To back a bet
Someone offers 2.5 on team A to win over team B for a maximum of $500. You believe team B will win and you accept (or back) the bet. This is the same procedure as a bookie publishing the odds. You then usually just have to click on the link, enter your stake and wait. If you win then you will need to pay the betting exchange’s costs of normally around 5%.
If you didn’t want to bet $500 then you can just enter a lesser amount. Your bet, for say $100 is matched and it leaves $400 for others to match
To back a bet with a limit
Using the previous example, you wish to place a bet but with odds of 2.6 so you have to make a back order for 2.6 at $100. Someone then might appear with a lay order for 2.6 and the bet is matched. If they only stake $60 then the $40 remains for someone else.
To lay a bet
You believe team A will beat team B and are prepared to offer odds of 2.0 and the maximum you are willing to lose is $200, therefore the stake is $100. Now you just have to sit back and wait for someone to accept your offer. It’s advisable to monitor your lays otherwise they mightn’t be matched before the game. You should consider modifying the odds to make it more attractive if necessary. In this scenario you are becoming the bookmaker and hve to think about whether the modification is something you can afford.
To lay a bet with a limit
You see that someone is posting odds of 1.7 and $50 on team A and you’ve been thinking about this game and was going to lay a bet of 1.6 and $100. Therefore you can offer at 1.7 but maybe just $30 as you’re not willing to go higher with those odds. You are then able to lay at 1.6 and $70. This is the kind of dealing you can do which brings a bit more excitement to it than simply looking at what the bookie’s are offering and deciding to bet or not.