[ParanoidAndroid]

I've been fascinated with implementations of exchanges, particularly with Matchbook. In many ways, the exchange presents an opportunity to play "legal" bookie since you can play both sides. Matchbook makes this abundantly clear with their "MarketMaker" feature. I've always dabbled with some items on Matchbook and I've even posted some questions here about it. My basic question has always been: can you make a significant amount of money playing both sides of events on Matchbook?

I've done some of the math on it and it would certainly vet out that you can make money. Giving -110 on both sides of a wager (and getting balanced action) should certainly result in positive cash flow. However, the practical side of this, like getting the action and setting the right numbers, is very important and there's really no other way to get that than to actually try it.

So, I've started an experiment on Matchbook with a modest sum of money. I will act like a bookmaker, keeping close tabs on my lines, adjusting as needed and managing my roll. Here's some groundrules I've set:
1 - Minimize exposure; no single wager will represent more than 5% of my BR
2 - Wager on the big sports - I figure that this is the best way to try to fill my orders. For now, I will mostly focus on baseball and football since those present the greater number of opportunities
3 - No better than 4 cents - On moneylines, I'm trying to keep my numbers spread out greater than 4 cents. I know that anything less than that and I'm getting into a region where the margins are too thin. I'm just not prepared for the fluctuations that something less than 4 cents would bring
4 - Lay off - the point here is to minimize exposure. I don't want to be up at all hours because I "need" a game - in fact, I don't want to watch any games. I will lay-off, most likely within Matchbook, to minimize my exposure and protect my bankroll

I'm starting this today (8/22) with a small sum and I hope to post my progress as it goes along. If this experiment shows promise, I am prepared to ramp-up my investment to a much larger amount. I'm starting with a small sum to get acclimated to the practical side of running this as a "business" and seeing if it is a viable experiment.