Using the trading ladder
The runner card on a market page is the at-a-glance view. The trading ladder is the proper trading view — a vertical price column with full depth on both sides, your matched bets shown against the price levels, and one-tap placement.
To open it, tap a runner’s LADDER button on its card.
Layout
Five columns, top to bottom of the visible window:
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| W/L (left) | If-this-wins P/L at each price tick — what you’d lock in if you cashed out at that price |
| Lay | Available lay sizes at each price (the people offering to lay you) |
| Price | The price tick itself, in Betfair’s tick increments |
| Back | Available back sizes at each price (the people offering to back from you) |
| W/L (right) | Same as left — duplicated so it’s near whichever side you’re trading |
The LTP (last traded price) is highlighted in gold, anchored as your reference point. The ladder centres on LTP when you open it; if the price moves, the LTP indicator moves but the ladder doesn’t auto-scroll — you stay where you are.
Placing bets
Tap any Lay cell → places a lay at that price for your unit stake. Tap any Back cell → places a back at that price for your unit stake. Confirm dialog rules apply (see Placing a bet).
Your matched bets appear coloured-in against the price level you matched at — you can see your average position at a glance.
Scrolling
Scroll up or down to see prices further from LTP. There’s a return-to-LTP button that scrolls back to centre when you’ve drifted off-price. Use it after the LTP has moved and you want to re-anchor.
The ladder shows ~28 ticks total — enough to see the full depth that’s actively trading without losing context.
What about the cashout column
Both W/L columns show the same thing — the locked-in P/L if you green up at that price. Useful when looking for the price at which your position becomes net-zero, or where it pays you a specific amount. If you don’t have any matched position, both columns are empty.
Reverse
The Reverse button at the top swaps the back and lay columns left ↔ right. The side that places when you tap doesn’t change — back column always places a back, lay column always places a lay. What changes is which prices sit nearest your thumb, which lets you switch between take-an-offer style trading and queue-an-order style trading. See Swap back/lay (Reverse) for when to use each mode.
Suspended markets
When a market suspends (a goal, a horse falling, a card pulled), the price cells grey out and tapping them does nothing. The ladder keeps showing the last-traded prices but no new bets can be placed until trading resumes. The LIVE / SUSPENDED pill at the top of the page reflects the state.