Better here or the bookies?

Well, it's all price relative isn't it?

If you're sharp enough and can actually get the bet on, I reckon Bookies are superior.

BSP is much greater than industry SP however and you aren't really limited when it comes to bet size.

As for purple, well you just have to work that out for yourself...

I'm genuinely surprised that regular bookies are still in business with regard to the better odds that you can find on Betfair for most markets. I guess the high street presence of regular bookmakers and ability to place bets with cash with no background checks still keeps them in business.

That and most punters aren't very sharp and probably have no idea how Betfair works.

Most punters dont want to make a profit. It would frighten them.

one of my friends uses a regular bookie website for his soccer bets, he's doing a simple martingale with four teams. I've told him about betfair and the better odds available and the fact that he's consistently a few % worse off each bet, but he doesn't seem to be bothered. Very frustrating indeed! It's not as if he isn't educated, he's a clever guy, but stubborn I guess.

i know theres mugs out there but does anyone know of sites that compare bookies prices with on here?

I think http://www.oddschecker.com/ covers both exchanges as well as the bookmakers.

The average punter has not got a clue about how to increase his chances let alone any understanding of price led betting. To them its all about finding the winner. Look at the success of the Racing Post App. This strips away the most important advantage the punter has, namely to shop around and get the best price and yet these lemmings have signed up in droves to an app that ties them into a single bookmaker. It also highlights just how far the RP will go in selling the punter down the line in exchange for a bit of personal profit. But lets all be grateful in a selfish way because we need these individual cash cows and in a perverse way the RP is doing us all a favour.

Olias, I am a bit surprised by the success of the RP app inasfar as it suggests that people tech-savvy enough to have a smartphone are not able to find the best price.

30% of the people downloading the Mountains app and betting over mobile are brand new accounts for them. Surely these people will gravitate onto the exchanges? Or perhaps not?

The RP's circulation is falling precipitately and it has to do with them positioning themselves exclusively as the read of the bookmaking industry, the bloodstock and training industry and the strictly fun punter. The paper is full of tips and prices, all of which (the latter) are fictitious. It's time to hold the RP to the prices they advertise to a limited takeout as part of the deal of buying the paper.