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We\u2019ve all been there: we\u2019ve had a great idea for a bet on a specific football match, gone to our favourite betting app or website and been left disappointed by a lack of action on the part of the bookies.<\/p>\n
We might have a feeling that Liverpool will win a game, with Mo Salah bagging a brace, and for there to be stacks of corners; or we might fancy Kevin de Bruyne to score from outside the box in a game full of yellow cards.<\/p>\n
Whatever your angle, it\u2019s always a kick to the nethers when the bookies don\u2019t have a price \u2018off the shelf\u2019 for you to back. Mind you, huge strides have been made on that front by the rise in popularity of so-called bet requests.<\/p>\n
These, quite simply, allow you to request specific selections to be rolled into one multiple bet, helping you to take on the bookies when you have found a worthy angle to pursue. You might even see your bet rolled out for other punters to take up.<\/p>\n
Each bookmaker will have their own name for this process and also their own methods for you to get involved, and this guide will take you through the myriad ways you can request your bets.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll also look at any advantages of doing so, and we answer the burning question – do they represent sound betting value?<\/p>\n
The only limit to requesting a bet is your imagination.<\/p>\n
If we take the example of football, which makes up 99.9% of bet requests, then think about all of the possibilities:<\/p>\n
And so on.<\/p>\n
You can also request bets relating to outright markets too. So you might ask for \u2018Manchester City to win the Premier League, Fulham to be relegated and Leicester to finish inside the top half\u2019, or \u2018No English team to reach the Champions League final\u2019.<\/p>\n
Like we say, it is up to you and your imagination when requesting a bet.<\/p>\n
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The most popular method is via Twitter, using the appropriate hashtag for each bookie (we\u2019ve listed a few of these in the section below).<\/p>\n
The process is as simple as 1, 2, 3:<\/p>\n
1) Send a Tweet with your requested selections included, e.g. \u2018No English team to reach the Champions League final #YourOdds @WilliamHill\u2019.<\/p>\n
2) Wait for them to reply as their traders see if they can price up your request.<\/p>\n
3) If they can, you will be sent a link to add the request directly to your betslip, or at least pointed in the right direction to find your bet on their website\/app.<\/p>\n
If your idea for a request a bet is a bit more formulaic or you are running out of time before a match starts, then you can always try the Bet Builder<\/strong> options that are available with certain firms.<\/p>\n These are ready-made bet request tools where you select from a number of options, add them to your betslip (usually a maximum of six legs), and your odds are automatically generated.<\/p>\n This is a quicker and easier way to build your own bets without relying on social media responses, although it must be noted that the available options are typically fewer than with open-ended bet requests.<\/p>\n In truth, most are offering a similar \u2018product\u2019, although some firms do stand out over others for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n At William Hill<\/strong>, there is a strong emphasis on Twitter-led requests via the #YourOdds hashtag. But you can ask for odds on horse racing requests as well as football, and there is a section of their website\/app dedicated to #YourOdds picks from other like-minded punters.<\/p>\n With Ladbrokes\u2019<\/strong> #GetAPrice vehicle you can ask for prices on a wide variety of football competitions, including the Championship, La Liga, and Serie A. You can also combine a comprehensive range of match and player props for the ultimate in bet requestery.<\/p>\n And we really like the fact that with Betfred\u2019s<\/strong> #PickYourPunt feature, you can make requests up to 30 minutes before kick off. That means you can take advantage of accurate team news in your bet requests.<\/p>\n There are lots more options for punters of course, including Coral\u2019s #YourCall, Paddy Power\u2019s ingeniously-titled #AskPaddyPower and 888sport\u2019s #MarketMaker, amongst many others.<\/p>\n There are critics of the request a bet phenomenon, and later in this guide we will raise the issue of betting value to determine the worth, or otherwise, of bet requests.<\/p>\n Mind you, it would be remiss of us not to discuss the numerous advantages as well.<\/p>\n You can request the selections you want, when you want, prior to hitting that place bet button. There are few feelings as satisfying as landing a successful request-a-bet, and as long as you follow some basic pointers (more on those later) then you stand every chance of doing exactly that.<\/p>\n No longer are you at the mercy of the bookies and their often unbackable odds; now you can combine selections in order to place bets you truly believe in.<\/p>\n For example, you may follow a lower league football side in England home and away, and as such you have built up your own dossier of knowledge about all of the teams and players involved.<\/p>\n Maybe you are a fan of a slightly niche sport such as darts or volleyball, and you believe you can make your enhanced level of insight count.<\/p>\n These are just a couple of examples of how you can use your knowledge and request bets catered to that.<\/p>\n Nope, and it\u2019s good practice to put bet requests through to as many different firms as possible.<\/p>\n The chances are that you will get a variety of different odds supplied on your selections, which enables you to back the best and make the most of your bet.<\/p>\n Think of it like shopping around for the best price on a specific TV set, for instance.<\/p>\n In sports betting, many selections cannot be combined due to related contingency, which is where one of the picks has an impact upon the other.