Sequential Lay Betting Guide
What is a Sequential Lay Bet
A Sequential Lay Bet is where we back a list of events, and then lay each event one by one. We use this method to Lay Accumulator Bets, also referred to as Accas. Find out What an Acca is further down on this guide.
We might want to Lay an Acca because the Bookmaker gave it to us as a free bet, or because we need to place an Acca as a Qualifying bet in order to Gain a Free Bet.
There could also be an Arbitrage opportunity on an Acca, usually when there is a boost. When there is a Multiple (or multi) with events all at different times, we can use the Sequential Lay Method to Profit.
We can Only use the Sequential Lay method and the Sequential Lay Calculator when all of the events in the Acca are occuring at different times, allowing us to Lay Each Event one after the other.
In a Sequential Lay Bet, all of the Events are referred to as Legs, with the event happening first being called the 1st Leg, 2nd event is the 2nd Leg, and so on.
What is an Acca
An Acca or an Accumulator Bet is a group of individual Bets grouped together into one big bet. Every single Bet on the Acca needs to win in order for the Acca to Pay Out.
Every Bet in your Acca is called a 'Leg' and if any of these Bets Lose, the entire Acca Loses.
Accas usually have very High Odds, as with each Additional Leg, the probability of all legs winning becomes less and less likely. You can see some examples of Accas below.
Both of the Accas above have 5 Legs, meaning all 5 of the Selected events need to happen in order for the Acca to be paid out as a win at the accumulator odds.
You might have also noticed that we can't use the Sequential Lay Method on either of the Accas above, as some of the events are happening at the same time meaning we can't Lay each event one after the other.
How To Do a Sequential Lay Bet
1) Find a Sequential Lay Opportunity
This could be many things, such as a free bet on an Acca, a Price Boost Multiple, an Acca qualifying bet in order to get a free bet, and much more.
Once you are comfortable with Sequential Lay Betting there are many opportunities to profit as it's one of the more complex Matched Betting Methods, but it's also more rewarding.
Our Discord Group share lots of betting opportunities, including plenty of Free Acca Bets and profitable price boost multiples, join with the button below so you can receive live alerts for every bet.
If you are doing an Acca Qualifying Bet, it doesn't really matter what odds you are choosing. You really just want to keep them low so you have less Liability on the Exchange.
If you are looking for a Price Boost Multiple to Sequentially Lay, you need to find a Price Boost where the Combined Lay Odds are LOWER than the Overall Back Odds.
Our Sequential Lay Calculator will Tell you the Combined Lay Odds as well as how much Profit you will make.
You can also calculate the Combined Lay Odds manually by multiplying all of the Decimal Lay Odds together
e.g. (2.0 x 1.2 x 1.8) = 4.32 Combined Lay Odds.
2) Find all of the Lay Odds and Use a Sequential Lay Calculator
Once you have found an opportunity to profit from, you can use a calculator to see how much you stand to Profit.
When doing a Sequential Lay Bet, you need to choose Between either Standard or Underlay for your method.
There is no option to Underlay a Free Bet as this wouldn't require placing any Lay Bets, you would just 'punt' the Acca.
You can learn more about what these actually are and their differences in the 'What Methods are there in a Sequential Lay Bet' Section below.
Once you have decided on a method, you can move on to Selecting the number of legs in the bet, before filling out all of the Lay Odds and Commissions in order.
It is extremely important that you fill out each Lay Selection in Order of Time, with Selection 1 being the event that happens First, so you can get the correct stake for each bet.
Back Bet
First Leg
Second Leg
Third Leg
Fourth Leg
Fifth Leg
Combined Lay Odds
Leg Outcome
Profit
1st Leg Loses
2nd Leg Loses
3rd Leg Loses
4th Leg Loses
5th Leg Loses
All Legs Win
Log Your Bet
3) Place the Lay Bet for the First Selection
Only place the Lay Bet for the First Selection, at the Odds in the Calculator, with the Lay Stake Suggested by the Calculator.
It doesn't matter if you are Underlaying or doing the Standard Method, you now need to wait for the first event to Finish before you move onto Step 4.
4) Place the Bet for the Next Selection
Only start this part when the First Selection Event has Settled.
If the Selection Lost then you are done with the Bet and you no longer need to do anything. If you did an Underlay you made £0, and if you did the standard method you will have made a small profit.
This is because the First Selection Losing means your entire Acca Lost and so there is no Bet to Match.
If the Event Won you need to move on to laying the 2nd Selection. You need to update the Odds if they have changed, and place the Lay Bet that the Calculator is telling you to place.
You must do this in the time between your First Selection settling and the Second Selection beginning.
If your Sequential Lay Bet only involved 2 Legs, and you are doing the underlay method, and the First Event Won, then you also have the choice of Locking in a Profit. You can learn more about Locking in a Profit here.
