We had a busy week and are facing a crazy weekend. There wasn't much time for a decent Betfair trade, but, like I promised the last time, today we'll talk about financial stakes when betting on tennis. Let's see where the traps are and how to use big odds in your favour. Last night we had a good experience on a game between Reister and Istomin. Of course - Istomin is the favourite in my eyes. I know his game, but Reister is playing at home and may be lifted up by the cheering crowds.

Here we go. Reister takes the first set. This is our chance to place a bet on Istomin. According to what you see, you have to decide how much you'll put on him. I chose 34€ @ 4.8.

In cases like this, where my favourite looses the first set, I place up to 5% of my bank, but it really depends on what you see. Istomin, like expected, took the second set and now it's time to place 34€ against him @ 1.98.

Reister isn't doing well and his odds are rising. Let's put some small bet on him @ 1.8 and 4.8. Now, I get +14€ if he wins, or +80€ if my favourite player wins. Well, he did! Thank you Denis! With that, I was about to close the trading day, but right now, a game between Jelena Jankovic and Yakimova begins. Yaki..who??? Of course, Jankovic is the favourite and takes the first set with 6-1.

Sometimes it pays off to bet at crazy odds and I chose to place 2€ on Yakimova @ 55. I had no hope to make money out of it, but if I made enough with Istomin, I might just risk those 2€. Hm... Jelena makes a funny move and hurts her ankle really bad. She is trying to stay in the game, but can hardly move. The odds for Yakimova are now falling.

In this case, I always place the absolute minimum on it (2€ - 4€). Crazy odds, a total underdog playing against the 1st seed.

I'm now able to sell the bet @ 3.25, securing a nice risk free profit. Thanks, Jelena! Sorry for your foot!

We all knew, if the game is to go to the third set, Jankovic won't make it. And that's what happened. She retired before the third set begun. It doesn't happen very often, but you need a bit of luck here and there. Don't bet each and every game on the underdog, but here and there you'll find a jewel. I felt sorry for Jankovic, she was a good player, had lots of pains, on the other side, she has seen it all. She was a number one and Yakimova just had her biggest success of her career. Justice is served.

Don't forget - place a minimum bet (max. 2-4€), if you are betting on odds of 30 or more. Of course, If you can afford, bet more :-)

There is a third approach to trading which if very quick. I cannot provide any visual demonstration, as I haven't done this in a long time, but it can be done. First of all - it's very risky! If you see a player who's constantly winning his own serve game, you can bet on him as soon as his game starts. If he wins his game, sell it at once. If you place, for instance 300€ @ 1.40, just wait for him to win his game and sell it. The odds will be falling. You may sell it at 1.30 or so and this gives you a +30€ free bet. Sometimes, I used this approach two or three times on one single game, making a hundred € or so. But, once again, be careful! If your guy looses his game, there is no way to get out of this without some significant damage. You can of course wait for your player to get back and re-break the opponent, but you are risking your entire stake!

Here you go - those were three approaches to betting on tennis. What to do if we have a favourite in the game - wait and hope that he looses the first set. After that - bet on him! Of course, it doesn't work always, but in the majority of cases - it does!

You can also bet on a total underdog who already lost the first set and use the crazy odds.

You can bet for a short amount of time on a player who serves and if you're sure he is constantly good on his game - it may be profitable. Don't do that in the second or the third set. The odds shift too much at that point of time and there is no way to rescue your skin if your player looses the game.

I strongly suggest using the first method.

You must always set a goal when trading. You may do that by percentage of your bank, for instance, your goal is to make 5% of the bank today, or something like that, or use the fixed amount. If your bank is 1000€, you may have a goal of 50€ per trading day. And that's also the max. amount to be spent on betting. If it goes against you, quit for the day. Once you reach 1.500€, raise your goal to 70€ or more... It's up to you, just be disciplined. It's also important to bet on the favourite at 2.0 or over, never below! In our case, if Istomin was available at 1.70, I certainly wouldn't bet on him.

Whatever you do - master your Betfair skills. Everything happens very quickly in tennis and we don't want you experiencing a loss with it. Let's make money together!

Good luck!