FROZEN ASSETS

EXPLAINING THE EXCHANGE AND
WEEKLY BEST BETS



Welcome to Frozen Assets. Every week I offer tips for successful futures wagering and I examine odds in the hockey futures market. For the last two weeks I have presented you with the best odds on each team to win the Stanley Cup along with brief analysis. This week I will explain what a betting exchange is. Next week I will discuss the benefits of betting exchanges as compared to the traditional sportsbook. I will finish this week's segment by giving you my three best futures bets for the week.

WHAT IS A BETTING EXCHANGE?

A betting exchange is a type of gambling website where the odds are set by the players. The website acts as a broker between parties, providing a forum for the exchange of bets. The betting exchange makes a profit by taking commission from winning wagers.

When you bet on an exchange you have two options: you can match an existing bet or you can set your own odds. When you match an existing bet you are matching the odds another player has set. Your bet is placed and cannot be retracted. When you set your own odds you can alter or retract your bet until it is matched by someone else.

If you are setting your own odds on a team to win, you are "backing" that team to win. Exchanges also offer the opportunity to "lay" which means that you are betting on a team to lose. When you offer odds to "back" a team, corresponding odds appear in the "lay" column. The corresponding odds are available to be matched by other members of the exchange. If the odds are not matched, your bet is voided and your money is returned to you.

Let's illustrate these concepts with an example:

Your favorite team is the Atlanta Thrashers. You have noticed they have been playing better hockey lately and you want to place a bet on them at your favorite betting exchange to win the Stanley Cup.

The "back" price on the Thrashers to win is +4000, the "lay" price on the Thrashers to lose is -10000. Both of those bets correspond to the bets of another member of the exchange. You have two choices: you can match the +4000 on Atlanta to win the Stanley Cup or you can try to get more favorable odds by setting your own price. If you match the "back" price on the Thrashers, you are matching someone else's "lay" bet on Atlanta at -4000 to LOSE the Stanley Cup. The "lay" price on Atlanta at -10000 corresponds to someone's unmatched bet on the Thrashers to WIN the Stanley Cup at +10000.

If you are not happy with the available odds of +4000 you can attempt to get more favorable odds by setting your own price.

Before offer:

Team.................Back....................Lay

Atlanta..............+4000...............-10000

After offer:

Team................Back.....................Lay

Atlanta.............+4000................-8000

If your bet remains unmatched, you do not have a valid wager. If someone matches your wager, your odds on Atlanta to win the Stanley Cup are +8000, twice as good as your odds would have been had you accepted the available odds of +4000!

Next week I will discuss the advantages of using a betting exchange as opposed to a traditional sportsbook. Here are the two highest rated betting exchanges according to Sportsbook Review: 1. Betfair (A+) 2.Matchbook(A-)
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SEPARATION ANXIETY?

We are at a strange point in the NHL season. We are almost a quarter of the way through the season, but only a handful of teams have been able to separate themselves from everyone else.

In the East, 6 points separate the team with the fourth best record from the team in last. The West is even tighter, as 6 points separate Colorado in second place from Vancouver in second last place.

Our job (as always) is to figure out where the best value is on teams to win the Conference or Stanley Cup.

Here are my 3 favorite bets as of November 9:

3. St. Louis Blues +6600, Stanley Cup (Canbet, A-)
Still like the value despite recent slide.

2. New York Islanders +3300, Eastern Conference (Stan James, B)
Does this Ted Nolan team remind you of any other Ted Nolan teams?

1. Columbus Blue Jackets +10000, Stanley Cup (Portlandbet, NR)
Is Columbus for real? At +10000 I'm prepared to pay to find out.

For illegal curve, I'm Ari Baum-Cohen

About the writer: Ari Baum-Cohen's first sports betting victory came in 1989 when he won his father's office pool at age 8. Since then, he has been interested in many different types of sports betting. His first major futures win was at the end of the 2001-2002 hockey season when he selected "field" (field included Jarome Iginla) at odds of +3000 to win the National Hockey League goal scoring title.

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