Matched Betting Terminology Cheat Sheet
It won't take you long once you start learning matched betting to realise there are a lot of new terms that don't crop up in everyday life. This thread is solely to give a couple of lines explaining what each term means. If that are any I have missed you would like explaining please comment below!
Qualifier Bet
This is the bet you must place in order to qualify for the free bet. It is what can be seen as the amount that is required to be 'risked' before the bookie will credit the free bet. After all, you get nothing for free!
ps. Keep an eye on the minimum odds for these, they are normally around 1.5 so make sure your bet is over this or you wont qualify for the free bet and it is an offer wasted!
Free Bet
Pretty self explanatory, once the qualifier bet has settled you will then be credited the free bet. This is where the profit is made!
In the example below, Bet £10 is your Qualifier Bet, Get £30 is your Free Bet

Back Bet
This is the bet you place at the bookmaker side. It's the bet you back to win. You can place back bets on a betting exchange but with matched betting there is no need to. Back bets are purely for the bookie side.
Lay Bet
The lay bet, also known as the AGAINST bet is always placed at a betting exchange. The lay bet is always betting against a result happening. This is vital for matched betting!
For example, at a very basic level, I could do matched betting on a horse race.
- I would place my Back Bet on Faugheen to win the race.
- I would place my Lay Bet on Faugheen to not win the race.
I now have all outcomes covered and can cash in!
Still reading? Awesome! You're pretty much done.