<\/p>\n For example, you wouldn\u2019t be able to place a double of a 3-0 correct score and Over 2.5 Goals, because clearly they are related to one another.<\/p>\n There are certain markets already that counteract related contingencies, such as wincasts, scorecasts, and the Match Winner & BTTS markets, but bet requests actually take this to the next level by circumnavigating the bookies\u2019 usual rules.<\/p>\n Remember, you can request pretty much anything with your bets, and while you may not always be supplied with a price if the contingencies are too closely related, you are far more likely to be able to bend these rules with bet requests.<\/p>\n The main detractors of bet requests will tell you that the prices you are offered rarely reflect the actual probability of your selections occurring concurrently.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an element of truth to that. Remember, every time the bookies set odds they build a certain amount of risk mitigation into the price so that they aren\u2019t too badly out of pocket should a certain in-game event take place.<\/p>\n Now, consider that over-round, as it\u2019s known, on bets with three or more selections. The bookies\u2019 financial risk increases, and so by virtue does their shortening of the true odds.<\/p>\n As such, we recognise that bet requests are some of the most badly-priced betting options on the market.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the black-and-white, slightly close-minded view of the concept.<\/p>\n But the more positive take is that, often, bet requests are the only way to get a price on something. Here\u2019s an example: In November 2018, Leicester City were beset by tragedy when the club\u2019s popular owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, sadly died in a helicopter crash.<\/p>\n The Foxes played Cardiff less than a week later and a few things were almost a given; Leicester would win the match and any of their players that scored would likely remove their shirt after netting to reveal a message of affection for Vichai.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what happened when Demarai Gray obliged for the East Midlands club.<\/p>\n Now, \u2018traditional\u2019 punters would not have been able to combine those theories into one bet, giving request-a-bet fanatics a clear edge.<\/p>\n Value is about perception, and also in knowing that a price \u2013 no matter how much it has been squeezed \u2013 is often better than no price at all.<\/p>\n To coincide with the World Cup in the summer of 2018, BetVictor ran a competition called The Million Pound Bet, where punters were tasked with coming up with the best winning request-a-bet.<\/p>\n The winner bagged a million as the name suggests, but its worth noting that even beyond the mechanics of the contest he or she still would have landed a cool 17,000\/1 winning wager.<\/p>\n Here are their selections, which related to the Portugal vs Uruguay match in the last 16:<\/p>\n Firstly, we can reflect on the individual\u2019s selections and see that they have clearly done their homework<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They have recognised that Uruguay was the likely winner, but that the South Americans were not a side who won many corners, in stark contrast to Portugal. The punter also researched Uruguay\u2019s fair play record, and perhaps a lenient referee, to come up with the \u2018no card\u2019 pick.<\/p>\n The key strategy relating to bet requests is to ensure all selections are complimentary<\/strong>. Ahead of the Uruguay vs Portugal match, the punter clearly had a concept of how the match would pan out, and bet accordingly.<\/p>\n Was there luck involved? Absolutely, getting the correct score and the exact number of corners for both teams was a minor miracle. But at the same time, the notion of doing your research and requesting selections based on the stats clearly came home to roost for this fortuitous individual.<\/p>\n The final bit of advice, which refers to all aspects of betting, is to have fun<\/strong>. There are just a handful of professional sports gamblers on the planet, which reflects how difficult it is to make a living from your selections. There’s no pressure to try and be one of them.<\/p>\n As such, requesting a bet should be considered a fun exercise to enhance your enjoyment of a particular sporting event. If the wager also happens to land, happy days!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019ve all been there: we\u2019ve had a great idea for a bet on a specific football match, gone to our favourite betting app or website and been left disappointed by a lack of action on the part of the bookies. We might have a feeling that Liverpool will win a game, with Mo Salah bagging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":69,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-369","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1037,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/369\/revisions\/1037"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Does Each Bookie Offer?<\/h2>\n
![\"Bet](\"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pick-your-punt-400px.jpg)
The Advantages of Requesting a Bet<\/h2>\n
Take Back Control<\/strong><\/h3>\n
This is the main benefit of requesting a bet.<\/p>\n
Make Your Knowledge Count<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Knowledge\"](\"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/bigstock-Andrey-Tokarchuk-knowledge-400px-150x150.jpg)
Playing the Field<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Compare](\"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/bigstock-FishCoolish-compare-prices-400px-150x150.jpg)
Overcoming Related Contingencies<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Okay, so things are about to take a complex, technical turn, but stick with us.<\/p>\n
A Question of Value<\/h2>\n
![\"Value](\"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/bigstock-ilixe48-value-765px.jpg)
A Perfect Example of Request a Bet<\/h2>\n
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Request a Bet Tips<\/h2>\n
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