Tournament indices are obviously the spread betting equivalent to outright winner fixed-odds bets, but significantly they will not usually quote the whole field, with only maybe the top 25 in the betting offered a price. What will happen is that if and when unquoted players perform well in the first couple of rounds they are only then introduced into the tournament index. On occasions, perhaps in the final round of the tournament, a quote for the rest of the field will be introduced at the foot of the index.

 

The advantage, of course, of the tournament index is that your losses are limited and it gives an option to back against a chosen player with the rest of the field running for you. The main tournament index is only updated after each round, but, on the last day of most tournaments, the spread firms often offer an in-running 25 win, 10 second place index of the leading players.

 

Assuming you have access to live footage, the market, often on a Sunday afternoon and evening, offers great potential—the test is just how well you can read in-running play. If you can spot the telltale signs that one of the players is struggling with the pressure of being in contention or that weather conditions are taking a turn for the worse and the clubhouse scores are maybe more competitive than was assumed, you can make it pay.