Lay to Lose is a new to market product from well known bettor, Mike Cruickshank. He claims that his newest product is able to allow people to make a profit from racing, even if your accounts are extremely limited.
Introduction to Lay to Lose
I’ll be really frank here. I think that what Mike Cruickshank is, by and large, incredibly good at what he does. If there is a loophole that exists or there is a way to squeeze out extra value from betting accounts, he seems to be there and nailing it down. All of this means that when something new lands on your desk from him, it is hard to not pay attention. Especially when this new product seems to address one of the biggest criticisms that I have with some of his flagship services. Namely that they almost inevitably end up throttling your betting accounts.
Now, this isn’t a problem that has never been addressed before. In actual fact, I think that Mike Cruickshank has put out a number of products that address this kind of thing in a variety of different ways. But Lay to Lose is the first product that, to my mind, is outright aimed at those who may have found their accounts restricted. And if you are in this position, then you could well be looking at a new lifeline for squeezing out a little bit more income from your betting. Let’s be honest, that is always welcome.
And then we factor in the fact that, in theory, you are guaranteeing yourself a profit… Well, it all starts to look incredibly good. So, you might think, this is one that is definitely to be recommended, right? Well, rather interestingly, I’m not entirely convinced. Now, I don’t think that Mike Cruickshank has put out something bad in Lay to Lose. Pretty bloody far from it, if I’m honest. But nor is this the straight forward look at his services that you usually get. Because in terms of what it is doing, there is some competition (albeit in slightly differing fields).
What Does Lay to Lose Offer?
There is a fair old amount that actually comes into play when you are dealing with Lay to Lose. And that makes it rather difficult for me to know where to start. Not least of which is because, to get the ball rolling, there are 3 separate strategies that you can utilise. Each of which is designed to be used with certain bookmakers.
Now, before I get into what you are getting (as it were), I want to talk a little bit about what kind of expectations you should be setting for yourself if you are considering Lay to Lose. First things first, whilst this isn’t necessarily a difficult approach to betting to follow, it is a long way from hands off. Actually, following the service does require some work on your behalf.
With that said, the volume of bets available does offset this a little. For some context, Mike Cruickshank says that he found 132 races that could have been bet on in the last month. Depending on the strategies you are using, not all of these will be available to you. But even if you were following every single example, you’re still looking at around 4-5 bets per day on average. That makes Lay to Lose manageable enough.
So, what are you actually getting for your money? As is the case with almost all other products released by Mike Cruickshank, the short answer is quite a lot. But once again, I have to reiterate that if you are looking to use Lay to Lose, you really do have to put in some time following along with training (I’ll talk about this shortly) and learning the different systems before you get started.
When you sign up, there are a few things that you should probably be looking at first and foremost. These include a quick start guide, which provides you with an overview of what Lay to Lose entails and how to do it. In theory, you should be able to “get started right away” according to Mike Cruickshank. Personally, I am a bit less convinced of this. Because this really isn’t that straightforward.
Helping with this however is a comprehensive set of training videos. These are presented in an “over the shoulder” style and, as you would expect given Mike Cruickshank’s past and experience with betting products, are of an excellent standard. Here, he talks you through the three different strategies, showing real world examples of bets working (and not working to be fair to him), how they are found, placed etc.
All of this is well and good, however, the real advantages that come with Lay to Lose are things that “automate” the experience a little bit. First things first, Mike Cruickshank provides a daily list of races that qualify for the Lay to Lose system. I can tell you here and now that this can save you a lot of time during the day, as the nature of the product means that not all races or bookmakers are going to have the bet types that you need available.
Secondly, there is an “odds cheat sheet”. The nature of Lay to Lose means that getting the right stakes in place is crucial if you want to make this work for you. And if you’re getting stakes wrong, then you potentially run the risk of losing out quite a lot. As such, this quick guide allows you to compare the odds and stakes, and easily know what you are doing next.
By far and away the highlight of Lay to Lose though is the Lay to Lose software. Mike Cruickshank says that this has been built specifically for one of the strategies (which he says is possibly the most profitable one). This allows you to find a list of suitable bets with just a click of your mouse. And honestly, that genuinely is about all that is required.
It is worth noting that whilst we’re on the topic of the software, it very much delivers what it says on the tin. There is little complication here and it is something that you should be able to use easily enough.
Whilst not necessarily a massive thing, I can say with confidence that some betting software is just a hot mess. And as such, I only think that it’s reasonable that Mike Cruickshank be credited on the user friendliness of Lay to Lose. Especially because there are enough complicated elements elsewhere in the system.
How Does Lay to Lose Work?
If I were to really break Lay to Lose down into how it works, using just one word, that word would be arbitrage. And I think that it is very important to keep that at the heart of everything when we are talking about this. Because whilst Mike Cruickshank has found some very impressive and clever ways of squeezing the most possible profit out of your betting accounts, there is always risk involved with arbing.
