Football Trading Basics: the Ladder and Scalping
How to read a betting exchange trading ladder, what ticks are, and how a simple scalp works, from backing and laying to greening up, commission and stop losses.
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About this video: Football Trading Basics
Football Trading Basics explains how prices move on a betting exchange, and how traders try to profit from those moves rather than from the result.
First, the video shows the trading ladder. It lists every price in the market, with money waiting to back on one side and money waiting to lay on the other, and the current price sits where they meet. Prices move in ticks: between 2 and 3, each tick is 0.02, so the next price after 2.10 is 2.12.
Next, it works through a simple scalp. You back a team for £100 at 2.10, the price shortens two ticks to 2.06, and you lay at the lower price. A lay stake of £101.94 greens up the trade, so you make about £1.94 whatever happens. However, 5% commission on net winnings turns that into about £1.84.
Finally, it covers the risks. Decide your exit before you trade, for example closing out if the price drifts three ticks against you. Also, stick to busy markets so your bets get matched, and remember that in-play bets have a short delay before they’re accepted.
However, rules and offers change. For that reason, we check every video against the Gambling Commission and other official sources. In fact, we last checked this one on 13 October 2026.
Read the transcript
Football trading is about prices, not results. Here’s how to read the trading ladder, and how a simple scalp works.
On a betting exchange, the trading ladder shows every price in a market from top to bottom. On one side is money waiting to back, and on the other, money waiting to lay. The current price sits where the two meet.
Prices move in small steps called ticks. Between 2 and 3, each tick is 0.02, so the price after 2.10 is 2.12. Shorter prices move in even smaller ticks.
Scalping means taking small profits from small price moves. For example, you back a team for £100 at 2.10. Then the price shortens two ticks, to 2.06.
Now you lay at the lower price, and green up. A lay stake of £101.94 means you win the same whatever happens: about £1.94 on either result.
However, the exchange takes commission on your net winnings in each market, often 5%. That turns £1.94 into about £1.84, so scalps only work with low commission.
Prices don’t always go your way. So decide your exit before you trade. If the price drifts, say, three ticks against you, close out for a small loss, rather than hoping it comes back.
Finally, trade busy markets with plenty of money waiting, so your bets get matched. And remember, in-play bets have a short delay before they’re accepted, so the price can move first.
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