Welcome to the Sports Alive "How to Spread Bet" section where we hope to give 1st time Spread Punters a quick tutorial in the workings of Spread (Index) Betting.

Firtsly, some quick tips and terminology:

1. Spread - this is the quote Sports Alive offers you the customer. You choose whether this is too high or too low and then you bet accordingly.

2. Buying - if you thought the spread was too low then you will "Buy" per point or run for a stake.

3. Selling - Buying - if you thought the spread was too high then you would "Sell" per point or run for a stake.

4. Stop Win/Loss - this is the maximum number of units you can win or lose on a given market (eg you bet $10 a point and stop loss is 20 - the max you can win or lose is $200). Note - approx 80% of spread bets fall within 20% of the initial spread.

5. Lock amount - this is the artificial stake taken at the time of bet placement which is equivalent to 20% of your maximum stop win/loss.

6. Close out - if the spread moves for or against your initial position you can trade out to lock in a win or limit a potential loss. This is very popular for live in running markets.

7. Make up - is the difference between the buy or sell trade and the final result of the market. This make up is multiplied by the stake to calculate the win or loss on the market.

Process of a spread bet:

a) Spread Created by Sports Alive (eg: 10-20, Stop Loss 50)

b) Customer buys (goes high) for $1 a point at 20

c) Sports Alive locks $10 away to secure bet

d) Market completed and settled by Sports Alive.

Scenario 1 - End result is 25. The make up is +5 so the customer wins $5.

Scenarion 2 - End result is 18. The make up is -2 so the customer loses $2.

Well, thats a brief overview of Spread Betting. Click on one of the sports to the menu on the left and we will introduce you to some of the most popular markets. Play along, go higher (buy) or lower (sell) than our predictions and see what you could have won or lost on each of the markets.

Enjoy the experience and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at spreads@sportsalive.com.