The matched betting checklist

Two lists. One before you start, one for every offer you ever do. Ticks are saved in your browser, so you can come back to this page tomorrow and pick up where you left off. You can also print it.

List one

Before you place your first bet

About half an hour of setup the first time. You only ever do this once, and doing it properly avoids locked funds and delays later.

BetMatch account created and FICA verified FICA documents ready: SA ID and a proof of address under three months old Float deposited into BetMatch, R250 minimum to start AiProfit account created, free plan is enough for your first offers First bookmaker account created and FICA verified before depositing Tracker open and ready, even if it is a plain spreadsheet Calculator bookmarked in your phone browser Rules agreed with yourself: no cash-out, full hedge every time, no slots on any account holding a bonus

Do FICA before you deposit, not after Every South African bookmaker requires identity verification before you can withdraw. Some verify in hours, some take days. If you deposit first, your money sits locked until verification clears. Upload the documents the day you register.

What you actually need on hand An SA ID or passport. A proof of address under three months old, either a utility bill or a bank statement. R300 of your own money. That is the whole shopping list.

List two

Every offer, every time

This is the list that has saved me the most money. Run it before the deposit, not after you have committed. It takes about four minutes and catches nearly everything that can go wrong.

Read the eight terms lines before the deposit, not after Price the rollover with the calculator so you know the cost before you commit Check that the deposit is not bound to the bonus Check BetMatch liquidity can absorb your lay before you place the back bet Confirm the bonus switch or promo code is applied at the deposit screen Place the lay side first when liquidity is thin Screenshot both bet slips Save the pair to your tracker Run the cash-check when the offer closes: cash in, cash out, exchange profit and loss

The eight lines to find in any terms page

1. What the wagering applies to	Bonus, deposit, or both
2. The multiplier	The "5x" figure
3. Minimum odds per bet	Higher means wider spreads
4. The time window	48 hours or 30 days
5. Maximum stake while the bonus is active	Caps can break your plan
6. Which bets count	Singles only is common
7. What forfeits the bonus	Withdrawal, cash-out, voids
8. Casino weighting	Casino can count as a fraction

Two lines that make me walk away immediately If the wagering applies to the total balance, the deposit is bound and you can lose your own money. And if the minimum odds are unusually high, for example 2.50 or 3.00, the spreads widen enough to eat most of the bonus. Read the bound-deposit lesson here.

The habit that keeps your records honest

The three-line cash-check

Run this at the close of every offer. It caught two of my own accounting errors, and both of them would have quietly distorted every number I publish.

1. Cash in

Every deposit you made into this offer, at the bookmaker and into the exchange for its lays. Add them up.

2. Cash out

What you withdrew plus what is still sitting in the bookmaker balance. Include pending amounts.

3. Exchange profit and loss

What the exchange made or lost on this offer's lays, after commission. This is where the profit usually actually appears.

If the three lines do not reconcile, stop Do not move on to the next offer and hope. The gap is almost always a bet you forgot to log, a commission you did not account for, or a balance you thought you had withdrawn. Every reconciliation problem I have had was one of those three. Finding it takes ten minutes. Not finding it costs you the accuracy of your whole record.

Reference

The offer types, at a glance

The four structures you will meet, what each one pays, and what to watch for in each.

Offer type	How it pays	Typical extraction	What to watch for
Free bet, SNR	Stake not returned on a win	77% to 83%	Place it at 5.0 odds or above. At 3.0 you lose about 15% of the value.
Cash bonus with rollover	Bonus unlocks after a wagering total	Varies with the multiplier	Price the rollover before depositing. High minimum odds widens every spread.
Stake returned, SR	Stake comes back even on a loss	Near full value	The best mechanism available. Rare. Treat it as cash and lay it normally.
Cash drop	Fixed amount per chunk of settled wagering	Depends on the drop size	Only settled bets count. Withdrawing forfeits unearned drops. Size bets to the drop.
Bound deposit	Everything locked to the wagering	Avoid unless you can finish it	You can lose your own deposit. Check what the wagering applies to before you commit.

Have someone check your first offer against this list

Bring the checklist and your offer to a live session. We will go through it line by line with you before you deposit anything. That is the cheapest form of insurance in this whole process.

Save my seat for the live session Free AiProfit account

Free. Bring your terms, even if it is a screenshot on your phone.