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Lay bet calculator
A lay bet is a bet that something won't happen. You act as the bookmaker: if the selection loses you win the backer's stake, and if it wins you pay out at the odds. This lay bet calculator shows your liability and both outcomes.
Stake or liability
Pick whether you want to start from the backer's stake or from the most you're willing to lose. Exchanges let you enter either. Odds are decimal, as shown on the exchange.
Commission is taken from your winnings only. If the selection wins and your lay loses, there's no commission to pay.
How lay betting works
At a betting exchange, every bet has two sides. A backer bets that a horse will win. A layer bets that it won't. When you lay at 4.0 for £10, you're offering those odds to someone else.
- If the horse loses, you win the backer's £10, less commission.
- If it wins, you pay the backer's profit: £10 times 3, which is £30. That's your liability.
Liability is the backer's stake times the odds minus one. The exchange holds it from your balance until the bet settles.
Liability at different odds
| Lay odds | Liability | Win if it loses | Chance it loses (implied) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | £5.00 | £9.80 | 33.3% |
| 2.0 | £10.00 | £9.80 | 50.0% |
| 3.0 | £20.00 | £9.80 | 66.7% |
| 4.0 | £30.00 | £9.80 | 75.0% |
| 6.0 | £50.00 | £9.80 | 83.3% |
| 11.0 | £100.00 | £9.80 | 90.9% |
| 21.0 | £200.00 | £9.80 | 95.2% |
Laying a long shot wins most of the time, but one winner costs you many times the stake. Laying a short price risks less but loses more often. Neither is free money. The exchange price already reflects how likely each outcome is.
Laying instead of backing
Laying a selection is the same as backing every other outcome at once. Laying a team at 3.0 covers both the draw and the other team. It can be a simpler way to bet against a favourite you don't trust.
Lay bets are also one half of every matched bet. The matched betting calculator works out the lay stake that balances a bookmaker bet.
Balance a bookmaker bet with a lay.Matched betting calculator →Related calculators
Matched betting calculatorFree bet calculatorOdds converter
Questions people ask
What is liability in a lay bet?
What you lose if the selection wins. It's the backer's stake times the lay odds minus one. A £10 lay at 5.0 has £40 liability.
Can I lay bet at a bookmaker?
Not normally. Lay bets are placed at a betting exchange, where other people take the back side.
Is laying the favourite a good strategy?
Only if the favourite's price is too short. Favourites lose often, but when they win, the payout wipes out several small wins. The exchange price is usually close to fair.