This might be helpful if you’ve just started using Bonus Bagging.

I was completely new to betting before I tried this (as in had never placed a bet online in my life) and thought writing this little guide might help new starters. On the whole I found it very straightforward but when I first started out there were a couple of points where I was a bit “Oh what’s this?”

Mike was always quick to answer and put my mind at rest so I never had any problems, but anyway here’s what I learnt, might save you worrying if you’re new to this like I was.

1. Missing a bet 

If you request a Bonus Bagging bet and then completely forget to check your email (I did this the first time) and miss it – don’t worry. There’s a link on the email where you can request a new one.

2. Different Odds to those shown on the email?

If you find the odds for a bet are different in the email that Mike sends to those on the betting website when you come to place the bet, Mike provides a link in the email so that you can request a new calculation based on the new odds. I completely panicked the first time this happened but actually it’s really simple and not scary. It’s a calculator where you put in the new numbers and it takes about 10 seconds. This will prevent you from losing any money.

3. Getting the money from your free bonuses credited

Some are instant, some take 30 minutes. Depending on the bookmaker you sometimes have to wait 24 hours for your free bet to be credited to your account! So far they’ve always come through eventually and I haven’t had a problem with any of them.

4. What to do if you don’t want to deposit a lump sum to claim a bonus

On one occasion in order to claim the bonuses from one of the bookmakers I needed to make £200 of bets. Mike said I could do this in one go and I had the money to do so from all my previous profits but I chose to do it in 4 small bets of £50. Maybe I’m overly cautious but this worked and I still made the full amount (whether you want to do this in one go or separate them out let Mike know and he’ll send you right risk-free bet combinations for either path).

5. Bets that make a loss on purpose

Sometimes Mike shows you how to place a qualifying bet that makes a small loss. Don’t panic! Once the qualifying bet has been settled you then place the free bet (also known as follow up bet) which make a guaranteed profit whatever the outcome.

6. Why are some bets decimals and others fractions?

When Mike quotes Betfair odds he says them as decimals as that’s how they appear on the website (e.g. 3.5). He also quotes bookmaker odds as decimals but usually they’ll appear on the site as fractions. I like to check that the odds match the website so always do a quick calculation.

Basically if you want to know what a fraction odd is as a decimal just tap it into a calculator as if it was a sum and +1. So for example if the odds are 5/2 you would tap into the calculator “5 divided by 2 + 1”. So that answer to that one would be 3.5.

7. Can I bet from abroad?

Yes and no. Here’s the deal on how effectively it works for different regions:

Excellent: UK, Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand
Very Good: Austria, Sweden, Germany, Greece
Not Available: Rest of the world*

* there’s a potential workaround here if you’re not residing in an eligible country BUT you able to set up a UK Betfair account AND a VPN (Virtual Private Network). I’ve had reports from readers who have successfully used Bonus Bagging in this way from countries that wouldn’t otherwise be eligible. However I have not tried this myself and therefore cannot endorse or offer advice on this method, so you do this at your own risk!

8. Avoid using Skrill (formerly Moneybookers)

Thanks to Richard for this tip. Apparently using Skrill can invalidate some bonuses.

That’s it!

You’ll probably will breeze through and might not need to know any of this, but just in case I thought I’d post it up here. I hope this helps!

New members can get a risk free trial on Bonus Bagging here:

Bonus Bagging