Here at Tricky Bet we are big fans of the Football Index. Over the coming months we plan to post regular updates from getting started to our own tips on who to buy and when to sell. If, however you have never heard of the Football Index or want to know more, read on.

Why do we like the Football Index

The Football Index is a bit like the stock exchange. We buy and sell shares or ‘futures’ in footballers. The value of each player is determined by many factors but everything is calculated on real world performance and news stories. Investors will buy shares in players they think will increase in value and then they can sell those shares for a profit. Depending on your investment you can make large sums of money on the index but it is of course not risk free like matched betting.

As opposed to regular gambling the index allows more than one way to win. Dividends are paid out on shares if they top the daily ‘Buzz’ Chart. The Football index offers people a great way to use their knowledge of football to make a profit.

The Football Index is fast becoming more and more popular which is leading to player values increasing dramatically as more people sign up and start trading in players. Signing up now will allow you to get in before the share prices become too expensive and it will also allow you a better chance of a long term profit if you can select the right players.

The Buzz System

Player ‘Buzz’ is determined not by the market but purely on news stories. The Index scours the internet looking at all the news stories of the day and then awards players points based on how many new articles they featured in. Usually more points are awarded for positive stories but this isn’t always the case.

The index monitors news articles from 25 UK media outlets including The Daily Mirror, BBC and Sky Sports etc

More points are awarded if the players name features in the headline of the story. This has caused a few people out in the past with some players who have multiple ways of spelling their name or go by a nickname. Sometimes players won’t be awarded as many points as they perhaps should because the newspaper has chosen to use their nickname in the article title.

Each night at midnight the player with the most buzz points is awarded the win for that day and any investors who have shares in that player are awarded 5p for every share they own. This can start to add up if you have a lot of shares in one player and a big news story keeps them in the papers all week.

You must have owned shares for a minimum of 24 hours in order to get a buzz dividend. So buy early if you think a player might be in the headlines over the weekend.

Some players will find themselves at the top of the buzz list more than others and they tend to be high value players with a high share price. Players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Diego Costa are often buzz winners based on their off field antics as well as their in game performances. Manchester United players have historically been strong performers on the index. The big clubs in the Premier League tend to dominate the headlines so having a core squad of players from the top 6 clubs in a good way to start your portfolio.

Strikers and attacking midfielders tend to be the players that generate the most buzz as they score the goals and therefore get into the headlines more often. Defenders and Goalkeepers are usually slow movers, though there are exceptions for big names like John Terry.

Player Trading

Each player has their current value listed next to their name for both the buying and selling markets. There is always a price difference between the two with the purchase price being higher than the selling price. This gap is often wider on more expensive and popular players.

Getting started is easy, simply pick the players who you think will increase in value over the coming weeks and months and hit the blue buy now button. You can buy up to 100 shares at a time. If you want to sell shares then use the pink sell button, again you can sell 100 shares at a time.

Shares start from as little as 25p but you have to be fast to get in at that price as players quickly increase in value and are unlikely to be that cheap for long.

You have two options when it comes to selling your players. Selling instantly will give you the current price displayed on the pink button. You can also sell to the market which is not an instant sell. Your sale will be placed in a queue and then sold if the demand is high enough. This can allow you to achieve the full market value of a player but it is also a risk as if there is a long queue the value may decrease below the instant sell price by the time the sale goes through.

Picking the right players at the right time is the name of the game and it can be hard to predict. There are a few things we can do to try and tip the scales in our favour though. By scouring social media and football fan sites you can sometimes come across snippets of information that have yet to hit main stream media. Buying players on the index before the news stories hit can mean a tremendous growth in your profits.

Another good tip is to buy players who are out of form or suffering from niggling injuries. Once that player hits form again their value is going to head upwards again. Quite often big name players will disappear from squads due to injury and lack of match fitness, with them out of the picture their share price inevitably heads downwards. Just remember, form is temporary, class is permanent.

There are other reasons why a player might increase in value. A high profile transfer saga is always sure to see a players share price heading upwards. Again there are sometimes gems of inside information to be had from local journalists on twitter who get the heads up before the national media.

Mobile App

One of the great things about the football index is the ability to trade on the go. By downloading their mobile app you can quickly buy and sell players where ever you are. This is great if you get a tip from someone.