As a member of bonusbank.com.au you have access to two important matched betting tools – the ATM and the calculator. These tools tell you what to bet on and how much to bet. There is one more thing to consider, though, and that is when to place your bets.

When you place your bets is important for a couple of reasons:

1. Betting at the wrong time can make your account stand out and may lead to restrictions
2. Poor market liquidity can lead to unmatched bets
3. Large odds movements can occur at certain points before a match

RESTRICTIONS

Restrictions are an unfortunate, but inevitable, part of matched betting. They can be delayed though. By using sustainability tactics we can try to stay off of the bookies radar.

Betting on obscure markets will get you on their radar, but so will betting early on major markets.

Most people bet on the day of a match, or possibly the day before. Try to blend in with the crowd.

LIQUIDITY

Liquidity is also an issue when betting early.

In low liquidity markets, odds can easily move several ticks in a second. This can be caused by someone placing a large bet or someone removing their back/lay from the market. If you have already placed your back bet when this happens it can leave you exposed.

Much better to wait for a stable market with decent liquidity.

ODDS MOVEMENTS

This relates to two connected events – new information becoming available, and money coming into a market. The most obvious kind of new information is team news. Take a look at the graph below:

This match between Stoke & Everton took place a day after the transfer window closed.

During the transfer window both teams had made one high profile signing. However, when the teams were announced Stoke had decided to leave their new signing on the bench. Stoke also had a key player missing through injury.

Everton, on the other hand, announced a strong team with no injuries and their new signing playing from the start.

The effect of this news is pretty obvious, the odds on an Everton win dropped from 2.74 to 2.52 almost instantly. There is also a huge spike in the volume of bets as people hear the news.

If we had been matched betting when this team news was announced it could have been a problem. The odds-swing could have cost us a large chunk of our profits, so it’s best to avoid betting when news is expected. In soccer, and several other sports, team news is announced around an hour before kick-off.

The other time that a lot of money will come into a market is the final few minutes before the start time. This is when a lot of mug punters will bet. Bookies will also try to equalise their profits by laying some bets on the exchange at this time. So, again, it’s best to avoid betting at the last minute if you are a beginner.

There are some opportunities to be had if you are an experienced matched bettor and know when these odd movements are likely to happen, but we’ll talk about that in another lesson. For now just remember that the most important thing is stable, long-term profits and for that we want stable, liquid markets.