The most important thing to understand about Football Index is the different ways you can make money. If you understand these, and understand your own personal style of betting, then you can make the most of this fantastic platform. There are four main ways that I will outline in more detail below:
1. Media Buzz
2. Performance Buzz
3. IPD's and flipping
4. Capital Appreciation
The methods outlined below are quick overviews. In truth, each section could have it's own blog post, but hopefully you find it helpful everything being (relatively) concise and all in one place.
Before you invest your money, make sure you have a grasp of how the platform works, so you can use the market to earn you money, rather than lose it!
(1) Media Buzz (MB)
Media Buzz, also known as MB, is part of the great selling point of the index. Rather than having to wait for gamedays, MB gives you an opportunity to earn dividends (cash per share) every day of the year. Media Buzz is won by news articles being written about a player from selected UK (importantly, ONLY UK based) newspapers and websites. online. There are some stipulations, such as the article must include references only to a footballing incident - for example the issues surrounding Neymar's rape were not included but Jack Grealish being attacked on the pitch by a fan was - and the article must include the full name of the player. The score is calculated using this list of words https://github.com/fnielsen/afinn/blob/master/afinn/data/AFINN-en-165.txt for either positive or negative scoring on each article.
Footballers who score highly will be in and around the media lots (obvious right?) so, for example, Neymar scores well due to his a) only containing one name and not a first name surname combination, b) one of the top players in the world and c) constant transfer specualtion. Pogba is another example, who features in the media every time he gets a fancy haircut!
On days where there are no football matches (in the top 5 leagues), the top three MB earners earn 3p, 2p and 1p per share respectively. On days where there is a football match, only the top MB score counts, earning that player 2p per share in dividends. The top MB score/s are collated at midnight every day, but you only get payed if you have owned that player before 2pm GMT the same day (prevent guaranteeing buying the top MB player every day).
Generally, the top MB earners are the more pricey players on the index, as the dividends they return are somewhat 'reliably' telegraphed each year. They will bring in a steady stream of cash, however will cost you more dearly to hold a large number of shares.
(2) Performance Buzz (PB)
Performance Buzz refers to the score each player earns for each action they complete in a football match. You can find how much each action is worth below:
It is worth noting that actions 'stack'. So, for example, Player A scores the winning goal in a 1-0 win. They earn 35 points for a winning goal, 45 for a goal and 18 for a win, giving them 98 points for scoring one goal. Not bad!
The trick with PB of course is finding players that can win somewhat consistently. The trend currently seems to favour an average score over 250. You can refer to the table at the top of this post to see the dividends distributed depending how many matches are played that day.
Like with MB, the most consistent players are generally pricier. However, there are plenty of winners who can be found under £1 - 48 of the PB winners this season have been under £1 (roughly a third of the winners) so do your research and it could well pay off. However, as with MB, PB wins only counts for shares in a player owned before 2pm GMT.
(3) IPD's and flipping
Linked to PB, IPD's is the 30 day bonus you get for each share you own. If that players scores or assists, or keeps a clean sheet if they are a goalkeeper, then they earn extra dividends per share. However, this only applies to the first 30 days that you own the share. Commonly linked to this is what is known as flipping; where someone sells shares in a player who has just scored as the price of that player (usually) rises in anticipation of IPD's or a strong PB score. This brings with it it's own risks. Mainly, that a) the spreads on players have been increased and b) means you either have to gamble on a player scoring and then sell if they do or keep a cash balance to jump on before anyone else and then sell on the high.
IPD's are generally seen as an extra, rather than a staple to making money. However, that being said, if you can find a player who has 5 or 6 games over a 30 day period likely to score or assist a lot, there is money to be made!
(4) Capital Appreciation
Lastly, the method that underpins so much of the market, is capital appreciation. Simply, how much a player increases or decreases in value. This method focuses on buying players on a low - referring to a dip in their price graph - and selling on a high.
There are several schools of thought regarding cap app. One is a '3 year hold' mentality. Football Index allow you to own a share for three years before the shares get sold off, which means potentially three years of growth in value. Another focuses on transfer speculation; when players are linked to top clubs, their price rises significantly depending on the stature of the club and player. For example, Dybala's price rose as high as £4.06 per share when linked to Manchester United, but dropped down to £2.87 when it became apparent he would remain at Juventus. The last main school of thought looks to flip on the capital appreciation surrounding strong PB scored or IPD's; the trade-off being you can sell the player for more than the dividends would be on the hype.
Final Thoughts...
Whether you want to focus more on the gambling side or the safe return side of the market, it is important to understand your own personality type. If you are someone who is impatient, placing your money in long terms holds will not work for you. Conversely, don't chase short term gains which could leave you burnt if you have the patience to see through a year or two or appreciation or holding shares in 'secure' MB winners.
There are many ways to make money on the market, and only you can decide what strategy or combination of strategies will work best for you. Regardless, it is imperative to your success as a trader that you understand the main methods involved, as having an understanding of the market as a whole will help you make the most informed decisions possible.
Happy trading!