On this page
- What a demo ID actually gives you
- How to ask the desk for a demo account
- What you can practise on the demo
- Demo ID versus real ID, side by side
- Your first demo session, screen by screen
- Back and lay drill with the practice balance
- Cricket drills: bookmaker, fancy and session
- A trading drill: locking in a result both ways
- A five-session practice plan
- Common demo mistakes and how to avoid them
- Are you ready for real money?
- Moving from the demo to a real ID
- Practising on the Android app
- Demo ID troubleshooting
- Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can get a Sky Exchange demo ID. Message the desk on WhatsApp, share a name and a mobile number, and we send a practice login with a practice balance in the same chat. It runs on the real exchange screen, so you can place back and lay bets, open cricket session markets and watch your bets settle, all without a single rupee of your own money at risk. When the mechanics feel natural, you ask for a real ID and carry the same habits across.
This page is the practice manual we wish every new player read first. It covers how to ask for the demo, the exact drills worth running on it, worked examples you can copy with the practice balance, and a plain checklist for deciding when you are ready to play for real. If you are still working out what an exchange even is, start with our guide to what Sky Exchange is and how it works in India, then come back here.
- A demo ID is opened by the desk over WhatsApp, the same way a real ID is.
- It holds a practice balance. Nothing on it can be deposited or withdrawn.
- The same login works on the website and the Android app (version 1.9.5).
- The desk confirms the current practice balance and how long the demo stays open in the chat.
- Use it to learn liability, unmatched bets and session markets before any real deposit.
- 18+ only. Check the betting rules in your own state before you play, demo or real.
What a demo ID actually gives you
A demo account is a normal login with one big difference. The number in the balance field is practice money that the desk loads for you. You see the same market list, the same blue back boxes and pink lay boxes, the same bet slip and the same open bets panel that a real player sees.
That matters more than it sounds. Exchange betting has a few ideas that confuse almost everyone the first time: laying a team, liability, partly matched bets, odds that move while your finger is on the button. Reading about them helps. Watching them happen to your own practice balance is how they actually sink in.
The demo is not a game mode with fake prices. The odds you see are the odds on the exchange screen at that moment. What changes is only whose money is on the line. That is why we push new players towards it, and why we also warn that it can build bad habits if you treat the practice balance as monopoly money.
What it does not give you
It will not tell you whether you will win. It cannot show you how you will feel when a real ₹2,000 stake goes the wrong way in the last over. And it will not let you test deposits or withdrawals, because no real money moves. Those parts are covered separately on our pages about getting a real Sky Exchange ID on WhatsApp and how payments are arranged.
How to ask the desk for a demo account
The request takes a couple of minutes. There is no form on this site and no password field, on purpose. Everything goes through one WhatsApp chat so there is a single record of what was sent to you.
- Start from this site. Tap a WhatsApp button on any page here. Starting from the site, not from a number someone forwarded, is the simplest way to be sure you reach the real desk.
- Say you want a demo. A short message is enough: "Hi, I would like a demo ID to practise first." Mention if you plan to use the Android app.
- Share a name and mobile number. The desk asks for these to label the login. Nothing more is needed for a practice account, and nobody should ask you for a bank PIN or OTP.
- Receive the login. The desk sends a user ID and a temporary password in the same chat, with the current practice balance and how long the demo stays open.
- Log in and change the password. On first login you set your own password. Write the user ID down exactly, capitals included.
- Check the balance. The practice balance should show at the top of the screen. If it shows zero or an error, send a screenshot to the same chat.
When someone asks for a demo, the first thing we suggest is to tell us roughly what they plan to deposit later. Not because we need it, but because it helps them pick a sensible practice stake. If you plan to start with a few thousand rupees, practise with stakes that fit a few thousand rupees. Practising with huge stakes on a practice balance teaches you nothing you can use.
What you can practise on the demo
Here is how we suggest splitting your practice time. Each area matches a real mistake we see on new real-money IDs, so the demo is the cheapest place to make it.
Back and lay
Back means you bet something will happen. Lay means you bet it will not. Practise both on one match and compare the numbers in the bet slip.
