Something that gets lost on a lot of new traders to Betfair is the fact that you don’t need to know anything about the sport to profit on it.
You just need to be able to analyse the market.
Successful horse racing traders profit by reading the market, not through reading form. In a recent YouTube upload, I share a little insight for newbies. You can watch it below…
The Timestamps for the video are:
- 0:15 What are Betfair graphs and where can you find them?
- 0:34 Understanding a Betfair graphs axis
- 2:04 Example explaining a Betfair graph activity
- 3:13 Why Betfair graphs are useful
- 3:46 How to use a Betfair graph to make money
- 5:24 Explanation of price movement
Chart Analysis:
There are three main points to recognise here. They are – price, time and volume. Some are more important than others and also some are tougher to follow than others as the video explains. For me, the volume bars are the most important element of reading a horse racing market. Don’t get sucked in with one huge volume spike though, this could just be a high roller and not the kind of volume that you want to follow. The example in the video is a good one to follow as you can see why I followed that move by looking at the volume bars.
Charts are an excellent overall indicator of the market, just be weary of the timescale. I have highlighted in the video why the time axis can be a very misleading tool. Betfair doesn’t have a time stamp on the axis, so you have to try and judge it for yourself. This can make the early part of a graph very misleading, and it actually highlights again how important the volume bars are. The volume bars will grow higher as we come to the starting time, so we could see crazy movement early on in the graph but with very little money matched. Remember what I said above about the one big volume bar, what you really want to see is lots of small to medium volume bars together so you know a decent amount of money is going through the market. I go into volume bars in much more detail on my Video Pack.
Beginners Horse Racing Analysis:
If you’re just learning how to use charts to profit, then this next YouTube video is worth watching too. It’s a simple horse racing trading strategy for beginners on Betfair.
Check it out:
The Timestamps for the video are:
- 0:20 What is trading?
- 0:37 How does trading work?
- 1:25 Horse racing trade on the Exchange website
- 2:50 Step 1 of a Betfair horse racing trade (opening)
- 3:14 Step 2 of a trade on Betfair’s Exchange
- 3:35 Step 3 of a horse racing trade (closing out)
- 4:51 Numerical trading breakdown
Starting on Betfair Exchange when you first sign up is very overwhelming. I think that’s a little overlooked by most professionals. It’s a bit like driving – everyone who drives thinks it’s easy, but when you get into a car for the first time you’re a nervous wreck and haven’t got a clue what to do. That’s why it’s good to build up your knowledge of Betfair trading and understand the Graphs is an excellent place to start. Even people who do Matched Betting pick up quickly what is a back or lay bet, and this is the best place to start on Betfair. Start with the basics, and go from there. Don’t rush in and feel like you know everything right away!
Rushing to jump into something is very “in” in today’s world, but remember anything that’s difficult has a high payoff. Betfair Trading is exactly that – it’s tough to master but when you do the reward is very high. The profit you can create on Betfair daily is huge so it’s worth investing your time to learn.
Related: Betfair Trading Video Pack Course