Bet Exchange News - February 2004

I really don't understand what the fuss is about. We are not betting on when he is going to die. There has to be a successor to the Pope at some stage and all we are doing is saying who that successor might be.

Betfair 's Mark Davies gives his view on Betfair 's controversial "next Pope" market

The perception that layers make money is not true; backers make as much money as layers.

Kevin Griffiths of Sporting Options giving evidence to the Joint Committee on the Gambling Bill.

It's like having a bet on Man U and then being told the bet is void as it is Manchester United Football Club.

gmarson on the Betfair Chatback forum gives his views on the Betfair Christmas number 1 single market. See below.

I have been playing on here full time for just over a year now I have made a lot of mistakes during that time which I have learned from. My biggest single mistake was playing too big. You can go along playing at a level at which you are comfortable and are being successful at It then seems logical that if you use the same methods and up your stake then you will make more money , right?

Wrong.

When you encounter a loss at a higher level than you are used to , it messes with your head and you soon learn that there are very good reasons for sticking to a level that you can cope with mentally. I have now found that level and stick to it. Very often , I am able to walk away after the second or third race of the day (I lay on UK flat races) having made my daily target. This way, I have minimised the stress that I have had to deal with and have boosted my confidence at the same time.

Confidence, in my opinion, is a vital element for any gambler.

Excellent advice from Angoose in a thread started by a poster who claims to have lost £18,000 on Betfair and was seeking ways of winning it back.

After 4 months on Betfair was £800 up, then lost £2k as a result of 3 bottles of chardonnay, a limp greyhound and some nasty US horses...you have been warned!!!!

mancloser starts a thread entitled "don't bet drunk!"

Do you remember the game snakes and ladders? The snakes are always just the right numbers after the ladders, so when you run up a ladder be at you most cunning, those snakes are deadly.

Wise words from Cubone to a fellow poster stressing the need for caution after a winning run.

The problem with offering singles is that we just become a haven for arb-hunters. If, for instance, we are 5-2 a team not to win and that team can be backed at 11-4 to win on Betfair, we are obviously sitting ducks.

That is not the point of the new coupon. We believe it is only right that punters can oppose teams as well as backing them, and hopefully this is a good way of hitting back at Betfair.

I'd like to think this has the scope to become the standard long list in years to come and we also intend to extend the back-and-lay philosophy into every sport we price up

Martin Wilson of Super Soccer spells talks about the new back and lay coupon which is now available in 2,000 independent betting shops.