The Betfair Matrix (or Full Market View)
02 Placing a Bet 
/ Betfair Education / 22 January 2008 / Leave a comment
When you have selected a market you will be faced with a list of selections and matrix of numbers in different coloured boxes. This looks rather complex on the surface, but bear with us, it's not that tricky once it's explained properly.
The selections are shown on the left. Adjacent to these are the prices available, both to back and lay. The blue boxes nearest the centre are the current best odds available to back, and the lay boxes we've highlighted here in yellow.
In the example illustrated below the best odds currently available to back Arsenal are 1.64. If you backed with a stake of £10, an Arsenal win would return you £16.40; a profit of £6.40.
As you move away from the centre of the matrix (the coloured boxes) the next best offers available are displayed. The best price to lay Arsenal is currently 1.65, the next best is 1.66 i.e. if you lay £10 at 1.65 you stand to lose less than at 1.66 hence it is a better offer. As a layer you want to be matched at the lowest possible price - less risk for the same reward.
Three columns are displayed to show there is almost always another offer in the queue on a given selection, just like on a stock exchange. If you can only buy so many shares at one price, there will usually be more available at another price.
Betfair always match bets at the best odds available at the instant the bets reach the server, whether you are backing or laying.
Underneath each price you will see a currency value quoted. This is the amount of money available at each price. In the example above, there is £99168 available to back on Arsenal at 1.68. You can have as little as £2 of that. If your bet size is bigger than the amount available for your selection, you have to either take some at a lower price or ask for someone (a layer) to match the remainder of your bet. Prices and sums available can change constantly - just because you don't see enough to match your bet right now doesn't mean it won't be matched a few minutes or even seconds later.
What you see on the 'Back' side of the market are invitations for you to back a selection at a price - i.e. somebody else wants to lay that bet.
On the lay side, you see invitations for you to lay a selection - somebody else wants to back at that price.
