Make no mistake - the arrival of Betfair, Betdaq and Sporting Options has given bettors a higher chance of staying ahead of the game than ever before. However, they're not always the punting promised-land they claim to be. In fact, according to some of the leading figures in the betting industry, the comfort zone of exchange betting with one company is the reason many of us fail to make a profit each season.

It's no surprise that many people find them the only way to play. When you can take advantage of a huge range of markets, unparalleled opportunities to bet in-running and manage your betting bank in one place, it's easy to see why betting almost exclusively on a site such as Betfair can become a way of life. However, truly profitable punters should be looking to exploit every available betting platform if they are to achieve maximum profits - and the one area in particular where punters can look to increase their profitability is through taking advantage of the fixed-odds, early-price markets.

Exchange your blinkers
As one professional punter (who preferred to remain nameless), told us: 'Whatever your betting medium, with so many bookmakers now pricing up on the biggest events, all with different opinions on the likely outcome, there's often fantastic value for those prepared to shop around. With often significant divergence in prices available from one bookmaker to another, there's really no excuse not to have multiple accounts.

'For me, ruthlessly seeking the best price available is as much a part of my daily routine as finding winners - and you have to use a mix of exchanges and fixed odds to achieve that.'

The exchanges claim their odds are often 20% better, but, significantly, that comparison is with starting prices or the final price available. So while many punters are delighted to get 5/4 about an 11/10 shot on the exchanges near the off, you can secure even better odds by taking the best price available early in the morning.

It's a point not lost on Tony Plaskow, the chief executive, and co-founder of odds comparison website easyodds.com. Plaskow believes that while exchanges will almost always offer better value in a mature market, they seldom do so when events are first priced up.

'Every day, early odds are offered on most of the sporting events taking place in this country by more than a dozen different off-course bookmakers - their prices are there for all to see on odds-comparison websites such as ours. While there will often be a distinct difference of opinion, those odds are set by individuals who do nothing other than work to ensure they get their firm's prices right - and, believe me, it's a full-time job that requires great expertise.

'With the advent of the exchanges, more and more people can take on that role of odds-maker. But how do exchange layers decide the odds they offer, given that very few people have the know-how to accurately assess the right price at which to lay?'

Don't leave it too late
Layers obviously want their bets matched at the lowest odds possible. They know that to achieve this they must equal the best odds available with traditional bookmakers. As such, it makes sense from their point of view to put up prices equivalent to or slightly over the best fixed-odds price available.

That would be fine if there was unlimited exchange liquidity, but that's often far from the case. Not everyone can get the amount they want at the odds available on the exchanges, and many are forced to leave unmatched requests for the price they require.

That's fine for as long as the best price available with the bookmakers lasts. However, the truth is that any standout price on offer with an individual bookie will inevitably see business - and exclusive weight of money for a horse, player or team in a fixed-odds book will almost always lead to that price being cut. Once that has happened, there's almost always a domino effect on the exchange prices, as clued up layers following the market reduce their own prices accordingly.

Plaskow continues: 'That's bad news for the punters waiting for the exchanges to match their bets. The early, fixed-odds price is gone; the exchange price has shrunk; and the only choice left to them is to accept reduced odds, when all they had to do to get the price they wanted was to use an odds omparison site and take the initial price.'

Take your blinkers off
Plaskow is convinced that punters have to be ready to hunt around for the right price. He continued: 'The truly profitable punter should be looking to take advantage of value wherever he sees it, whether it's on the exchanges or fixed odds. I believe ease of access and the comfort zone of one-stop betting makes it all too easy for punters to rely only on exchanges, when better value is often staring them in the face had they simply taken the trouble to look elsewhere.'

It's a point taken up by Paddy Power Jnr, communications director of Irish-based bookmakers Paddy Power. Power said: 'I'm a big fan of the exchanges - I think anything that shakes up the established order and gives fixed-odds bookmakers something to think about has to be good for the game. In my view, though, punters who only bet on exchanges are committing betting suicide. Obviously, we monitor the odds on sites such as Betfair, and every day it staggers me that people are prepared to take prices on the exchanges with a commission deduction when exactly the same odds are available with us. That 3 or 4% paid in commission would be the difference between a profit and a loss at the end of the season for many punters.'

While the exchanges offer fantastic value for punters, if you really want to be profitable, you have to look around for the best prices. Yes, it takes a bit of extra effort; maybe it will double the amount of time it takes to get your bets on. However, when even the pros only expect to make around 10% profit on turnover, making sure you secure the best price is the difference between a profit and a loss over the course of the year.

WHERE TO COMPARE ODDS
For all the latest odds on exchanges and fixed-odds sites, visit www.inside-edge-mag.co.uk and check out our odds comparison service.