#90 How Not To Do Matched Betting

I've been doing Matched Betting for 15 months.

I have accounts with 56 different betting companies.

I have completed 682 'offers'.

I have made £4,999.83 in tax-free profit.

And yet, with that experience I still had a nightmare of a weekend.

I am hoping that by taking the time to reflect and write down what I did this weekend and the decisions I took that I will learn from my experience and avoid this in the future.

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Act 1. Sign up and get bonus.

I signed up with Titanbet.

They have a fairly standard join up offer of 50% matched deposit. I took up the max which was deposit £50, get a £50 bonus.

Now, there are a couple of quirks to this offer which a fundamental.

#1 The deposit and winnings need to be turned over 7 times before withdrawal.
#2 These need to be turned over within 14 days.
and the killer #3 bonus winnings are capped at £500.

My qualification bet won so I was +37.50 in the Titanbet account. Bonus was then received.

Time to lose this into the Exchange.

3 bets were placed - £50, £50 and £37.50 placed - to use up all the funds. Best case these all lose to the Exchange and I'm done and walk away with the profit.

Bets 1 and 2 lost. Bet 3 however won at odds of 5.25 - giving me a return of £196.88.

Act 2. All bets win. Surely a good thing right?

Before I went to bed I then placed three £50 bets on outsiders expecting to lose this money into the exchange as quickly as I could.

I woke up Sunday morning and this had happened.

• Horse at Cheltenham had won at odds of 4.50 = £225 
• Roma had beaten Napoli away at odds of 7 = £350
• and NAC had beaten Feyenoord at odds of 6.25 = £312.50

If I had placed a three fold accumulator on these three coming in £50 would have returned me £9,843! such were the odds.

Now, the realisation kicks in. Sweaty palms. Distant looks whilst the wife asks me whether I wan't a cup of tea etc

I now have £1,171.88 sat in the Titanbet account.
The maximum I can withdraw is £600.
I don't have much money left in my Exchange
And am not even half way through wagering, which has to complete before I next get paid.

So, what did I do next.

I confessed to the wife, and accepted the cup of tea. And explained that I may need the day to sort out this mess and then went on a bit of a gambling spree.

Act 3. Save the situation.

I backed a random Mexican game to end in a draw. I then refreshed the page for 90 minutes as CD Tondela held on for a victory - it was 1-0 until the 97' when GOAL flashed up. Luckily it made it 2-0.

I had successfully begun to claw money back into the Exchange and lower my balance in Titanbet.

Next I tried to calm down and place sensible low odds, good match bets.

I bet on Arsenal to beat Brighton. However, I also panicked and then also bet on the draw and Brighton to win. The best case here was that Arsenal won - that would return £97.50 into Titanbet but the Brighton and Draw bets would lose -£100. So a net of £2.50 from Titanbet to the Exchange.

Then the game started and Brighton took the lead!

Further panic ensued so I backed Arsenal again with a further £50.

When the game ended 2-1 to Brighton all I had done was add a further £47.50 to my Titanbet account, almost cancelling out the Tondela victory.

With Barca and Man City coming up in the afternoon I had two choices.

Both at Home and both were both good matches with the Exchange. In any normal circumstance I would have - and will in future - go with the good match. But here I was having to lose several hundred from my Titanbet account and yet both were likely to win. BUT... if I laid Chelsea or Atletico - or even the draw - and those results came in I'd have almost all of my money tied up in Titanbet.

As luck would have it.... LIONEL MESSI did the job for Barca and even though I was concerned for a last minute equaliser Bernado Silvas goal settled the win for Man City.

and breatheeeeee.

I still had a lot to lose from Titanbet into the Exchange, but I was feeling more comfortable and positive. So I returned to what I should have done. Bet on good matches around 1.5 to 2.0 odds.

• Sociedad to beat Alaves. £27.50 more into Titanbet :(
• Motherwell Hearts under 2.5 goals. An 86' goal made it 2-1. Lost £50 to the Exchange :)
• I was sat watching Bayern beating Freiburg and 2-0 at 45 mins and thought this isn't going to stay this way. Bayern to win 2-0. Lost. £50 to the Exchange :) This was high-odds but I was confident whislt watching. Never a good idea obviously as all of this shows.
• Valencia to beat Betis. Won. £25 more into Titanbet :(

With Man City and Barca winning, and me getting 2/4 of the bets to lose into the Exchange AND the winners being low odds I was getting close to the £600 (£500 winnings and £100 cash balance) balance I needed and only had £100 of turnover left.

Act 4. 1 un-laid bet. 2 red-cards. And probably 3 years off my life expectancy.

• Huesca are losing at home to Almeria with 20' played. I lay Huesca.
• I realise that Huesca are top of the 2nd Division in Spain and on form. Almeria are mid-table and out of form. I panic. There are still 70' left.
• Huesca equalise. I lay nearly £80 on Almeria winning. I do not back Almeria on Titanbet. I Almeira are at odds of 8 at this point. I could lose £600~ quid. I decided to wait a little longer and back Almeria when they have drifted further and lock in more profit.
• Huesca score again 2-1. I feel pretty chuffed and think "why back now" that's an £80 profit.
• 72' Huesca get a man sent off. I sit very still.
• 84' Almeria equalise. Still no back from me.
• 86' Huesca get a second man sent off. I am pretty much paralised now. The ref adds on 4 minutes of stoppage time. There is no point in backing now as it would only lock in a giant loss.

Watching those final minutes with 9 men Huesca defending was terrible. Several crosses were cleared. One shot blocked. 9 men on a team looks quite odd and there were holes everywhere.

• The final whistle goes. I've made a good profit on the match and am almost in tears.

Act 5. Closing sequence.

The final match.

I've backed Marseille to beat Nantes. I have a balance of £600 and this £50 open bet. And when the bet is settled I will have completed the wagering.

Nantes take an early lead. I feel invincible.

In injury time Nantes then get a man sent off. I panic. But still feel confident.

Then Marseille equalise. "One more chance" the commentator says for the win.

One bad control from a Marseille midfielder the ball rolls out of touch and the Nantes player takes up an age. Throw in, few passes and the final whistle.

I feel like I've won a cup myself!!!!!!


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At this point. I update the spreadsheet.

Work out that I've made over £80 in profit.

Have £600 in balance with Titanbet which has completed wagering.

I withdraw.

Apologize to the wife and kids for the person I've been all day.

And then go to bed absolutely buzzing.

Never again.

At one point earlier in the day I had even miscalculated and thought that it was likely I was going to lose £900 which is a couple of hundred off all of my Matched Betting money. My Matched Betting money = my only cash savings.

Going forward I can look back almost positively as I came out on top. But that was purely by chance. And the decisions I made deserved really to result in a large loss.

So, I'm going to count my blessings. Take my winnings into CHeltenham and be sensible.