5) Repeat Step 4 Until you have Finished All of the Legs
Repeat the process in Step 4: Wait for Each Selection to Finish - If the Selection Wins then Update the Odds in the Calculator and Place the Lay Bet for the Next Selection - If the selection doesn't Win then you are done.
If at any point one of the Selections Loses, causing the Acca to Lose, then you are done with the Sequential Lay Bet and you should move onto Step 6 Where you Log the Bet.
When you reach the point where you are at the Last Leg of the Acca and all the others have Won, you can change the method from 'Underlay' to 'Underlay - Lock in Profit', to Guarantee a Profit from the final Selection. If you are still confused by this please read through the Section Below.
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6) Log Your Sequential Lay Bet
Whether it was a Winner or a Loser you should still Log the Bet to Your Profit Tracker by Clicking the 'Log Bet' button on the Calculator.
This helps you keep track of which bets you have done, and with which bookmakers. Once the bet is in your profit tracker, you can click the 'Show in Calculator' button and it will bring you back to the sequential lay calculator, with all of the details, so you can adjust the odds in between each leg and save it to the profit tracker again.
How Do You Lock in Profit on a Sequential Lay Bet
When doing a Sequential Lay Bet with the Underlay method you have the option of 'Locking in Profit' when you make it to the Final Leg.
For example, if your Acca is 4 Legs and the first 3 Events all Win on the Acca, your next step is to lay the final leg, but you now have the opportunity to change the method and guarantee a profit.
Your current situation is that if the Final Leg Wins you make a Large Profit, but if it doesn't Win you would make £0 Profit since you are doing the Underlay Method.
When using our Sequential Lay Calculator you can change the Method to 'Underlay - Lock in Profit' and this will give you a different Stake on the Final Event. If you use this stake then you will make a profit no matter what happens with the last leg of the Acca.
This is a method we do recommend doing as it reduces risk in the short term when you are underlaying.
It doesn't matter how many Legs there are in the bet, whether its 2 or 5 Legs, you can always choose to Lock in a Profit on the Final Leg when you are underlaying, assuming all of the other legs have already won.
Sequential Lay Bet Example
Let's say Paddy Power Boosted the Odds for Poland, Wales & Greece all to Win to 7/4, or 2.75 in Decimal Form.
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The Lay Odds for Poland to Win are 1.18
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The Lay Odds for Wales to Win are 1.26
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The Lay Odds for Greece to Win are 1.4
Also, all of the Games are happening at Different times, with Poland playing at 12:00, Wales at 15:00, and Greece are playing at 18:30.
If we multiply all of the Lay Odds we get 2.08 (1.18 x 1.26 x 1.4), which is Less Than the 2.75 Back Odds that we have on this boost from Paddy Power.
This all means we can Lay this Bet Sequentially and make a Profit.
The maximum that Paddy Power will let us Stake on this Bet is £250, so we place £250 on the Price Boost Multiple at 7/4 Odds (Or 2.75).
We then Type in these Details to the Sequential Lay Calculator, you can Click the Button below to do this Automatically.
We now have a choice between doing the Standard Method, where we guarantee the same profit no matter what happens in the Acca, or Underlay, where we make a much larger profit if all Legs Win, but £0 if any of them lose.
We choose the standard method and the Calculator tells us to place a £330.29 Lay Bet on the First Selection which is Poland at 1.18 Odds, we place this Lay bet on Smarkets.
The calculator also tells us that we stand to make £80.29 Profit on this Sequential Lay Bet no matter what the outcome is. However, this won't be exact as the Lay Odds will probably change slightly between each bet.
The time is now 14:30 and Poland Won their game. This means we move on to Laying the Second Leg since the First Leg of our Multiple Won.
The Lay Odds for Wales to Win are still 1.26, so we do as the Calculator Says by placing a Lay bet against Wales with a £389.74 Lay Stake for their 15:00 game.
Wales Lose the game, therefore we Lose the Multiple with Paddy Power and are now done with the Bet.
We do not need to move on to Laying the 3rd Selection, which is Greece, as our Sequential Lay Bet finished after one of the events lost, and we made £80.29 profit.
We Finished Here
Lets Break down exactly how we made £80.29 Profit.
On the First Selection we had a Lay Bet Against Poland at 1.18, with a £330.29 Lay Stake, and Poland Won so we had to pay out £59.45 to Smarkets.
On the Second Selection we had a Lay Bet Against Wales at 1.26, with a £389.74 Lay Stake, and Wales Lost meaning we win the Lay Bet and receive £389.74 from Smarkets.
But, this also means we Lose the multi with Paddy Power, therefore we Lose our £250 Back Stake on that Bet.
- £59.45 + £389.74 - £250 = £80.29 Profit
What Methods can you use For a Sequential Lay Bet
When doing a Sequential Lay Bet, you can choose between a few different methods. In the Long run, which method you choose shouldn't matter as they all give the same value.
