Top 10 Matched Betting Tips - Matched Betting Beginner's Guide
This post will explore the top 10 matched betting tips with advice to help you avoid some common pitfalls as you start in matched betting.
Once you have looked through these top 10 tips for the beginner matched bettor, if you then need further help, then we have multiple posts that can help you further throughout the site, with:
1. Attention to Detail and Start Slow!
First, with our top 10 matched betting tips, we advise taking a little time to learn how to do matched betting (maybe consider our email course and free pdf).
It’s essential to do your homework (a few hours should do it) as matched betting can feel complicated when you start. However, once you break down the stages and do some reading, it isn’t too difficult to pick up.
Once you start to run your first offers and your first matched bets, really take your time and ensure you check things twice over, even if it feels a little bit laborious to do so.
We have a step-by-step guide to your first profit to help you do this and ensure you have the basics understood first.
It’s much more preferable to start slow and steady rather than rush in and make mistakes and feel lost. There is no catch, and you can make a consistent profit, but there’s no rush, and you can’t earn it all in the first week!
Remember that you can start matched betting with as little as £20-30. Still, it’s probably better to go with more like £100, so you can get stuck in and start seeing some return (especially as you require a balance in your exchange account together with enough to sign up to a few bookmakers).
2. Have a Plan!
The second matched betting top tip is to have a methodical plan of action to follow when you start.
We suggest that you methodically work your way through the welcome/sign-up offers (there are at least 60), then move on to reload offers after that (a common question is what’s next after welcome offers and don’t worry, there’s plenty!). Do this before you start any advanced techniques such as 2ups and extra places, not least because of the higher bankroll you will need for these.
Ensure you also do not forget Casino offers as you are missing profit if you do so (do them when you have a little more experience under your belt).
A steady and consistent approach which is only perhaps a few hours a week can still bring in up to £500 in the first month, and with a higher starting balance and a few hours a day, there is no reason you can’t earn more than £1,000 in the first month.
For more, see the post – How much can you make from matched betting?
3. Sign up for a Matched Betting Service.
There really is no choice but to sign up for a matched betting service, as you need the deals information and tools you receive; it’s just a no brainer.
Matched betting calculators and Oddsmatchers (you have access to these from matched betting services) are essential to let you work out what bets to make and determine the exact amount you need to lay on the betting exchange to maximise the profits of each matched bet.
It’s possible to matched bet without an oddsmatcher. Still, it would take a significant amount of time to find the opportunities you need and even then, you may decrease your matched betting profits by missing an edge on every bet.
We recommend Outplayed.com or OddsMonkey, but see our guide to the best matched betting sites.
4. Keep Good Records
Record essential information in a matched betting spreadsheet; this should include (but is not limited to) the deals you are currently running, bookmaker account details and balances, active matched bets and passwords. Tracking your progress also has the added benefit of helping to keep you motivated.
It’s essential to keep track of where your money is and what bets you have placed to avoid mistakes, such as conflicting bets (which might increase the chance you are gubbed by a bookmaker – which means to be restricted / not to be included in future promotions).
Money mistakes and errors in your matched betting calculations could result in losing out on free bet profits or worse. See our post – Can Matched Betting Go Wrong?
With a matched betting service, such as Profit Accumulator or OddsMonkey, you will also have access to a profit tracker. This helps you know when to expect your free bets to become available to use them in time, and you don’t miss out.
It’s also crucial to track more complex bets, such as accumulators with multiple legs and bets (often with a short time between each bet).
5. Don't be Tempted to Gamble!
Don’t be tempted to gamble! Though we are using multiple bookmakers in matched betting, we ensure that we are not gambling by matching our free bets.
Ensure you make your cash through the guaranteed profit methods and never be tempted to gamble, for example, by not laying your bets. Gambling is a mug’s game, after all. In the long run, you won’t profit, and the bookmaker always has the edge. Stick to matched betting and earn consistent profit.
Earn Extra Income - Access our Free Resources to Learn Matched Betting Easily
6. Consider Using a Separate Bank Account/Email Address.
Before you start, decide if you want to use a separate bank account for matched betting. There are pros and cons for using a separate bank account or an eWallet, but once you begin it can be a bit of a muddle without one and difficult to track your balances and ongoing results and profit.
A major benefit of using a separate bank account is that your main account will not have multiple bookmaker deposits which only looks like excessive gambling to a bank and could affect approval for loans and mortgages.
It’s also a good idea to use a separate email for your matched betting, as you will receive a ton of communication from bookmakers (some with offers you really want to receive and also a lot of spam) which you don’t want to flood your normal private email account. This will also make it easier to track free bet offers, and also any other related activities you get involved in.
7. Maintain Healthy Bookmaker Accounts
Take some account health steps and precautions but not necessarily carry out a lot of mug betting, which is not guaranteed to have results or stop gubbings (there’s a lot of debate on this).
As a beginner, it’s best not to over-worry or obsess about being gubbed. It doesn’t hurt though to take some simple steps beyond mug betting (which would be to not only bet on promotions) such as avoiding excessive use of price boosts, not betting on obscure sports/leagues, not doing any arb betting (100%+ matches) or too many bets that offer little value to the bookie (close matches).
It’s also a good idea to consider depositing into bookmaker accounts at a higher level than what you need to trigger a promotion.
8. Maintain Healthy Bookmaker Accounts
Ensure you use a betting exchange at 0% commission. There are plenty of deals out there that can ensure you never pay commission (such as through a matched betting service) and these commissions add up and take away from your profit.
If you cannot achieve 0% commission then try your best to minimise the amount of commission you pay, for example, the basic Betdaq and Smarkets commission rates are usually set at 2%, which is lower than the normal level of 5% for Betfair.
9. Avoid Matched Betting Offers with High Wagering Requirements
Avoid deals with high wagering requirements (sometimes referred to as ‘rollover’). This is especially important when starting out when you have less experience with backing and laying bets, and you should likewise remain cautious even when are more experienced.
High wagering requirements can be complex, time-consuming, and put huge stress on your bankroll. They become more favourable as you become more experienced as they can offer greater value to a matched bettor but as a beginner, they are best avoided.
10. Don't Panic if You Make a Mistake
Elsewhere we look at – Can Matched Betting Go Wrong? but here in the last of our top 10 tips for matched betting, we focus on how it is important not to panic if you make a mistake!
There is usually a way to sort out the issue and by rushing to the wrong solution you can make things much worse.
Common errors can include problems with laying your bet (unmatched or partially matched bets for example), miscalculating matched bets and misunderstanding promotions’ terms and conditions (such as high wagering requirements).
Use this site to learn the steps, and to help answer your common questions. Matched betting services also have extremely helpful communities at your disposal.
You can find full reviews of these services through the following links:
Need More Matched Betting Help?
We hope you have found these top 10 matched betting tips helpful. When you are starting out in matched betting it’s important to take your time and not to rush in. Once you have found your feet, then you will be able to consistently earn profit.
There is plenty more help throughout the site, and also, why not consider downloading our free PDF cheat sheet? You receive this with the free matched betting beginners course.
