Lay The Draw Trading Strategies

Have you ever delved into the football betting universe? Even very briefly? It is almost certain you have heard of the old-age football trading strategy, “lay the draw.” This is one of the best-known and most popular football betting strategies of all time.

Lay the draw trading strategy first emerged in 1999. It rapidly took over the online betting world in the early 2000s and has only increased in popularity thanks to its straightforwardness.

It hurriedly came to fame after eagle-eyed sports gamblers noticed the high-pitched rise in the betting odds on the draw market whenever a goal was scored in a football game.

Betting exchange platforms made it possible for sports gamblers to blindly lay the draw in a game, and as soon as the goal was scored and conceded, punters were able to close out their bets for profits.

Are you a beginner to lay the draw strategy and want to know exactly how it works? Also, you do you want to learn how to place this kind of bet and increase your betting bankroll significantly, you are in the right place. Read further to discover more about this amazing betting market and strategy.

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How Does Laying The Draw Work?

The lay-the-draw strategy involves placing a lay bet on the draw in a football game. Once the favourite scores, the draw price will increase, and you can close the trade for a profit. Your trade will lose if the football game ends in a tie.

On a traditional betting platform, you can back several outcomes, including over/under 2.5 goals or a home win. However, a betting exchange allows you to take the opposite approach and place lay bets on football match results.

For instance, you can lay the home team win and then earn a profit if the game ends with your selection failing to win, such that the game ends away win or a tie. In the same way, with the lay-the-draw strategy, you’re looking for games that are not likely to end in a tie.

Your bet wins if you lay the draw on an exchange, and the final score turns out to be 0-2, 3-1, or 1-0—anything but a draw. Almost every sports punter starts with this strategy, which is straightforward to use and understand.

Lay the Draw Betting and Lay the Draw Trading: What’s the Difference?

There is a massive difference between trading and betting. Let’s start from there before learning how to profit with Lay The Draw trading strategies.

Lay the Draw Betting

Let’s say that Real Madrid is playing against Bayern, and you think the Champions League semifinal game will most likely end in favour of the home team.

lay-the-draw-trading-strategies

When you access the account of your traditional bookmaker, you’ll find many pre-game options to pick from, including home win, Real Madrid to win to nil, or to win by more than a single score. With this type of bet, Real Madrid needs to perform. Otherwise, you aren’t going to win your bet.

Another option you have is to log in to your betting exchange account. The match odds betting market will provide you with the same options to back Real Madrid to win, draw, or Bayern to win.

But you’ll also have the option to lay any of them. You could lay Bayern so that as soon as the game starts, you’re already winning your bet. However, an away victory would be a massive loss.

Alternatively, you could back Real Madrid exactly the same as on a traditional betting platform. But you still depend on its performance. Laying the draw is somewhere in between. Provided one of these teams gets a positive outcome, you’ll earn a profit. This is what back-and-lay betting means.

Lay the Draw Trading

Let’s continue with the example above (Real Madrid vs Bayern). If Real Madrid scores during the first half, the market prices change. The favourite is 1:0 up and more likely to win than when the score was 0:0. That means the home victory price dropped, and the away win soared. 

When this same logic applies to the draw, it is also less likely to occur than when the score was still 0:0, so the market price increased as well.

real-madrid

This movement in market price presents an opportunity to lock in some profit. Football lay-the-draw trading is wonderfully flexible. It provides numerous ways to earn a profit.

Recently, we covered the best football leagues for the Lay The Draw strategy; check it out!

Lay the Draw Exit Strategies

The most challenging part is finding an exit strategy that suits your personal attitude to risk or knowing when/how to exit at the right time. Some football traders may think this type of trading is straightforward. However, during a game, you need to make numerous decisions.

To earn a profit, you need to be sure you have a risk-reward ratio that you can preserve with your normal strike rate when exiting a trade. Theoretically, you might win 90% of your football trades.

However, if you’re losing all your earnings on the 10% of losing football trades, which means you have a negative risk-reward rate. You need to adjust the way you exit your trades. 

You may discover that your existing strategy prevents you from earning a profit rather than your selection method. If thoughtfully and wisely utilised, these lay the draw exist strategies can allow you to lock in some significant profits.

The Favourite Takes the Lead

Once the favourite takes the lead, you’ve several options to pick from. They include the following:

Instant cash out: When the favourite scores the first goal and takes the lead, you “green up” or “cash out” your earnings and complete the trade. The profit is usually between 35% and 45% return on your initial stake.
Wait for the second goal and then cash out: More and more football traders advocate staying in the trade and cashing out when the favourite scores the second goal. Remember, the favourite scores first and still dominates the game. Why not hold on? When this occurs, you’ll realise a much bigger odds swing, and profits of more than 80 per cent can be locked in. This is much better compared to the average 40 per cent profit you lock in after the first score.
Let it run: Some football traders just want to run and maximise the profits they wish to gain. If either side is winning the game, then you’re winning your trade; why exit out of it? Only exit out of the trade when you’re losing it while allowing the winning ones to run to their peak.

The Underdog Takes the Lead

If the underdog takes the lead, you can earn some profit if you:

Exit instantly: Exit the trade for a slight loss or, in some situations, a small profit. Keep in mind that the favourites can still score the next goal.
Lay the underdog: Lay the underdog when it scores first. The idea behind this is that if/when the favourite equalises, you’re actually in a better position to cash out. If you delay and the underdog wins, then you have messed up your winning trade if you placed a lay the draw. But you can lock in significant profits if you place back the favourite.
Let it run: Are you aggressive enough? Let your bet run when the underdog scores first. Remember, if either team is winning, then you’re in a winning position with your football trade.

No goal scored? Exit at a pre-defined exit point, which can be half-time, 60th minute, or 70th minute. This will significantly lower your losses. Alternatively, you can let it run till the final whistle.

If you’re laying the draw, you are doing so since you don’t believe the game will end in a tie. Why not stay in until the goal arrives? You are risking more funds, but you’re an excellent strike rate.

David Nugent

Football Betting Expert

David is a content creator with over 17 years of experience in I-gaming writing. The lifelong football fan started his journey in content creation by writing opinion pieces, but for the last decade, he has written betting previews for football games worldwide. In addition to writing content for numerous websites, he also produced content for an ..
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