You can Select which method you want to do at the top of the Calculator in the 'Methods' Dropdown.
We will break down the differences between 'Standard' and 'Underlay' Below.
What is The Standard Method
When you select the Standard method you will be choosing Higher Lay Stakes so that no matter what happens, whether any of the legs lose, or if they all win, you will gain the same Profit.
Because of the fact that you are Laying Higher Stakes, you will need more liquidity in your Smarkets account as you will total quite a large Liability.
This method is better in the short term since you will always gain a profit. But in the long term, your profit should be the same whichever method you choose.
Standard is almost always better when you are doing a Qualifying Bet as you wouldn't want the possibility of making a larger loss.
What is The Underlay Method
When you choose the Underlay method you will be choosing Lower Lay Stakes (Under Laying). This means that if any of the Selections Lose you will make £0 Profit. You don't gain anything, but you also don't lose anything, except for your time.
If all of the Selections Win (meaning the Acca or Multi Back Bet with the Bookmaker won) you will gain a much Larger Profit than if you were to do the standard method.
The Underlay Method differs from the Standard Method in that you will make Less profit if the Selections Lose, but much more Profit if they all Win. In the long run, the profit from the standard method and the underlay method should be equal, as they both provide the same value.
On the Last Selection, when Underlaying, you do have the option to Lock in a Profit by selecting the 'Underlay - Lock in Profit' Method, this will mean that no matter what happens with the Last Selection you will make a Profit.
Learn more about Locking in a Profit for an Underlay Sequential Lay Bet here.
How to Keep Track of Sequential Lay Bets
Keeping track of your sequential lay bets can be quite difficult, but our profit tracker does its best to make the process as easy as possible. The lay odds for each selection will probably change as you complete the bet, so to get the correct stake for each leg it is essential that you log your bet.
You should log the bet to your profit tracker after laying the first leg. Then, when you are ready to lay the second leg you can come back to the profit tracker, find the bet, and then click the 'Show in Calculator' Button.
This will bring you back to the calculator with all of the details already typed in.
When you get back to the calculator you should correct any lay odds that have changed.
Then, you should place the next lay bet and click the 'Update Bet' Button to update it in your profit tracker.
Repeat this process for each leg so you don't have to keep the calculator tab open for hours while you complete the sequential lay bet.
Will The Bookmaker Ban You For Doing Sequential Lay Bets
Bookmakers often pay close attention to betting patterns and they will eventually pick up on things like using every single Free Acca, and Every Single Price Boost Multiple, but not doing any Normal Bets.
Large Bookmakers might 'gub' your account, meaning you will no longer have access to special offers and promotions.
Eventually, if they think that you are taking to much value from them, they might even ban your account. However, we can certainly slow down this process, or even stop it completely.
You can Mix your Sequential Lay Bets on Free Accas and Price Boost Multiples in with other Betting techniques such as 2ups, Extra Places and much more.
You can also do 'mug bets' where you just place a normal bet on the bookmaker, while simultaneously laying the bet on an exchange. You will take a small loss, but it will make the bookmaker think you are a genuine bettor.
If you are Banned or 'gubbed' on an account, or if you simply want to multiply your matched betting profits, you can also do Multi Accounting. This is where you use someone else's identity (with their permission) to make a whole new set of accounts.
Premium Members in Our Discord Group get additional guidance to make this as easy as possible, helping to multiply profits and make Matched Betting sustainable.
Do you Need Money to Start Sequential Lay Betting?
Sequential Lay Betting will require a large bankroll as it involves placing a lot of Lay Bets.
Especially if you are planning on doing high stake Price Boost Multiples, we would recommend that you have at least £500 in your Smarkets Exchange account for the liabilities.
If you have not signed up to any bookmakers yet, you can easily build up a bankroll of £500+ just from Sign Up Offers. This means you won't have to put much of your own investment into your accounts, you can just use the profits from these offers to fund your sequential lay betting.
But, if you have already signed up to all UK bookmakers, or you have exhausted all of the Sign Up Offers, you can also build up a decent bankroll using Reload Offers, Weekly Bet Club Offers and making the most of Price Boosts and other methods before you move onto dedicating a lot of capital to more complex forms of matched betting.
Do You Pay Taxes on Profits From Sequential Lay Betting
This is why matched betting is so great. It is absolutely tax free, as, despite the fact that it isn't actually gambling (since we guarantee a profit), it's actually categorised as gambling winnings, which are tax free.
The UK government will never see 1 penny of your matched betting profits.
From Sign-up Offers to Sequential Lay Betting and all of the other great ways to make money from bookmakers, absolutely none of it is taxable, making matched betting one of the best side hustles around right now.
You do not need to declare any winnings to HMRC since they stopped taxing gambling gains in 2002.
We can keep you updated if they ever do change this, but it is highly unlikely as it would be an unreasonable tax law, where it would be incredibly hard to differentiate between matched betting profits and real gambling profits.