Featured
gambling Article
WHAT
IS SPREAD BETTING AND HOW DOES IT WORK ? by david
parkinson
Spread
betting is a great way of betting,particularly for
sports fans and bettors - no matter how unequal
a sporting contest is you can still enjoy a bet
- with the opportunity betting from the first minute
right through to the very end.Not only can you bet
right through any sporting event you can change
your mind,and adjust your bets at any time !.
The
best way to explain the principle is firstly to
use whole number examples(many punters are baffled
when they see fractions of goals or similar when
first looking at spread betting - how can there
be 2.3 goals?(we will explain later).
Lets
choose cricket,or any sport where runs are made.The
spread betting companies may decide that a batsman
should make about 30 runs.They would therefore offer
a spread of say 29 - 31.If you think that batsman
would score more than that you would BUY,if you
did not rate the batsman and thought he would score
less you would SELL.(You would keep your stakes
low in this market due to volatility.)
IN
THIS EXAMPLE THE BATSMAN SCORES 51 If you BUY for
$1 - you will win $20 (you bought at 31,result was
51 - the batsman scored 20 more runs than buy offer)
if you SELL for $1 - you will lose $22(you sold
at 29,result was 51 - the batsman scored 22 runs
more than sell offer)
The
beauty of spread betting is the odds change all
the time,so you can close a bet at any time and
take your profit,or cut your losses,or alternatively
sit back and watch your profits grow(or losses)right
through till the end.
Now
to look at fractions in spread betting - this can
be,and can remain baffling to many players- lets
look at a soccer match - TOTAL GOALS.- that is the
number of goals in a football match. The spread
betting firms are offering total goals spread of
3.5 - 3.8 goals.Obviously you can not have 3.5 goals.What
the odds imply is the estimate is between 3 and
4 goals,with a slight prefernce for 4 goals(the
spread is closer to 4 than 3).Your stakes in this
market will be higher as there is less volatility.
IN
THIS EXAMPLE THE SCORE IS 2 - 0 - TOTAL GOALS =
2 If you BUY for $100 you will LOSE $180 (you bought
at 3.8,result was 2 - the total goals were 1.8 less
buy offer- $100 times 1.8 = $180) if you SELL for
$100 you will WIN $150(you sold at3.5,result was
2 - the total goals were 1.5 less than sell offer
- $100 times 1.5 = $150.
The
spread betting firms make their profits from the
gaps between the buy and sell figures - if they
get it spot on,they get a small profit from BOTH
the buyers and seller.
Something
to bear in mind when spread betting - human nature
means most players have an inclination to BUY -
they do that because there is no upper limit for
profits,unlike selling,when you know your maximum
win.Buyers are always hoping for that freak high
scoring game for that elusive big hit. Of course
the spread betting companies know this and always
pitch there spreads a little higher than they want
them to be(they cannot go too high as the big hitters
would step in and sell aggresively),so always approach
a market with a view to SELL ,and only consider
buying after selling has been discounted after careful
thought.
As
alway there is a particular warning for punters
before they start spread betting - be very careful.It
is an extremely volatile form of betting,and you
should always be aware of your liabilities at all
times,also play one market at a time and closing
before opening another.
However
spread betting is great fun with ingenious betting
opportunities on offer - with such a vast range
of bets try to find a niche where you can become
experienced and knowledgable.with an edge over the
market makers who have to cover thousands of different
markets.
About
the Author
By David Parkinson at British Betting and Gaming
Sites,and selected sites worldwide.(http://www.sculpturebooks.co.uk/)
Or direct to spread betting page at http://www.sculpturebooks.co.uk/bspreadbetting.htm
