How To Bet On Football (Soccer)
Betting on football can be engaging and fun, especially if you love the game and keep up with developments in the leagues that interest you. However, over the years, football betting has become more complex. Today, there are a dozen different types of bets, each unique and with their own pros and cons.
If you are about to start betting on football, you could become overwhelmed. It could feel like there is too much ground to cover. While this is partially true, it’s not that complex, and with access to the correct information, you can quickly wrap your head around football betting.
Here is everything that you need to know about how to bet on football so that you can go from zero to hero in no time.
Find the right betting platform
First, you will need to choose a platform that you will use to place your football bets. Since there are many betting platforms online, finding the right one can be challenging. Here are a few tips that can help you to choose the best betting platform for you.
Consider payment options
Not all betting platforms offer the same payment options. Before you start researching available payment options on the different betting platforms, you should learn how to deposit and withdraw money in online betting. Unless you are prepared to open an account or get a credit card to use specifically for betting, you should consider the platform that supports a payment option that you already have.
If possible, we suggest creating a spreadsheet of sorts to help you in comparing different betting platforms and choosing the one that suits you the best. You should also research different payment methods for online betting to discover their unique pros and cons so that you can make the right decision.
See what bonuses they offer
Then, we have the bonuses. Every betting platform will offer unique sports betting bonuses. Some cater more to beginners while others offer great bonuses to regular clients. With some extra cash, the bonus you choose can kickstart your betting adventure and you can use this free money to learn a few tricks without worrying about potential losses.
Security features
The security of your data should always be your primary concern. To prevent exposing your sensitive data and payment info, you need to ensure that a betting platform has all of the best security features such as encryption and a firewall. It should have a straightforward Privacy Policy and promote responsible gambling.
Legality and licences
While we are discussing your data safety, you should check to see if the betting platform is legal. Trustworthy platforms will have business information on their website, including address, contact information, licence number, where it was issued, and information indicating if the company is a subsidiary of a larger corporation.
Different betting formats
Finally, a variety of different betting formats is what makes football betting so engaging and fun. When choosing your betting platform, consider the number of available betting formats. The more selection, the better, as it will enable you to learn and discover new ways to bet while having a great time. You can always take a shortcut and peruse an elaborate sports betting platform comparison chart.
Register on a betting site
Before you can start betting, most of the betting platforms will require that you register an account. The registration button is most commonly located in the upper right corner, and it is often labelled “Join Now” or “Register Now”.
Here is an example from the 10bet betting site (read 10bet Review):
Don’t worry, registration doesn't take up too much time.
You will have to fill out the registration form. Some sites will ask you to verify your email address, while others will not. In the former case, you will have to go to your Inbox. Click the link in the email that the site sent you, and you will be able to start betting.
Understand different types of football bets and start betting
Now we come to the interesting part — different types of football bets. Here is everything that you need to know to understand football betting terminology and to be able to place different types of football bets.
Final result betting
Final result betting, or moneyline betting, is the most straightforward football betting type there is. All you have to do is to pick the team you think will be the winner of the game.
It’s called final result betting because the outcome of the bet is unknown until the very end of regular play.
You are allowed to bet that the game will result in a draw. While this is a straightforward type of football bet to understand, at the same time, it is also the most complex to predict. Knowing how to read sports odds can help to some extent, but the rest is in the hands of lady luck.
Half time/final result betting
Next, we have a slightly more advanced type of football bet — halftime/final result betting. This is very similar to final result betting, except you have the half time variable in the equation as well. You need to place a bet on the result after halftime and the result at the end of regular play. For instance, you can predict that one team will win the halftime, but that it will be a draw by the end of regular play.
There are a couple of combinations here. The risk is higher than in final result betting, but so are the rewards.
Betting on multiple games
Betting on multiple games is one of the punters' favourite betting types. You have the freedom to make multiple selections, and each one has a unique name in punter circles:
- Two-selection multiple bet is a double;
- Three-selection multiple bet is a treble; and
- Four or more selections are accumulators or “accas”.
For a slip to be a winning one, all individual selections must hit. For instance, if you play a treble and only two selections win, you will still lose. As you can see, it's really hard to win accas. However, given that the odds of all bets stack, you are looking at a potentially massive win.
Under/over
Under/over is also known as over/under and totals. If you choose this type of football betting, you won’t have to guess the outcome of a game. Totals unlock a new game mode. To win a total, you need to predict the total number of goals by the end of the game.
