Which Signals Are Best for Trading on Betfair?

With so many trading signals to choose from it’s hard to know which are best for trading on Betfair.

There’s a common misconception is that signals show what is going to happen. This is absolutely not true. Nobody knows what will happen in the future for sure. However, trading signals are helpful to give us an idea of what has already happened (and what’s most likely to next).

Taking signals into account alongside other factors can help us make an educated guess about the future. This article breaks them down, one-by-one.

Where are The Best Trading Signals?

Most of the best trading signals for Betfair are built into 3rd party software such as the Geeks Toy app. Programmes like this take data from Betfair Exchange and display it on streaming charts like the one below. There’s a video guide about the most simple Betfair trading indicators so see it once you’re done here.

Depending on the software you’re using, you should be able to choose from a range of signals and turn on or off those you find most useful. You can find some of them on the traditional Exchange website, although the data isn’t so clearly presented and often slightly delayed.

Keep It Simple STUPID!

Trading is tough at the best of times. You’ll often see traders using a number of computer monitors to keep an eye on signals, news and video feed. Whilst these setups look great, they can make things much more complicated for a new trader. Although more monitors can be useful in the future, they are not needed to trade for a profit on Betfair.

The same goes for signals. Whilst they can come in very handy, they can also be a huge distraction. In pre-race markets, prices jump all over the place in a matter of seconds. If you’re busy keeping an eye on hundreds of market signals, you’re likely going to get caught out of position or miss a great opportunity that’s right under your nose.

It’s good to be aware of sports trading signals and know how they work, but only use those that are vital to your trading approach. Keep it simple and your results will thank you for it.

WOM Betfair Trading Signals:

Weight of Money (WOM) is one of the most commonly spoken about in the sports trading world. It gives an indication of how much money is waiting to be matched on either side of the book.

WOM is usually shown as a percentage, although it can also be displayed as a decimal.

In the example above, the Iguacu horse shows a percentage of 81% shown above the back side of the book. This suggests that compared to the orders waiting to be matched on the lay side, the backers outweigh the layers by 81%. Unfortunately, the weight of money is often distorted. Unmatched money will sit around in the market for no reason so it’s not worth relying on it too heavily. Some other traders might even be doing this on purpose to trick others.

A common mistake for newer traders is to become hung up on this indicator. As a word of advice, take WOM with a pinch of salt in most instances. The exception being; if a large bet is being consistently dragged down the ladder in desperate need of matching.

You can see a more detailed explanation about Weight of Money here.

Are Moving Averages Helpful?

Sports markets can be extremely volatile. Prices move within the blink of an eye. Many people will refer to short fluctuations as “noise” and quite rightly so. Most price moves are just an extremely short-term supply and demand issue.

One way to see through all the noise is to use moving averages.

Moving averages are usually displayed as a curvy line over the top of a price chart. The line is defined by reading the recent prices and producing an average price for that time period. They are often used by trend traders in financial markets. Basically, these are people who only trade when a market is in an obvious upward/downward trend. They use moving average signals (amongst other factors) to confirm that the market is in a trend. There are more details shared here in our Geeks Toy review.

The problem with most sports markets is that the trends are so short-term, that they’ll often be over before you notice the moving average indicator show one.

How Does Trading Volume Help?

Traded volume speaks more truth than any other indicator.

Why?

Because volume shows how much money has been matched. As the old saying goes: “money talks”.

You can see volume displayed on the exchanges by pulling up a Betfair graph on any active market. The horizontal lines you see at the bottom of the chart are the traded amounts. We can quite clearly see in the above example that there have been no bets bigger than £4,000 that have been matched.

The traded volume will generally increase right up until the market goes into play. If the traded volume starts to increase much faster than expected, it can be a sign of change within the market. For example, people could be rushing to place their last-minute bets on the horse.

You might also see traded volume rise way before the race begins. This could be due to a piece of news that affects the chances of the horse winning. As an example, the owner might have appeared on TV saying something along the lines of “We’ve been training for this race all season” or “He’s in much better shape than last month”.

Signals can be extremely useful, but try not to run before you can walk. There’s so much information to take in already when trading that adding additional signals can make things even more difficult.

See what works for you and keep your setup as simple as you can possibly make it. This way, you’ll have more time to focus on what really matters.

For additional help with Betfair trading signals, see our trading courses by clicking here.