First Post - trading out - not sure if I'm doing it right

[Chris C]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post and I'm a complete novice to trading.

I downloaded the free Bet Angel professional software on he two-tweek trial and have been using this for the last couple of days. I've watched the videos and and have been using the offline mode for practice trading in Betfair, as well as using small stakes on the live system.

Today I was trading (or at least I thought I was) on the winner of the MotoGP race at Le Mans - prior to the start I backed and layed Valentino Rossi (rider of one of the motorbikes in the race) five times, using a £5 stake, each time backing at higher odds than laying, so every trade was in my favour.

At the end of the race I was expecting to collect my enormous profit. When I went into Betfair, my account just showed 10 separate entries, 5 X £5 back bets shown as losses (Rossi crashed out of the race) and 5 X £5 lay bets - each trade just cancelled the other out and the higher and lower odds I used (where I thought I was doing well trading were not taken into account). I did the same with the eventual winner of the race, backing and laying at odds in my favour. These odds were taken into acount and I received the difference in the trades as profits on my account.

I don't know why the trades happened for one rider and not the other. I spoke online with Betfair and was told that all I had done was lost my back back bet stake of £5 and won my lay bet stake of £5, and as they were both the same stake I hadn't made a profit or loss. I went on to explain that I was trading, and that I had backed at higher odds than I had layed for each of the trades, and that I was expecting the difference in profit shown on my account, as had happened with the winner of the race - to cut a long story short we agreed to disagree and I am still none the wiser having spoken to Betfair.

As I am new to trading and the Bet Angel software, I am sure that I must be doing something wrong. I was using the "one-click screen" and also the "ladder" to back and lay the trades. I don't know if I was supposed to push any buttons to "green out" before the race ended or whether I did something wrong somewhere else. It doesn't make sense to me that the odds are only used to calculate the winner of the race's trade, and not the trades I put on the other rider.

I have been scalping the tennis matches at the weekend and all these trades worked ok, also some of the horse races and other sports with good liquidity, so I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I am not sure if I am allowed to let the race or event run it's full course or whether I have to press a "green out button" somewhere to ensure the trades are offset against each other to give the profit/loss, prior to the end of the race/match.

Apologies for the length of my first post, I just find the answer I received confusing, as to me, it means that only the winner can have trades applied to them and I'm sure this isn't right. Anyway, over to you guys/gals for some expert advice please.

Thanks.

Chris

[CaerMyrddin]

That's all correct, you won't be winning anything on your Rossi's trades.

Unless you green up your position, spreading your profits across the book.

You can do it several ways, In the one click screen, using the trading profit calculator, etc. Personally and probably the most common way of doing it is using the greening facility in your ladder.

[Chris C]

Thanks for the reply - I knew it was unlikely that Betfair had made a mistake, what with me being a newbie.

Can I "green up" at any time prior to the end of the race/match or does it have to be prior to the race match starting.

And finally, when you "green up", can you choose who to put the money onto or does it have to be spread amongst all the players equally.

Thanks

Chris