How to Mug Bet
I’ve covered why you need to place Mug Bets in the Gubbing section. Here I’ll set out some Mug Betting Tips with ways to place Mug Bets and mix up your betting so that you’re acting like a typical Mug punter.
The other key thing to consider is how you’ll mix up placing Matched Bets and Mug Bets when you first open an account. Think about completing your initial Qualifying Bet and then placing a couple of Mug Bets before you move on to your Free Bets. It can be tempting to get cracking and bank the promotion profits but you want those promotions to keep coming for a long time yet!
I’ve seen one recommendation to adopt a 1:3 Ratio – for every free bet you’re credited by a bookie you should Mug Bet three times. It will take discipline but will pay off in the long run
Pick a Team
This is a common approach and one I think has a part to play but needs a bit of creativity. The idea is that you pick a team and then Back & Lay that team as much as possible across the bookies you use most. You’ll likely make a small loss but see that as your investment in keeping your access to the bookie promotions. My inclination would be to mix it up a little if possible by perhaps picking a couple of teams. Alternatively, at least make sure you aren’t obvious by just picking say Man City or Liverpool as they’ll usually have the lowest odds. Don’t be obvious by always backing and laying in the Match Win market, particularly when the win odds are very low (below 1.5). Consider mixing it up with the Correct Score market say for a 1-0 or 2-0 win for your ‘team’.
Accumulators (Accas)
These are bets on several results to all take place. It might be for several horses or football teams to all win, usually on the same day or within a weekend. You don’t need to place a big bet (£0.50 to £2 perhaps) and it’s your decision whether you decide to lay off the bet. I wouldn’t always place accas with the same number of selections, mixing it up a little is perfect Mug behaviour.
If you do decide to lay it off then you’ll need to plan your selections and be ready to invest a bit of time. My inclination would be to stick to a small stake and let it ride but if you are comfortable with the Acca Insurance offers then you might want to use a similar approach and lay the bet.
Track Winning and Losing Accounts and Act
While keeping records of your bets you should also keep track of whether you are winning or losing with each bookie. If you have a bookie that you’ve made profits from, then consider backing and laying some short priced favourites (horses, football matches etc) which is a great way of looking like a Mug Punter and often allows you to place your lay bet at very close odds to the back bet with the bookie. You might get ‘lucky’ and continue to make profits with the bookie they will be small amounts and not likely to cause the bookie to take any action. They’ll be expecting your run of successful Mug Bets on favourites to come to end pretty soon (after all that’s how they make most of their money from customers betting on ‘Sure Things’.
Casinos
You’ll often get emails from the bookies encouraging you to use their casino games. Consider whether it’s worth playing a few games from time to time at very low stakes (you can typically start at £0.01). For the sake of a few pennies or a couple of quid it can be time well spent but don’t get carried away and use this sparingly.
Stake consideration
If you place your Mug Bets at relatively low stakes compared to the stakes you are using for your Matched Bets then your account may be flagged. You aren’t expected to use the same stakes for every bet you place but try to keep your mug bets at similar stakes to your qualifying bet stakes.
When you bet on a refund reload offer from the bookie, consider sometimes placing the bet with a stake a little higher than the offer refund maximum. Say the refund is for stakes up to £25 then maybe use £30 from time to time. Equally, if the refund is up to £25 then consider sometimes only using a stake of £15 or £20.
Regardless of the type of bet you’re placing, you should stick to Betting Round Numbers (£2, £5, £10 etc). Placing bets for very precise amounts (£31.27…) will flag you as a potential ‘arber’ or a matched bettor and get you on the bookie’s watch list. Why? Well, imagine the recreational punter who has a bet based on hunches or a bit of ‘info’ they think they have. Are they likely to place a bet with a stake of anything other than round numbers (unless they bet their remaining account balance)???
Limit Deposits and Withdrawals into your Bookie Accounts
This isn’t Mug Betting as such but don’t keep moving money in and out of your accounts all the time. You should limit your deposits and withdrawals as it will upset the bookie in 2 ways: 1) you look like you’re a Matched Bettor needing to move your overall bank between lots of accounts and 2) it will likely cost the bookie is bank transaction charges so they won’t thank you for that!
Now you’ll probably say, surely I’ll need to top-up my account sometimes and make a deposit. Well yes, of course, but let’s say you made a withdrawal and cleared out your account 2 weeks earlier and now you’re back to make a deposit and the first thing you do is take up a Reload Offer. Reckon that will raise any suspicions with the bookie????
Mobile bets
When you are Matched Betting you will most likely be using a laptop or desktop so you can easily switch between your browser tabs showing bookie prices, the betting exchange and you’ll likely have a Matched Betting calculator open.
Mug Bettors won’t be as organised. They will get a hunch and decide to put a bet on using their mobile phone. Make sure you have mobile apps loaded for your bookmaker accounts and use the apps to place a mix of Matched and Mug bets.
Mug Betting Summary
Hopefully our Mug Betting Tips have been helpful. Keeping your bookie accounts open and restriction free is not an exact science. Do all you can to set yourself up as an apparent Mug Punter. Hopefully that dreaded email saying you’ve been gubbed can be kept at bay.
What is your experience? Are there accounts which you have had for a while and have made good profits from but you’ve managed to still keep them open and unrestricted? What tips do you have? We’d love to hear from you – please Contact Us
