Cross matching on Betfair is the exchange matching your bet against offers on other selections in the same market, as well as against offers on your own selection. A back bet on one runner can be matched against backers waiting on every other runner, because between them those bets cover every result. Prices built this way, often called virtual bets, can beat any single offer on your runner.
It is possible because exchange punters bet against each other, as the betting exchange guide explains. A bookmaker sets each price itself, so it has nothing to cross match.
How cross matching works in a three-runner race
Illustrative offers in a three-runner race (home, draw and away works the same way):
- Runner 1: the best offer from a layer is $2.20.
- Runner 2: backers are waiting with $48 at $3.00.
- Runner 3: backers are waiting with $36 at $4.00.
Your back bet on Runner 1 can be matched against both waiting backers at the price where the three bets balance:
virtual price = 1 / (1 - 1 / 3.00 - 1 / 4.00) = 1 / (1 - 0.3333 - 0.2500) = 1 / 0.4167 = $2.40
| Bet | Price | Stake | Return if it wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| You back Runner 1 | $2.40 | $60 | $144 |
| Waiting backer on Runner 2 | $3.00 | $48 | $144 |
| Waiting backer on Runner 3 | $4.00 | $36 | $144 |
| Total staked | $144 |
Whichever runner wins, its backer collects $144, exactly what the three staked, so no layer is needed. The waiting money caps the virtual offer at $60: 48 x 3.00 and 36 x 4.00 both come to $144, and 144 / 2.40 = $60. A lay works in reverse, built from layers' offers on the other runners.
Why cross matching improves prices
- A better price for the same bet. Taking the $2.20 offer, $60 returns 60 x 2.20 = $132. Cross matched at $2.40 it returns $144, a profit of $84 instead of $72.
- Narrower spreads. A runner with few offers of its own still gets a price built from the money on the others, which tightens its back lay spread.
- Prices that hang together. A back price on one runner is kept in line with what the backers on the others imply, here $2.40.
Ask for $2.30 or better and you are matched at $2.40: that gap is price improvement.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A better price still loses when the runner loses, and the offers behind a virtual price can vanish before your bet arrives. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Limits of cross matching
- One winner only. In a place market several runners are paid, so the arithmetic fails.
- Rounding. The formula often lands between two steps of the price ladder, and the exchange shows a valid price under its own rules.
- Short-lived. If someone takes or cancels the $3.00 on Runner 2, Runner 1's $2.40 goes with it.
- Market by market. An exchange's rules say which markets it cross matches.
It is not dutching either: the three backers above look like one punter's dutch, but they are three different people.
Exchange prices on the Terminal
Each bookmaker on the Terminal has its own column, with Betfair's back and lay prices alongside, so a bookmaker price can be read against the exchange market. Those columns are read on a repeating cycle, so an exchange price on screen can be gone by the time you look, and B337 places no exchange bets. Bookmaker names are trade marks of their owners. B337 is not affiliated with them. Laying and liability are covered in lay betting.
Risk: Betting involves risk. However it is matched, a bet on the wrong runner loses its stake, and there is no guarantee of profit. Help and limit tools are on the responsible gambling page.