure profits regardless of who wins by strategically backing and laying the same selection at different odds. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to start trading successfully on betting exchanges like Betfair.
Ready to Start Your Sports Trading Journey?
Sports trading offers an exciting opportunity to apply strategy and analysis to betting markets, potentially generating consistent profits with practice and discipline. By following the principles outlined in this guide—understanding market dynamics, mastering trading psychology, utilising proper software, and implementing sound bankroll management—you’ll be well positioned to succeed where many others fail.
Remember that successful trading requires patience and ongoing education. Start with small stakes, practice regularly with a disciplined approach, and gradually refine your strategies as you gain experience.
Next Steps:
- Download our free sports trading tracker spreadsheet to record and analyse your trades
- Join our community forum to connect with experienced traders
- Sign up for our newsletter to receive weekly trading opportunities and tips
When something goes well, your share is worth more,e and then obviously you are able to sell it, on a betting exchange like Betfair, buying a share would be the blue back side and the selling option is the lay bet (on the pink side).
The main aim of any trader is to buy low and sell high; this is the same in sports, but we back high and lay low and try to secure a profit regardless of the result.
Greening up is something that traders can do to secure a profit regardless of the result.
The 3 Stages Of Sports Trading
There are three steps to follow to become a successful sports trader on the betting exchanges.
Remember, using a horse racing tipster may make it even easier to find a winner.
Step 1 – The Opening Bet (Backing)
We want to be looking for a selection that has a good chance of shortening in price. For this example, I am going to use a horse race, and the selection is
After reading up on this horse, it has a very good chance of winning this race. It has run well recently, it likes the course and has won over both the course and distance, and it has a good jockey on board too.
The odds on the selection are 7/1 (8.0 decimal), so we place our £20 bet on the selection, standing to win £140 if it wins and we lose £20 if it loses.
Step 2 – Laying the bet we backed to secure profit
As we hoped, the odds have come in on the selection, and the odds are now 4/1 (5.0 decimal). We lay the selection for the same stake of £20, meaning our liability (what we have to pay out) if the selection wins stands at £80.
We stood to win £140 from the back bet, so we minus our liability from that, so £140 -£80 = £60 profit.
Note: we only win the profit if the selection wins, if the horse loses, we have not lost anything as we got our original take back from the lay bet we placed, also don’t forget any Betfair fees after the market is settled.
Step 3 – Greening Up/ Hedging
Ideally, we want to secure a profit regardless of the result. You can use my fullin-depth hedging guide to learn more, but here are the basics.
We place another lay bet on the same selection at lower odds again (if the horse shortens more either pre-race or in running).
I chose to use a stake of £10 for the greening up bet, meaning we will secure a profit of £10 whatever horse wins the race.
The liability of this bet is £30, so we minus that from what we stood to profit from our previous two bets (£60-£30), leaving £30 profit, so we know we stand to make £30 regardless of which horse wins this race.
There you have it, a successful sports trade, it should look like the picture above, where you can see each horse in the race has a profit showing of £30.
Essential Sports Trading Software
Successful sports trading requires the right tools to execute trades quickly and efficiently. While it’s possible to trade manually directly on Betfair, dedicated software gives you a significant edge through faster execution, better visualisation, and advanced features.
Key Features to Look for in Trading Software
- One-click betting: Allows instant placement of bets without confirmation screens
- Ladder interface: Visualises the full depth of the market and price movements
- Charting tools: Helps identify trends and patterns in odds movements
- Automated trading: Sets up rules to execute trades automatically based on conditions
- Training mode: Practice without risking real money
Popular Trading Software Options
- Bet Angel – Comprehensive solution with advanced charting (£9.99-£29.99/month)
- Geeks Toy – Fast, lightweight option popular with beginners (£20/quarter)
- BetTrader – Known for its intuitive ladder interface (£9.99/month)
- Gruss Software – Highly customizable for advanced traders (£12/month)
For beginners, we recommend starting with Geeks Toy due to its reasonable price point, training mode, and user-friendly interface.
How Much Can You Earn From Sports Trading?
This obviously depends on your bankroll, skill and experience, and what stakes you are going to be using, but there is no reason why you couldn’t make a nice side pot over time. However, with any such trading, you cannot guarantee it.
Learning To Trade Sports
It’s always worth taking your time doing your own research and trying it out for yourself. Try to paper trade or use the smallest stakes possible if you want to jump straight in.
Why not use a screen recorder to record your trades on Betfair? This will enable you to watch them back and see mistakes you may have made, as the markets can move very fast at times.
There are websites online that offer sports trading courses, but be careful which ones you choose; watch out for sports trading systems.
Advanced Trading Strategies
Once you understand the basics of backing and laying, you can employ these more sophisticated strategies to increase your trading opportunities and potential profits.
Scalping
Scalping involves making quick trades to capitalise on small price movements, often entering and exiting positions within minutes or even seconds.
How it works:
- Enter the market when you identify a temporary imbalance
- Exit quickly with a small profit (typically 1-3 ticks)
- Repeat many times to accumulate profits
Best markets for scalping:
- High-liquidity horse races 5-10 minutes before the start
- Major football matches in-play during stable periods
- Tennis matches during service games
Swing Trading
Unlike scalping, swing trading aims to capture larger price movements over a longer timeframe.
How it works:
- Identify a likely directional move based on analysis
- Enter the position before the anticipated movement
- Hold through the price swing
- Exit when the trend shows signs of reversing
Example: Backing a tennis player after losing the first set (when odds are higher), then laying when they start performing better and odds shorten.
Market Reading Techniques
Successful traders develop the ability to “read” market sentiment:
- Weight of money: Analyse the imbalance between back and lay money
- Momentum indicators: Identify acceleration or deceleration in price movements
- Support and resistance levels: Recognise key price points where reversals often occur
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