Expert Tips
Timing Your Bet
A few hours before a football match is the best time to do this. Any earlier and the markets at Betfair haven't really got going, any later and the markets can get quite volatile. You'll get a feel for the best time as you make more bets.
Preferred Outcome
Ideally you want to lose at the bookmaker every time. If you could do this, you could just keep piling up winnings in Betfair. If you win at the bookmaker you have to withdraw from them, then deposit it back into Betfair to cover your liability for your next bet. If you win at Betfair you'll have a balance of £0 at the bookmaker and don't have to do anything. It's not a major problem but if you have a choice of two equally good bets, and you think one is more likely to lose at the bookmaker, choose that one.
Arbitrage Bets
99% of the time the odds will be lower at the bookmaker than the odds at the betting exchange. If you can find one where the odds are lower at the betting exchange you can make a guaranteed profit even without the free bet! This is called an "arbitrage bet". If you can find one of these use it immediately! It doesn't even have to be for a qualifying or free bet, just use your own money and make a profit. You can tell if a bet is an arbitrage bet if the "percentage of original bet retained" box in the Matched Betting Calculator is greater than 100.
Sports Other Than Football
Football is probably the best sport for most users - there's lots of matches every week and the rules for betting are the same at all the bookmakers and betting exchanges. You don't have to use football, you can try other things like horse racing and tennis using this system, it's still risk-free, but it's slightly more complicated due to rule differences. Watch this space for a comprehensive guide on other sports coming soon.
Depositing Money
Debit cards are almost ALWAYS better than credit cards. A lot of sites will charge a commission for deposits or withdrawals with credit cards, whereas debit cards are free. Here at FundMyDegree.com we recommend the Nationwide Flexaccount with debit card for it's high interest rate, excellent online banking facilities, and no commission charge on foreign currency exchange, meaning you can deposit to US bookmakers without cost.