How to lay custom bets

Custom-built bets have become increasingly popular with bookmakers. Most bookmakers brand these types of bets with different names such as ‘RequestABet’, ‘PriceItUp’, ‘BuildYourBet’ and ‘#PickYourPunt’ by Betfred. These types of bets allow punters to chose bets from various markets and bundle them all together into one bet. Punters generally love them as they can create a bet based on a number of events they think may happen in a match.

For example. You may think that Man Utd will beat Chelsea. You may also think that Lukaku will net the first goal and that David Luiz will be handed a yellow card. Thanks to the custom bet feature which many bookies offer, you’re now able to include all of these selections into one bet and potentially receive a big payout if it comes in. The odds on custom bets can be huge which is another attraction to them but for matched bettors, they can be a pain.

Bookmakers love punters placing accumulators, which custom bets effectively are, as they are able to take a bigger cut of the pie with the odds they offer. This is one reason why betting sites have started offering customers free bets when placing custom bets on specific games. If you’re a customer of a lot of bookies, no doubt you have been emailed offers such as:

“Place a £10 #BuildYourBet on the Man Utd v Chelsea match and we’ll give you a £5 free bet!”

If this was a standard ‘Bet £10, get £5′ offer then matched bettors would be all over it but because you generally can’t lay custom bets, many are put off. For example, there isn’t a lay market on Betfair for Man Utd win, Lukaku to score first & Luiz to receive a yellow card’.

However! Do not despair as it is sometimes possible to lay these bets with a little bit of clever thinking.

The trick is to combine multiple bets which result in only one outcome. You can then lay that one outcome meaning that you have both backed and laid your bet.

Example:

Coral are offering a £5 free bet when you place a £10 #BuildYourBet on Liverpool v Arsenal with a minimum of 3 selections.

You could build a bet consisting of:

1. There to be under 2.5 goals scored in the match
2. Both Teams to Score
3. The match to end in a draw

Now, let’s take a look at the possible result of the match where our bet would win.

There has to be under 2.5 goals so that means there can only be 0, 1 or 2 goals scored. Both teams also have to score meaning that there can’t be 0 or 1 goals which leaves 2 goals to be scored. The match also has to end in a draw and as 2 goals have to be scored, the match must finish 1-1. There can’t be any other score which would see our bet win. Therefore, if we lay the score 1-1, we have covered ALL outcomes!

Example 2:

SkyBet are offering a refund as a free bet if you place a £10 ‘RequestABet’ containing 3 or more selections in the Man City v Spurs match.

You could build a bet consisting of:

1. Man City to win
2. The score to be 3-0
3. Both Team to Score – NO

Now, let’s take a look at the possible result of the match where our bet would win.

With this bet, the game must finish 3-0 for our bet to win. However, we’ve also included two other bets which go side-by-side with the correct score bet as if the match finishes 3-0, Man City will win and both teams will not have scored which are our other two bets! We could then simply lay the 3-0 correct score bet and have all outcomes covered!

Example 3:

William Hill are offering you a £5 free bet when placing a £5 #YourOdds bet containing 3 or more selections on the Newcastle v Southampton match

You could build a bet consisting of:

1. Newcastle to win
2. Over 2.5 goals
3. Both Team to Score – YES

Our third selection means that there must be over 2.5 goals which takes our second selection out of the equation. That just leaves Newcastle to win. Therefore, we could lay Newcastle to win & BTTS which would successfully lay our bet.

Problems with the above method

As matched bettors exploit more holes in promotions, bookmakers catch on and do something about it. Unfortunately, some bookies will not allow you to add certain bets to your custom bet when they result in the same outcome. However, some do and it’s worth trying a combination of different bets to see if you’re able to find a set you’re able to lay. There are a number of these type of betting offers around at the moment and they can be a nice earner if you’re able to lay them.

What to do if you can’t lay the bet

If you can’t find a bet which you can lay, you have two options. The first is to simply not do the offer. After all, matched betting is about ensuring you make a profit and if you can’t lay your bet, there’s no guarantee that you will.

The second option is to treat the offer as advantage play. Advantage play is when there is value in the offer, meaning you should make a profit over time. For example, a casino has a house edge of around 2.7% on roulette, meaning on average, they will make £2.70 for every £100 bet by punters. However, a punter could place a £10 bet on red, win and walk away, meaning the casino doesn’t win every time. However, if the punter played the same bet an infinite number of times, the casino would average a 2.7% profit from them. When an offer is treated as advantage play by a punter, it is them who has the edge and not the casino/bookmaker.