Exchange betting basics – reading the screen, back and lay betting, setting your own odds

We’ve introduced the Exchange, a peer-to-peer betting marketplace that allows you to bet on and trade the outcome of sporting events.

The key difference with Exchange betting is that you aren’t betting against a bookmaker. You’re betting against other individuals who have the opposite opinion to you.

This means the Exchange lets you bet AGAINST selections, meaning NOT to win. For example, if you don’t think Manchester United will win but can’t predict the result, you can bet against them by laying them to win.

How are the back and lay odds shown on the Exchange?

Each odds box on the screen shows the current odds and the liquidity, meaning the money available to bet.

• The blue boxes represent the odds available to back (betting on something to happen).
• The pink boxes show the odds available to lay (betting on something not to happen).
• The lighter-shaded boxes to the left and right of the back and lay odds show all the pending unmatched bets.

The odds also update constantly during an event. So, if the price you want isn’t showing, or there’s only a tiny amount of money available to bet, refresh the page and see if the odds and liquidity update.

How do back bets work on the Exchange?

When you place a standard back bet, you believe an event will happen and are willing to bet on it happening at the current odds.

Your stake is the amount you want to bet, and your return will be your stake multiplied by the odds. If you look at the odds for a given event on the Exchange, you’ll see two sets of odds, one blue and one pink.

The blue odds are the average (back) odds. These prices have been offered (layed) by people who want to bet against this outcome at these odds.

Let’s say you’re betting on Brazil v Germany. If you want to back Brazil, select the price on Brazil in the blue column, choose your stake, and press ‘Place bet’ to submit your wager.

When submitting a bet offer, your bet can be:

• Fully matched (all your stake matched)
• Partially matched (some of your stakes matched)
• Unmatched (none of your stakes matched)

Whether or not your bet is fully, partially, or not matched at all will depend on how much liquidity there is in the market. The more money people have offered to lay, the more you can bet on and the more you can win.

How can I check how much liquidity is available?

You can see how much money is available to bet by looking at the money total inside the odds box. For example, $9,995 means you could bet up to $9,995 at that price, whereas $3 means you could only bet $3.

If you’re taking the odds shown on the screen, your bet will be matched on most occasions. Markets change continually, though, so always check your bet slip to confirm. Don’t assume your bet has been matched.

If you’re not fully satisfied with the odds offered, you can request better ones. Select the same price in the blue column as before but make the price bigger; for example, change the 2.5 on offer to 2.6, select your stake and place the bet. Then it’s just a case of waiting to see whether a layer is prepared to match your bet at the higher price.

How does lay betting work on the Exchange?

When you place a lay bet, it’s the opposite of a back bet. You’re betting on something not to happen.

You’re essentially acting as a bookmaker by laying a bet on the Exchange. So, you’ll win your bet if the selection does not win, and you’ll lose your bet if the selection does win.

For laying bets, you want to bet on the pink prices on our site. These are the odds that backers want to bet at and the ones you need to lay.

Let’s say you want to lay Germany to beat Brazil because you don't think that Germany will win. You start to construct a lay bet by clicking on the pink odds next to Germany. Choose your stake, check your liability, then place your lay bet.

Your bet will then be settled as a winner if Germany loses or if the game ends in a draw.

When laying bets, think about your liability, i.e., the amount you’ll lose if your bet loses. In other words, the amount the backers win. The liability is always taken upfront when you place your bet, but check carefully, it can often be more than your stake. If your bet wins, your liability will be returned to you with your profits.

Lay betting - liability explained

Your ‘liability’ is the amount you could lose in your worst-case scenario. It is the amount you pay to the backer when their bet wins.

The amount you can win for a lay bet is your staked amount minus market commission (commission is a small charge on your total net winnings on a market). A way to remember this is you take your stake (win) or lose your liability (lose).

Many people prefer to lay at odds below 2.0 as it reduces their liability. For example, if you lay a bet at 1.5 for $10, your liability is only $5 ($10 * 1.5 - $10 = $5), and you’ll win $10 if the bet wins. But if you lay a bet a 3.5 for $10, you’re risking $25 for the chance to win $10. ($10 * 3.5 - $10 = $25).

Ensure you track how much you’re liable for and observe where you put the decimal point. If you want to lay a bet at 4.2, make sure it is just that and not 42. Otherwise, it will be an expensive mistake should your selection win.

We’ll only let you risk as much as you have in your account and at the best available odds.

Setting your own odds

Unlike traditional bookmakers who offer a fixed price, the Exchange allows you to ask for better odds if you don’t like what is being offered.

How does it work on the Exchange?

An Exchange market will show the prices on offer at any given time in the blue (back) and pink (lay) boxes.

To request better odds, sometimes known as ‘submitting an order’, select the odds on display but manually alter the odds and place the bet.

Your bet will be placed in the market and will be matched at those odds if accepted by another customer.

When you ask for better odds, there is no guarantee that another customer will be willing to accept the price you are offering or asking for, but with odds changing rapidly as events unfold, there’s every chance your bet will get matched.

Profit and Loss

Once you have successfully placed a bet, you’ll be able to see your potential profit (green) or losses (red) in the market, next to each selection accordingly.

You’ll also see how these positions will vary if you place further bets. Once you enter an amount in the stake box, these positions update to help you decide how much to bet and which selections.

Market information

The Exchange will show you all the rules for a particular market. Press the ‘i’ icon on the market to see a short description.

Is Exchange available in my area?

To confirm if PokerStars Exchange is available in your location, select 'Sports' above and check if the Exchange tab is visible.