This bet started out as a patriotic venture.

"England Till I Die" etc etc...

So, I put a modest Lay bet on Wales to lose. Slightly optimistic but the liability was only £2.20 and at least I've got money in-play.

After 40 minutes the score was 9-8 and the odds for Wales to win had drifted out.

Given the way play was going, it seemed prudent to dump the bet and go for a Wales win.

This is my screen at 40 minutes:

I started trading on the Fa Cup matches around midday today. At first I was going to stick to my tried and tested "Lay the Draw" system, but after looking at the odds, I decided to go in-play before making any bets.

Each game produced early goals and I put a Lay bet on the team that scored. By pure luck each of the games produced equalisers and I was able to trade a perfect green position.

In some cases I might have been a bit timid, but by closing out the positions I was always going to make a profit regardless of outcomes.

This was probably one of my very best experiments.

Here's a summary screen:

£23.05 can now be added to my personal fortune (grins)

The experiment will continue with Watford v Chelsea although this one might cause problems...

Nope, went GREEN with 15 minutes to go at 0-0

I really thought this one was going to go tits-up, but a late goal saves my stake and leads to a GREEN screen and three FREE bets.

Close run thing. In-play trading is... risky and sometimes you have to be frisky!

Sure, I traded a few pence to get complete cover yet again. I feel no shame in this as my aim is to get to a position where I can ONLY win.

This one might be a problem...

I Layed Blackburn at low odds after they went 1-0 up expecting the odds to drift as the game went on. This has NOT happened. After 45 minutes the score is the same and the odds have not shifted.

Maybe this was one FA Cup bet to many?

Here's my screen:

Things might improve in the next half. Thankfully, my liability is low and my possible trade options could return a decent profit.

Time will tell (grin) if the cat gets it!!

Great GOAL....

The cat is safe and I go GREEN!

This was an easy pick after Sheffield went ahead 1-0 the odds tumbled and I placed a Lay on Sheffield, sucure in the belief that Hull would come back or as time went by the odds would drift, making a good trade position.

As it happens, just before halftime Hull scored and I closed my position with this screen:

The first of today's live FA Cup matches is still in-play. I've really lost confidence since yesterday's 2nd Test fiasco, which I eventually got my money back after Betfair declared it a void match.

This is reflected in the uncertain way I've traded this match.

Here's my screen with the score 1-1 after 68 minutes:

Three free bets with the draw more likely at this stage with just a 20 minutes to go.

Here's my final screen to cover the late goal:

Here's the trade experiment for tonight:

Nacional (Uru) v Uni San Martin two teams I've never heard of. Absolutely no form guide, in fact I don't even know which country the play in!

My liability is £5.60 but with a bit of luck and slow scoring, I could get an automatic trade in the green making the final either way profitable.

Of course, if Nacional take a 3-0 lead my bet is dead in the water.

This one is set to auto-pilot!

A most unlikely outcome... England to win!

I backed Spain to win. Then Layed them to lose and then took the odds for a full time draw or England win.

Resulting in this unlikely combination of bets:

Spain should stroll to victory, but you NEVER know when betting in-play at Betfair.

In the very unlikely event that England pull all thumbs and fingers out... my cup could be full.

Stranger things have happened.

At least I'm in the "green" and all bets are FREE

2-0 down 4 minutes to go... looks my England win bet is dead in the water and the team yet again go tits up.

Still, £2.76 with no risk is better than a poke in the eye with a Tapas Bar!

This Betfair experiment is closed.

I'll need the luck of the Irish to pull this one off...

I've put a Lay £25.00 on Ireland to LOSE at 1.39 giving me a liability of £9.75

A slow start will surely see the win odds drift out, then I can trade the Bet price and ensure "I'M IN THE GREEN"

That's tonight's football experiment..

Here's my Betfair screens:

Match Abandoned

Betfair have declared this match a VOID game and have refunded all bets.

>>> The trail of my bets leading up to the start of the 2nd Test can be seen below<<<

I placed a £15 Lay on the draw between Windies and England in the second test yesterday and got matched at 2's giving a liability of £15.

My thinking is:

If the match when in-play looks likely to end in a stalemate; my Lay bet wins £14.30

CORRECTION: IF IT'S A STALEMATE/DRAW AND I DON'T TRADE MY WAY OUT; I'LL LOSE £14.30

However, if one or the other of the teams while "in-play" takes a lead, the BET price for the draw will go out, leaving me in a strong trading position to close out in-the-green.

Here's my first Lay screen:

Here's the trigger waiting to be pulled:

So, if the odds for a draw drift out, I can make a perfect trade and at least recover all stakes, but more likely make a £10.17 profit. If I stay with the draw because the Lay odds stay the same or drift in my profit will be £14.30 (15 quid less the Betfair cut)

CORRECTION: IF IT'S A STALEMATE/DRAW AND I DON'T TRADE MY WAY OUT; I'LL LOSE £14.30

Thats the idea... subject to change when things go in-play!

The first test game nearly turned into a betting fiasco. Read the sorry tale of missed trading chances and a very lucky escape with pants intact.

Remember Lay bets at Betfair can lose you a lot of money and things can ALWAYS go wrong when least expected.

I'll update this post when the game is in play.