Calculator
Precision calculator.
Exact Smarkets lay stakes, liability, and profit for qualifying bets and SNR free bets. Free forever, no signup required.
Bet type
Choose the phase you are placing now.
£
Lay stake
£9.68
Place this at your chosen exchange.
Liability
£20.32
Required exchange balance.
Spread
0.10
Gap between bookmaker odds and Smarkets lay price.
Smarkets deducts 2% commission from winning lay bets.
How matched betting works
Two opposing bets.
One calculated position.
Matched betting works by placing two opposing bets on the same event: a back bet at a bookmaker (betting for an outcome) and a lay bet on a betting exchange (betting against the same outcome).
When stakes are calculated correctly, the result is the same regardless of whether the event happens - a small qualifying loss to unlock a free bet, then a calculated profit when that free bet is used. Execution matters: errors in stake size or odds can reduce the result.
Key terms
- Back stake
- The amount you bet at the bookmaker - your stake on the chosen outcome.
- Back odds
- The bookmaker odds for the outcome you are betting on (decimal odds, e.g. 3.0).
- Lay price
- The Smarkets price for selling the same outcome. This is not a normal bookmaker price on the opposite result.
- Lay stake
- The amount to lay on the exchange so both outcomes return the same result.
- Liability
- The maximum the exchange will charge you if your lay bet loses (i.e. the bookmaker's outcome wins).
- Commission
- The exchange fee on winning lay bets. We use Smarkets as the standard lay side, and the calculator shows gross figures while reminding you that the exchange fee is deducted separately.