Liability
When you lay, the amount you can lose is your stake times the odds minus one. Watch the slip show it before you confirm.
Unmatched bets
Ask for better odds than the market offers and your bet waits. Learn to spot it in open bets and cancel it.
Bookmaker
Cricket bookmaker markets quote rates in a different style. Practise reading what a rate means in rupees before you stake.
Fancy and session
Yes and No on a runs line for a set number of overs. The demo is the right place to see how a line settles.
In-play movement
Prices move fast during a live over. Practise placing and cancelling while odds change, so a real stake never surprises you.
The app
If you will bet on your phone, practise on the Android app. Buttons sit closer together, and a mis-tap is easy.
Other sports
Football, tennis and horse racing use the same back and lay idea with different timing. Try one market of each.
Most of these ideas are explained in more depth in our walkthrough of how a betting exchange works, including back, lay and liability. The demo is where you test what you read there.
Demo ID versus real ID, side by side
People often ask whether the demo is "the same" as a real account. On screen, almost entirely. Underneath, the money side is completely different. This table lays it out.
| Point | Demo ID | Real ID |
|---|---|---|
| How it is opened | By the desk over WhatsApp after you share a name and mobile number | The same way, over WhatsApp |
| Login details | User ID and temporary password sent in the chat | User ID and temporary password sent in the chat |
| First login | You change the temporary password | You change the temporary password |
| Balance | Practice balance loaded by the desk | Your own money, deposited by UPI or bank transfer arranged in the chat |
| Withdrawals | Not possible, nothing real to withdraw | Requested through the desk, paid to an account in your own name |
| Markets and odds | Exchange screen as it stands; ask the desk which sections are open on your demo | Full market list for your ID |
| Website and app | Both, Android app version 1.9.5 | Both, Android app version 1.9.5 |
| How long it lasts | The desk tells you in the chat | Stays yours while you use it |
| Emotional pressure | Low, which is both the benefit and the trap | Real, so your rules matter far more |
The last row is the one people skip. A practice loss of ₹5,000 is a number. A real one can ruin a weekend. Build your stake rules on the demo as if the money were real, and they will hold up better when it is.
Your first demo session, screen by screen
Here is a calm first session that takes about half an hour. Do it once on a match that is not live yet, then once during a live match, because the screen behaves differently when prices are moving.
1. Find one market and stay there
Open the cricket section and pick one upcoming match. Tap into match odds. You will see each team with blue boxes on the left side of the centre and pink boxes on the right. Blue is back. Pink is lay. The big number in each box is the price, and the small number under it is how much money is waiting at that price.
2. Place a back bet and read before you confirm
Tap the best blue price for one team. The bet slip opens. Type a stake you would actually use for real, say ₹500. Before you press place, look at the profit figure. On a back bet at 2.40, a ₹500 stake shows a possible profit of ₹700. Your risk is the ₹500 itself. Confirm it.
3. Place a lay bet on the same team
Now tap the pink lay price for the same team and type ₹500 again. This time the slip shows a liability. On a lay at 2.46, the liability is ₹500 × 1.46 = ₹730. That is the amount you lose if the team wins. Many new players read the stake as their risk on a lay. The demo is where you break that habit.
4. Look at the position figures
Next to each team you will now see a profit or loss figure for each outcome. Having backed and laid the same team at slightly different prices, those figures will be small. That view, the position on each runner, is what experienced players watch more than anything else.
5. Make an unmatched bet and cancel it
Type a back price higher than anything on offer, say 2.80 when the best blue price is 2.40. Place it. It will sit as unmatched in open bets because nobody is offering that price yet. Find it and cancel it. If you ever leave a forgotten unmatched bet on a real ID, it can match later at a moment you did not expect.
6. Log out and log back in
Finish by logging out and back in with your new password. If you plan to use the phone, repeat the login on the app. Many real login problems are just a password typed with the wrong capital letter, and it is much nicer to discover that now.
Back and lay drill with the practice balance
This drill teaches the single most useful exchange skill: knowing your risk on each side before you press anything. The figures below are illustrative examples, not real prices or limits. Use whatever prices your demo screen shows and work the numbers yourself.
| Bet | Price | Stake | If the selection wins | If it loses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back Team A | 2.50 | ₹1,000 | +₹1,500 | −₹1,000 |
| Lay Team A | 2.50 | ₹1,000 | −₹1,500 (liability) | +₹1,000 |
| Back Team B | 1.70 | ₹1,000 | +₹700 | −₹1,000 |
| Lay Team B | 1.70 | ₹1,000 | −₹700 (liability) | +₹1,000 |
Notice the pattern. Laying a favourite at low odds carries a small liability. Laying an outsider at high odds carries a large one. A lay at 6.00 with a ₹1,000 stake means a ₹5,000 liability. People who skip the demo sometimes find this out the expensive way, laying a long shot because "it will never win", then watching the practice balance, or worse a real one, drop by five times the stake.
Run the drill like this. Place each of the four bets above at whatever prices your screen shows. Before confirming, write the profit and liability figures on paper. Then compare your figures with what the slip shows. When your numbers match the slip every time without a calculator, move on.
The practice balance makes big lays feel harmless. Set yourself a rule on the demo, for example "my liability on any one bet never goes above 5% of my balance", and stick to it. If you cannot keep that rule with practice money, you will not keep it with real money.
Cricket drills: bookmaker, fancy and session
Cricket is where most of our players spend their time, and it is also where the market types are most varied. Our page on Sky Exchange cricket markets, from match odds to fancy and session explains each one. Here is how to practise them.
Bookmaker rates
A bookmaker market on a cricket match often shows rates as whole numbers rather than decimal odds. In a common style, a rate of 45 on the back side means a winning ₹1,000 stake returns ₹450 profit, which is the same as decimal odds of 1.45. Rates and display style can differ by market, so treat this as an example and read the slip on your own demo screen.
| Market | What you see | Stake | Result if right | Result if wrong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookmaker, back Team A | Rate 45 | ₹1,000 | +₹450 | −₹1,000 |
| Bookmaker, lay Team A | Rate 47 | ₹1,000 | +₹1,000 | −₹470 |
| Session, 6 overs runs, Yes | Line 53, rate 100 | ₹500 | +₹500 if 53 or more | −₹500 if 52 or fewer |
| Session, 6 overs runs, No | Line 52, rate 100 | ₹500 | +₹500 if 51 or fewer | −₹500 if 52 or more |
All of those figures are examples to show the arithmetic. Your demo screen will show its own lines and rates.
The session line drill
Pick a live match before the first over. Find the six-over runs session. You will usually see a No figure and a slightly higher Yes figure. Write down both. Back Yes with a small practice stake. Then simply watch the overs and write the score after each one. When the session settles, check your result against what you predicted.
Do this for three or four matches. You will notice two things. The line moves after every boundary and every wicket. And the gap between No and Yes is where many confused bets come from. If the No is 52 and the Yes is 53, a final score of exactly 52 loses a Yes bet and also loses a No bet placed at 52, because the No side needs the score to stay under the line. Seeing this settle on your practice balance teaches it faster than any explanation.
The fancy market drill
Fancy markets cover specific events: how many runs a batter makes, if a wicket falls in an over, and similar. Pick one fancy market per match, place one practice bet, and before you place it write one sentence about why. After the match, read your sentence. This builds the habit of betting on a reason rather than a feeling.
A trading drill: locking in a result both ways
Exchange players sometimes back at one price and lay at a lower price later, so they make the same profit whichever side wins. This is often called greening up. It is a skill you should never try first with real money. On the demo it is free to get wrong.
| Step | Action | If Team A wins | If Team A loses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back Team A at 3.00 for ₹1,000 before the match | +₹2,000 | −₹1,000 |
| 2 | Team A starts well, price falls to 2.00. Lay Team A at 2.00 for ₹1,500 | −₹1,500 | +₹1,500 |
| Net | Both bets together | +₹500 | +₹500 |
The lay stake comes from a simple formula: back stake × back price ÷ lay price. Here that is ₹1,000 × 3.00 ÷ 2.00 = ₹1,500. Try it with three different price moves on your demo, including one where the price goes the wrong way, say from 3.00 up to 4.00. Work out what laying at 4.00 does. You will see that trading out of a losing position locks in a smaller loss on both sides, which is the other half of the skill.
Prices in this example are made up to keep the arithmetic clean. Real prices move in smaller steps and do not always give you the chance to trade out. That is exactly the kind of thing the demo shows you safely.
A five-session practice plan
You do not need weeks on a demo. You need a few focused sessions where each one has one job. Here is the plan we give people who ask how to use their practice login well.
- Session one: screen and slip. Run the first-session walkthrough above on one pre-match cricket market. Back, lay, cancel an unmatched bet, log out, log back in.
- Session two: liability. Run the back and lay drill on three matches with different favourites. Write every figure before you confirm. Aim for zero surprises.
- Session three: live cricket. During a live match, place two bets while prices move, and watch one session line from first ball to settlement. Note how the odds jumped after wickets.
- Session four: your own rules. Write down a stake size, a maximum liability per bet and a stop-loss for the day. Play a full match under those rules. Did you break any? Be honest.
- Session five: the app and a second sport. If you will use your phone, do this whole session on the Android app. Try one football or tennis market. Then review your notes from all five sessions.
Keep a small notebook or a phone note for this. A line per bet is enough: market, price, stake, why, result. Most people who keep notes for five sessions find one or two habits they did not know they had, like always backing the team they support.
The players who message us later with the fewest problems are usually the ones who asked a lot of small questions during their demo. "Why is my bet unmatched?" "Why did this session lose when the score was 52?" Ask them in the chat. The demo exists for exactly that, and it is a lot less stressful to ask with practice money on the screen.
Common demo mistakes and how to avoid them
A demo is only as useful as the way you use it. These are the patterns that make practice worthless, or even harmful.
Betting much bigger than you would for real
With a practice balance it is tempting to put the whole lot on one match. If you plan to start with ₹3,000 of real money, a ₹20,000 practice bet tells you nothing. Scale every practice stake to your real plan.
Chasing practice losses
Lose three practice bets in a row and the urge to double up appears, even with fake money. Notice it. That urge is the single most expensive habit in betting. If you catch yourself doing it on the demo, write it down and build a rule against it before you ever deposit.
Skipping the boring markets
Fancy and session markets are fun, but most of the core skills live in match odds. Spend at least half your practice there.
Ignoring the open bets panel
Unmatched bets are invisible unless you look. Make checking open bets part of every practice session, so it becomes automatic later.
Treating a good demo run as proof
A strong week on the practice balance is a sign you understand the screen. It is not a sign you will profit with real money. Prices, luck and your own nerves all behave differently when the money is real. We would rather you hear that from us now.
| Mistake | What it looks like | Better habit |
|---|---|---|
| Oversized stakes | Practice bets ten times your real budget | Match practice stakes to your planned real stakes |
| Big lays on outsiders | Laying a 7.00 shot because it "cannot win" | Check liability first and cap it as a share of balance |
| Chasing | Doubling after each loss | Fixed stake and a stop-loss per session |
| No notes | Cannot remember why a bet was placed | One line per bet: market, price, stake, reason, result |
| Only pre-match | Never practised while prices move | At least one full live session on the demo |
| Only website | First phone bet is a real-money bet | Practise on the Android app if you will use it |
Are you ready for real money?
There is no exam. But there are clear signs you have got what you need from the demo, and clear signs you have not. Be honest with yourself here. Nobody else is watching.
Ready to move on
- You can say the liability of a lay bet before the slip shows it.
- You have cancelled an unmatched bet without hunting for the button.
- You understand how a session line settles, including the exact-line case.
- You played a full session under written rules and kept them.
- You know the deposit amount you can lose without it hurting your bills.
- You have checked the betting rules for your own state.
Stay on the demo a bit longer
- You are still surprised by liability figures.
- You doubled your stake after losses during practice.
- You want to deposit to "win back" practice losses.
- You are planning a first deposit larger than you could afford to lose.
- You have not tried the app but plan to bet mainly on your phone.
- You feel you must play every match.
If several items on the right sound like you, that is not a failure. It is the demo doing its job. Take a break, read our responsible gaming guidance on limits and warning signs, and come back to practice later.
Moving from the demo to a real ID
When you are ready, the switch happens in the same WhatsApp chat. Here is what to expect so nothing catches you off guard.
- Tell the desk you are ready. Say you have finished practising and want a real ID. The desk explains how the move is handled, including whether you get a fresh login.
- Confirm your details. A name and mobile number again. Use your real name, because withdrawals are paid only to a bank account in your own name.
- Receive the real login. A user ID and temporary password arrive in the chat. Change the password on first login, as you did with the demo.
- Arrange a first deposit in the chat. The desk shares how to pay by UPI or bank transfer. Start small, at the level you practised with, and keep the payment screenshot.
- Bring your rules across. Copy your stake size, liability cap and stop-loss from your demo notes. Apply them from the very first real bet.
For the full real-ID process, see how to register for a new Sky Exchange ID. If you want a final check on who you are dealing with before money moves, read how to tell the real desk from cloned sites and fake numbers.
Practising on the Android app
If your real betting will happen on your phone, your practice should too. The phone screen changes a lot: buttons are closer together, the bet slip covers part of the market, and a slip of the thumb can tap lay instead of back.
The app is installed from a file the desk sends in the chat, not from a store listing. Your phone may ask you to allow "install unknown apps" for the browser or file manager you use. Allow it for that one install, then you can switch it off again in settings. Check that the version shown is 1.9.5. Our Sky Exchange app guide for Android download and install walks through every permission screen.
Once installed, log in with the same demo user ID and the password you set. Run session one of the practice plan on the app, paying special attention to where back and lay sit and how the slip shows liability. Then try placing a bet with the phone in one hand, the way you probably will during a real match.
Phone settings that help
Turn off any battery saver that kills apps in the background, because it can log you out mid-over. Keep the screen from rotating while you bet. And if your network is patchy, practise noticing when the screen has not refreshed. A stale price on a slow connection is a real-money problem you can rehearse for free.
Demo ID troubleshooting
Most demo problems are the same small handful. Try the fix in the table first. If it still fails, send the desk a screenshot in the same chat.
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Login says wrong user ID or password | A capital letter or similar-looking character typed wrong | Copy the user ID from the chat rather than typing it; check caps lock |
| Temporary password no longer works | You already changed it on first login | Use your new password; if forgotten, ask the desk in the chat |
| Balance shows zero | Practice balance not loaded yet, or page not refreshed | Refresh once, then send a screenshot to the desk |
| Bet stays unmatched | You asked for a price nobody is offering | Cancel it in open bets or place at the best available price |
| Cannot see a market | Not listed at that moment, or not open on your demo | Ask the desk which sections are open on your demo |
| App will not install | Unknown apps permission not allowed | Allow it for the app you used to open the file, then retry |
| App logs you out | Battery saver or an old app version | Exclude the app from battery saving; check version 1.9.5 |
| Demo stopped working | The practice period ended | Message the same chat; do not start chats with unknown numbers |
Fake demo offers to ignore
A practice login exists so you can learn without money at risk. That makes some offers easy to spot as fake. Ignore anyone who contacts you first offering a "VIP demo", anyone who asks you to pay to release practice money, and anyone who says a demo balance can be "converted" into real money if you deposit a fee.
Also be wary of forwarded links that look like an exchange login page. The safe habit is the same every time: start from a button on this site, keep using that one chat, and never send a bank PIN or OTP to anyone. If something feels off, ask the desk in your existing chat before you do anything else.
And a last reminder. A demo is a learning tool. If practising makes you want to bet more than you planned, or you notice betting taking up more of your thinking than you would like, step back. That is a good outcome from practice too.