Terminology
Every trading term you'll meet in BetTrading.net, in plain English. Other help pages link here whenever they use one of these words — so if you arrived from a link, welcome; the word you wanted is below, in alphabetical order.
- Augmenting service
Any connected exchange that isn't your Primary. Augmenting services supply extra prices for comparison, best-price routing and broadcasting.
- Available funds
The part of your exchange balance that's free to place new bets with — your balance minus your current exposure.
- Back
A bet that a selection will win — the familiar kind of bet. See the BetTrading.net website's introduction to bet trading.
- Balance
The total funds held in your account at an exchange.
- Bet duration
How long an unmatched bet should rest in the market before it's automatically cancelled. Set alongside the stake when placing a bet in BetTrading.net.
- Commission
The fee an exchange charges, usually as a percentage of net winnings on a market. Each exchange sets its own rate — see the exchange guides for current figures.
- Dutching
Backing two or more selections in the same market with stakes calculated so you make the same profit whichever of them wins. BetTrading.net's dutching calculator does the maths.
- Exchange
A marketplace where bettors bet against each other rather than against a bookmaker. BetTrading.net connects to Betdaq and Smarkets today, with Matchbook and then Betfair to follow.
- Exposure
The total amount currently at risk across your open bets on an exchange.
- Hedge
The opposing bet a Trade Out places to close your position. BetTrading.net tags hedges in your bet list so you can tell them apart.
- In-play (in-running)
A market that's live — the race is running, the match has kicked off. Prices move fastest in-play.
- Lay
A bet that a selection will not win — you take the bookmaker's side of the bet. If the selection loses you win the backer's stake; if it wins you pay their winnings (your liability).
- Liability
The amount a lay bet stands to lose if the selection wins: stake × (odds − 1). Laying £10 at 4.0 risks £30.
- Liquidity
How much money is waiting to be matched in a market. High liquidity means your bets match quickly at the price you see.
- Market
A single tradeable question — "Who wins this race?", "Match winner?". Each market contains two or more selections.
- Matched / unmatched
A bet is matched when someone has taken the other side — it now stands. Until then it's unmatched, resting in the market, and can be cancelled freely. A bet can be partly matched: some stake taken, the rest still waiting.
- Odds (price)
The price a bet is struck at. BetTrading.net uses decimal odds: 4.0 means a £10 back bet returns £40 including your stake. Exchange prices move in fixed steps called ticks.
- One-click betting
A mode where clicking a price places a bet instantly at your preset stake — no confirmation dialog. Fast, powerful, and entirely optional; see Market View.
- Position
Your net situation on one selection, on one exchange, combining all your matched bets there: what you'd win or lose if the selection wins, and if it loses. Two back bets on the same horse are one position; a back plus a lay may cancel out entirely.
- Net stake
The stake genuinely at risk on the losing side of a position — the figure a partial Trade Out amount is measured against.
- Primary service
The connected exchange that drives the application — where your bets go unless you deliberately route or broadcast them elsewhere. Exactly one at a time; the rest are Augmenting.
- P&L (profit and loss)
Your financial outcome. Realised P&L is settled and final; unrealised P&L is what your open positions are worth right now — in BetTrading.net it's defined as exactly what a Trade Out would lock in at this moment.
- Requested bet
BetTrading.net's name for a bet you've placed through the app, tracked live from placement through matching to settlement or cancellation.
- Selection
One outcome within a market — a horse, a team, a player.
- Settled / void
A bet is settled when the market's result is decided and winnings are paid. A void bet is cancelled by the exchange (for example, a non-runner) with stakes returned.
- Stake
The amount of money you put on a bet.
- Starting Price (SP)
A price determined at the official start of an event, used by some exchanges to settle bets flagged to take SP if still unmatched at the off.
- Tick
The smallest step a price can move on an exchange's odds ladder — e.g. 2.02 → 2.04. Steps get bigger at bigger odds. BetTrading.net always aligns your prices to a valid tick.
- Trade Out
Closing a position before the market settles by placing the single opposing bet that equalises your profit or loss across both outcomes — locking in a profit or capping a loss at today's prices. Some exchanges call this "cash out"; it's the same idea. See Trade Out.