The sportsbook will have a suggested number of goals, and you need to predict whether the number of goals will be higher or lower than suggested.
Exact score betting
As the name suggests, exact score betting is a bet that you can only win if you accurately predict the final score of a football game. If you predict who will be the winner, but your score prediction doesn’t match the game's final score, you will still lose.
It’s tough to predict a game's final score, which is why the odds are often very favourable for punters.
First goalscorer betting
Before we explain this type of betting in football, you need to know that “own goals” don’t count. So, to win a first goalscorer bet, you need to predict which player will score the first goal during the game.
If your player doesn’t score or score a goal past the first one, your bet loses.
Exact score/first scorer combination
If we discuss good odds and high payouts, we must mention the exact score/first scorer combination. In this type of bet, you need to predict the score of a game and the player who will score the first goal. Hard right? That’s why the payouts for these types of bets are pretty significant.
“Draw no bet” method
If you want to minimise the risk of losing money, the “draw no bet” type of betting may sound interesting to you. You can bet on either a home or away win in this type of bet. If your prediction comes true, you win; if it doesn’t, you lose. But if the game ends in a draw, you will get your stake back. The only outcome that results in a loss is if the team that you backed is defeated.
Player stats betting
Player stats betting is a type of props betting, and it’s a unique type of wager. Instead of predicting who will be the winner, you need to predict the accomplishments of individual players during the game.
It includes a number of possible wagers. For instance, which player will be the man of the match, which player will be the first one booked, will a player score a header, a hat-trick, and so on.
Asian handicap betting
Asian handicap betting originates in Asia. There is no betting that a game will end in a draw in this type of betting. Handicap stands for one team’s lead over the other. A minus symbol is assigned to the favourite team, while a plus symbol goes to the underdog team.
It’s a more complex type of betting because many handicap betting options are also called lines (0, 0.24, 0.50, 0.75, -1, and -1.5 - handicaps).
European handicap betting
European handicap betting is different from its Asian counterpart. The underdog receives the number of goals while the same number of goals is subtracted from the favourite. Once the handicap is adjusted, you can place a bet on the outcome of the game.
Unlike Asian handicap, European handicap doesn't reduce the market to two selections.
Double chance betting
Double chance betting is probably the safest type of football betting as it enables you to cover two of the three possible outcomes. The outcomes are fixed for you — home team win or draw, away team win or a draw, home team win or away team win. Given that it is considered a safe bet, the odds are not as high as with other betting types.
Football betting tips
Now that you understand the basics of different types of football bets, you are ready for some football betting tips to help you to step up your game.
The relationship between underdogs and favourites
In order to increase your chance of winning, you should research the relationship between underdogs and favourites. Taking into account their performance in the country’s league as well as performance in one of the FIFA leagues will help you to better predict the outcome of the match. There is also always the factor of playing at home or away.
The stakes also matter. For instance, an underdog team can win a game if the stakes are high (they need a win to not drop out of the league, for instance).
Betting amount
Generally speaking, the betting amount depends on your bankroll. Some punters prefer small bets while others like big bets. Since you are a beginner, you should consider starting with small bets while following one rule of the thumb — don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. You can place multiple bets, thus increasing your chances of winning.
Stay updated on relevant news/events
If you want to step up your betting game, you should also keep up with the sports news. You can learn a lot from sports news and place more informed bets. For instance, you can discover when a key player is skipping due to an injury, when a team gets a strong new player, or when a manager decides to give a new lineup a chance.
Don’t bet on teams you’re emotionally attached to
Emotions are not good in business, and given that betting resembles making informed investment decisions, emotions can hold you back. You could place your bet because you love a particular team or a player, even though everything rational tells you that your team's chances of winning are slim.
Follow your gut
Finally, betting on football is not a science. All of the information at your disposal is still not enough to make 100% accurate predictions. When you decide to take lady luck out on a date, you should not solely rely on the numbers. Follow your gut instead, and let it guide you when the numbers don’t make sense.
Conclusion
Starting out with a new hobby can be thrilling. If you enjoy watching football and you’ve decided to start betting on it, get ready for a rollercoaster-like ride. As we have outlined above, finding the right betting platform is not hard when you know what to look for.
Learning more about football bets can also help you to progress. Starting small with the final result bet-type is considered the best entry point into this exciting world. Give yourself time, and you’ll master the other types of bets too.