Now, I don’t believe in giving things away for free. I’ve always been upfront about this. But I do want to talk a little bit about Lay to Lose using some terms that Mike Cruickshank has used before. You see, the whole thing is based around taking advantage of something bookies offer called a “Lay to Lose Guarantee”.
This effectively creates a bet whereby a bookmaker will allow you to bet up to a certain amount of potential profit. These bets are generally very restricted but do allow gubbed accounts to place bets. What you are doing with Lay to Lose is looking at those bets and comparing the odds to those available to lay on a betting exchange. If there is an opportunity, you can lay a bet either to guarantee a small profit or take on a small amount of risk to produce more profit.
Of course, this means watching the odds that are available and comparing them to an exchange. A time consuming affair. It also means having to have your bets “loaded” and ready to be placed ASAP, because you can sometimes have narrow windows to do this.
However, using the software and the daily list of bets that Mike Cruickshank sends out does offer some help. At the very least, it means that you aren’t just sat at your computer all day, every day, waiting for a betting opportunity. Furthermore, knowing in advance what bets you are looking at can help you have everything ready to “pounce” and get that bet in.
What is the Initial Investment?
If you want to sign up to Lay to Lose, there is only one option that is available. This is a one time cost of £99 plus VAT. Honestly, that is quite a lot of money to ask, however, I do think that it’s noteworthy that this is about the standard cost for all services that Mike Cruickshank puts out. So, in the grand scheme of things, it isn’t really that bad.
Adding to this value is the fact that Lay to Lose is just a one time cost. Unlike some of Mike Cruickshank’s other products which have had additional payments for a license to the software, you get access to this for life (as of the time of writing). This does add a significant element of value if you are considering it.
What is the Rate of Return?
So, how much can you expect to make here? The honest short answer is… Potentially not all that much. But also, possibly quite a lot. The number that Mike Cruickshank repeats in terms of income potential is between £10 and £12 profit per race. Using 132 races last month as a jumping off point and a median average of £11 profit per bet, that would put you at £1,452 profit. But that that is a bit of an extreme.
The fact of the matter is that the £10 – £12 profit also means some quite significant stakes and potential liabilities. Now, for some people, that isn’t going to be a massive problem. But for a lot, it may well be. And it is also worth noting that if you are doing this properly, you shouldn’t really be losing money. But again, you have to have that money to bet in the first place, and with stakes and liabilities potentially getting into the hundreds of pounds, it can be daunting starting out here.
Conclusion for Lay to Lose
Having looked over Lay to Lose, there is no doubting that Mike Cruickshank remains very much at the top of his game. As far as a product goes that aims to take advantage of Guaranteed Lay to Lose bets go, it delivers on every front that you would want it to. It is relatively intuitive, there is good money to be made if you are willing to put in the investment, and importantly, it turns dead accounts back into profitable ones.
With that said, there are a few things to consider with this kind of thing. One of the big ones in my eyes stems from the fact that whilst you won’t have any problems using this approach with some bookies (Mike Cruickshank says that he has been using the method without issue for a good few years), many don’t allow you to arbitrage bet using their Guaranteed Lay to Lose bets. And there are plenty of examples out there of people who have just had their accounts closed as a result of doing this.
Secondly, Lay to Lose isn’t easy to use. I think that you really do have to have a decent idea of what you are doing if you want to implement this. Now, that all makes sense, because let’s be honest, if you’ve had your accounts gubbed that much, chances are you’ve been betting successfully with one strategy or another for some time.
Then there is the time involved. I’ll be honest. By the time you’re at the point in your betting career that Lay to Lose is aimed at, time is probably not a massive concern for you. You’re likely making a comfortable earning (or have made a comfortable earning) through betting, and as such, there is little reason to be bothered by being at your computer in the run up to certain races.
But because of all this, I think that Lay to Lose has competition that perhaps some of Mike Cruickshank’s other products don’t have. The fact is that on pretty much everything he has done so far, whilst it is often imitated, rarely is it bettered. And the nature of his betting means that there often isn’t real competition. But by the time you’ve had accounts gubbed, there are a lot of betting strategies that start to become other viable options.
When you put Lay to Lose in that wider market, it is perhaps not quite as bright a star. Don’t get me wrong. If you do everything right, you should make money with Lay to Lose. It is a bloody good product. But there are plenty of other good products on the market that cost less money, only require the use of a betting exchange (which means not having to think about your gubbed accounts), and can be done as when you want rather than having certain races dictate your schedule.
Does that stop me recommending Lay to Lose? Absolutely not. In terms of what he is doing specifically, Mike Cruickshank is producing a pretty unique product here. And there is little doubt in my mind about the quality of it. But if you are looking at this, I would also strongly recommend exploring some of the other options out there also.
Because there are plenty of pre-race trading strategies that also allow you to guarantee yourself a profit. It’s just that, like I said, unlike Lay to Lose you are doing it on your own terms, and not having to rely on another “moving piece”, which in this case, would be the bookies.
