The 'Lay at the Start' Multi-Matcher
The Lay at the Start approach is one of three ways to approach multi promos that offer a refund if one leg fails. It sits between No Lay (highest EV, highest variance) and Sequential Laying (lowest variance, lowest EV) in terms of risk and return.
How it works
Instead of waiting for each leg to settle before laying the next (sequential laying), you lay all legs of the multi at the start, treating each leg as if it were an individual bet. You calculate the lay stake for each leg using the standard back/lay calculator and place all lays before any games begin.
This approach is faster than sequential laying and has significantly higher EV, because you avoid the compounding Betfair commission costs that accumulate with sequential lays. The trade-off is some residual risk, since you are not adjusting your position after each result.
The Lay at the Start Multi-Matcher
The Lay at the Start Multi-Matcher takes care of the calculations for you. Enter the bookmaker, sport, stake, bonus amount, and retention rate and the tool will identify eligible events, suggest the best selections, and show you the potential profit or loss for every combination of outcomes.
Reading the results
The outcomes are displayed as a combination of W (win) and L (lose) in the order your selections appear. For example, WWWL means the first three selections won and the last one lost.
The best case scenario with Lay at the Start is typically when all legs lose. In that situation you win all four Betfair lay bets but only lose one bet at the bookmaker. The worst case is usually when exactly one leg loses at low odds, since the promo triggers but the Betfair return is limited.
Selection strategy
Lay at the Start multis have the highest EV when you choose selections at low odds, provided they are above the minimum odds required for the promo. Higher odds selections increase the chance of a jackpot result if all legs lose, but also substantially increase your potential losses on most other outcomes.
A video walkthrough is available below: