What is Exchange Omaha Hi?

This game is based on the poker game commonly known as 'Omaha High'.

Each game begins with 21 cards being dealt face down from one randomly shuffled pack. 16 of the 21 cards are grouped in fours to form 4 separate hands as displayed on the site (these cards grouped in fours can be known as 'hole cards'). The remaining 5 cards form a pool of community cards.

The first round of betting occurs whilst all cards are face down (The ‘deal’). Players should bet on which individual hand they think will win the game. Bets can be placed to back or lay each hand.

Each round of betting lasts for a specific period of time before unmatched bets are cancelled and the next cards turned face up. The length of time is indicated by the movement of the bar just below the community cards. (Please note the progress bar is an indication only).

At the end of the first round of betting, unmatched bets are cancelled and the hands of four of cards forming the individual hands are simultaneously turned face up. There is then another round of betting, again bets can back or lay each individual hand within the game (Pre Flop).

At the end of the second round of betting, unmatched bets are cancelled and the first three of the community cards (sometimes known as the 'flop') are turned face up. Another round of betting then begins.

The end of the third round of betting sees unmatched bets cancelled before the fourth card from the community cards is turned face up (this card is sometimes know as the 'turn'). Another round of betting then commences.

The fourth and final round of betting finishes with unmatched bets cancelled before the fifth and final of the community cards is turned face up (this is sometimes known as the 'river').

The result of the game is determined by which hand has the highest 5 card poker ranking within the predetermined hand hierarchy. The final 5 card ranking for each hand is determined by the best combination of 5 cards (2 of the 4 hole cards) + (3 of the 5 community cards). E.g. Hand 1 has Ac As Ah Ad, Hand 2 has Kc 3c 5h 4d, Community Cards are Kd Kh Ks 3h Qd. The best 5 card poker ranking for Hand 1 is Full House (Kings full of Aces) and the best 5 card poker ranking for Hand 2 is Four of a kind (Kings, 5 High).

Should two hands have cards or combinations of cards with equal standing and value then the value of the remaining cards in that hand is used to determine the winner (sometimes know as the kicker). Should the hands still be of equal values then dead heat rules will apply (sometimes known as 'splitting the pot').

What is Exchange Hold'em?

This game is based on the poker game commonly known as 'Texas Hold'em'.

Each game begins with 13 cards being dealt face down from one randomly* shuffled pack. 8 of the 13 cards are paired to form 4 separate hands as displayed on site (these cards in the pairs can be known as 'hole cards'). The remaining 5 cards form a pool of community cards.

The first round of betting occurs whilst all cards are face down. Players should bet on which individual hand they think will win the game. Bets can be placed to back or lay each hand.

Each round of betting lasts for a specific period of time before unmatched bets are cancelled and the next cards turned face up. The length of time is indicated by the movement of the bar just below the community cards. (Please note that the progress bar is and indication only)

At the end of the first round of betting, unmatched bets are cancelled and the pairs of cards forming the individual hands are simultaneously turned face up. There is then another round of betting, again bets can back or lay each individual hand within the game. "Pre Flop"

At the end of the second round of betting unmatched bets are cancelled and the first three of the community cards (sometimes known as the 'flop') are turned face up. Another round of betting then begins.

The end of the third round of betting sees unmatched bets cancelled before the fourth card from the community cards is turned face up (this card is sometimes know as the 'turn'). Another round of betting then commences.

The fourth and final round of betting finishes with unmatched bets cancelled before the fifth and final of the community cards is turned face up (this is sometimes known as the 'river').

The result of the game is determined by which hand is best within the predetermined rank system. Should two or more hands be of equal standing then dead heat rules will apply. Each hand may consist of the following:

    * Both hole cards and three community cards
    * One hole card and four community cards
    * All five community cards

Should two hands have cards or combinations of cards with equal standing and value then the value of the remaining cards in that hand is used to determine the winner (sometimes know as the kicker). Should the hands still be of equal values then dead heat rules will apply (sometimes known as 'splitting the pot').

What is Exchange Hi Lo?

Exchange Hi Lo is Betfair's version of the popular and exciting card game in which a player has to predict whether the next card is higher or lower. However, in Betfair's unique variation, it's a perfect strategy played by a computer that decides whether the next card will be higher or lower, and you bet on how far it'll go before it predicts incorrectly.

The computer's strategy is simple; if there are an equal number or more cards above the last dealt card, then it will go higher, if there are more cards below, it will go lower. For example, if the first card dealt is 5, there are 3 cards that are lower and 9 that are higher, so the computer will predict that the next card will be higher.

Each game uses 13 cards, one of each face value from a suit of spades. The game starts and the first round of betting occurs with all the cards placed face down from the randomly shuffled suit. Players can place back or lay bets on how far they think the computer will correctly predict the cards before it predicts incorrectly.

Each round of betting lasts for a specific period of time before unmatched bets are cancelled and the next card is turned up. The amount of time remaining in the rounds is indicated by the movement of the progress bar just above the top row of cards (please note that this should only be used as a guide).

