What is Trading?

How Trading Works

Trading exploits the fact that exchange prices move before and during an event. A trader backs a selection when the price is high, then lays the same selection when the price shortens, securing a guaranteed return on both sides. Alternatively, a trader can lay first and back later if they expect the price to drift outward. The profit is the difference between the two prices, multiplied by the stake, minus exchange commission — typically 2–5% on winnings depending on the platform and your accumulated volume.

Position size matters. If you back £100 at 4.0 (3/1) and the price moves to 3.0 (2/1), you can lay £100 at 3.0 and calculate your net position. Backing at 4.0 returns £400 (£300 profit) if it wins; laying at 3.0 costs £200 liability if it wins but earns £100 if it loses. By adjusting your lay stake precisely — a process called greening up — you can spread the profit evenly across both outcomes. Most exchange interfaces include a 'make equal profit' function that does this arithmetic automatically.

A Worked Example

Suppose a horse is available to back at 6.0 (5/1) two hours before a race. You back £50, meaning a potential return of £300. As race time approaches, media coverage pushes money into the market and the price contracts to 4.0 (3/1). You now lay the horse at 4.0. Using the green-up function, your lay stake is adjusted so that whether the horse wins or loses, you collect roughly £25 profit after commission. You have traded out without needing the horse to win.

The same logic applies in football in-play markets. A trader might back a team at 2.5 (6/4) at kick-off, then lay at 1.8 (4/5) after they score an early goal, banking the movement as guaranteed profit. Timing and market liquidity are critical — if the market is thin, large trades move the price against you before the order is fully matched, reducing or wiping out the margin.

Why Trading Matters When Judging a Tipster

A tipster who trades rather than settles bets at the advised odds presents significant transparency problems. Their stated profit in points may be based on entry and exit prices you cannot replicate, especially if the tipping service advises a selection at one price and quietly trades out at another. Without knowing both legs of the trade, a subscriber cannot accurately reproduce the results, making the performance record difficult or impossible to verify through independent proofing.

When reviewing a tipster on TipsterCheck, check whether their advised odds reflect a simple back bet held to settlement, or whether the results assume a trading strategy. A tipster who consistently shows high theoretical profits but whose followers report poor real-money returns may be factoring in favourable exit prices that were only available for seconds. Always look for a clearly stated staking method and evidence that results are based on obtainable, settled prices rather than optimised trading exits.

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