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RE: Betting with Bookie: Stake and Liability
A non-betting individual here. I am missing information here: In the above example, why would anyone want to place a Lay bet of 11 mBTC and only get back 10mBTC if it "goes their way"? I am assuming it has to do with odds, but how the above example shows. If you place the Lay and the Lakers win, you lose 11 mBTC, if the Lakers lose, you get only 10 mBTC? Please advise.
It says:
Idk, I'm confused too.
Hi @aphiso,
Yes, I think you got it! Liability is what you might lose when making a lay bet. If your lay bet wins, your profit is the backer's stake. No additional money changes hands. So, once you've won the lay bet your liability essentially becomes null, as you say.
"The odds were in favor of the backer so the larger profit goes to the lay?"
That's correct. If the odds had been 1.5, then the Backer's stake would have been 10 mBTC and the Layer's liability would have been 5 mBTC. In that case, the odds would be in favour of the layer, to use your expression.
Thank you for clearing that up. Appreciated!
No problem! Look forward to your thoughts on the next one (coming soon!).
Hi @bryner,
It does have to do with odds, yes. In this particular example you stand to lose 1 mBTC more than you stand to profit, depending on the result. However, as the odds shift so does potential profit/loss, for both the backer and layer. For example, odds of 2.00 is like flipping a coin: heads or tails. The odds are 50/50, and so each side stands to profit or lose the same amount. So, to answer your question of "why would anyone want to play a lay bet..." it's because they feel they are getting good odds about the bet.
In case you haven't seen it, one of our earlier articles covers this very topic: Back vs. Lay.