At the start of the first round of betting, no cards are displayed and betting is permitted on all outcomes. At the end of the first round, all unmatched bets are cancelled and the "Start" card is turned. All selections for which an outcome is guaranteed are settled and the second round of betting then commences. At the end of the second round of betting, all unmatched bets are cancelled and Card 1 is turned. The game ends if the prediction is incorrect, otherwise the game continues, with guaranteed outcome selections being settled prior to the next round of betting. The game continues like this for up to a total of 12 rounds of betting.

What is Exchange Card Derby Racing?

Exchange Card Racing is a game of Virtual Racing offering a realistic racing experience. The players bet against each other on a bet exchange market. Just like betting on a horse race on Betfair.com, but here the race is simulated using a standard 52 card deck. 

Each race begins with four runners lined up at the starting line of a 32 segment race track. Each runner is represented by a suit (Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds). A randomly shuffled pack of 52 cards is used to simulate the race.

An exchange market where the players can place back and lay bets on the runners is available. The first round of betting occurs when all 52 cards in the deck are still unseen and players can back or lay any of the 4 runners.

At the end of the first round of betting any unmatched bets are cancelled. Now, before the race can start, the handicaps are determined. Three cards of each suit are randomly removed from the deck and turned face up. The remaining 40 cards in the deck will then be used for the race simulation. A second round of betting commences in which the players can place new bets based on the handicaps.

After the end of the second betting round, the race starts. Three cards will now be drawn from the deck, one by one and turned face up. After each card is turned over, the runner of the corresponding suit moves forward according to the rank of the card (the card values are the same as in the game of Blackjack with Ace always ranked 11):

    * If the card ranks 2 to 10 the runner moves as many segments as the value of the card.
    * If it is a face card (Jack, Queen or King) the runner moves 10 segments forward.
    * If the card is an Ace the runner moves 11 segments forward.

After all three cards have been drawn and the runners have been moved forward it is time for the next betting round.

The race action will now continue with three cards being drawn between each betting round until one runner crosses the finishing line. Note that as soon as a runner crosses the finishing line (i.e. reaches the 32nd segment of the race track) the race is over and no more cards will be drawn. Therefore it is not possible for a dead heat to occur. The market for Exchange Card Derby Racing is always settled with one single winner.

What is Exchange Bullseye Roulette?

Bullseye Roulette brings together a unique and exciting twist to the popular roulette casino game and Betfair's unique back and lay system.

There are four rounds of betting in each game allowing you to back or lay against most of the usual roulette selections as the thirty-six pockets reduce to one.

The Game

The 'Blind Bet' Round (Before The First Spin)

The Bullseye Roulette wheel has 36 pockets numbered from 1 to 36 coloured red and black (with no zero or double zero and no green).

Unlike the usual casino variations of roulette which are played over a single spin, 18 balls are sequentially dropped over four 'spin rounds' until the end of the game and one number remains on the wheel. Before the first spin players have the opportunity to place 'blind bets' on a number of different selections using an exchange market with the facility to back and lay.

The Spin Rounds

When the 'Blind Bet' period completes, the wheel is spun and 8 balls are dropped in succession.

The slot that each ball lands on converts the adjacent cells into its colour and value. For example, if a ball lands on red 9, black 31 and black 22 will become red 9, and black 31 and black 22 will be eliminated.

If a ball lands on a cell whose neighbouring cell(s) have been converted into new values in earlier ball drops (so are now different from their starting value), all the cells are converted into the same colour and value as the current cell on which the ball has landed. For example, if a ball lands on red 14 which is between 3 consecutive Red 9s and Black 20, all these Red 9s and Black 20 are turned into Red 14, and Red 9s and Black 20 are eliminated.

See the example images below for more detail:

Round 1: first ball lands on black 4. Red 19 and red 21 are eliminated.

Round 1: second ball lands on black 6. Red 36 and red 27 are eliminated.

Round 1: third ball lands on red 30. Black 11 and black 8 are eliminated.

Round 1: fourth ball lands on black 22. Red 18 and red 9 are eliminated.

Round 1: fifth ball lands on black 24. Red 5 and red 16 are eliminated.

Round 1: sixth ball lands on black 22. Black 29 and red 31 are eliminated.

Round 1: seventh ball lands on red 7. Black 28 and black 22 are eliminated.

Round 1: eighth ball lands on red 30. Red 36 and red 23 are eliminated.

After the first spin round customers have the opportunity to bet again, before the second spin round commences.

In the second spin round 5 balls are dropped in succession, these expand pockets and eliminate numbers in the same manner as the first spin round.

The third spin round drops 3 balls and the fourth drops 2 balls, hence 18 balls are dropped in total across four spin rounds.

There are only two different pockets left as the 18th ball is dropped in the fourth spin round to define the winning number.

In between each spin round is a betting window and after the final spin round there is a short settlement period when all markets are settled.