Sport Bet Types: Football
Football is one of the few sports which allow ties. Luckily for us - it also allows various bet types.
Topics Addressed
- 3 Way Result
- Double Chance
- Asian Handicap
- Halftime/Fulltime
- Over/Under
*Previously Required Knowledge
After becoming familiar with the odds system, it is time to move forward and learn of the common bet types of football. You should remember that bets can be placed on anything the bookie sees fit, so it is not possible to cover 100% of the possibilities. Still, this won't stop us from going over the most common options, which you'll probably run into when visiting the leading bookmakers.
3 Way Result
This is the most common type of bet, thanks to its simplicity. As you know, a football match has three possible outcomes - Home win, Away win or Draw. You just need to hit it right to win, and your winnings depend on the odds and the sum you've staked.
Upsides: Relatively high odds for hitting right on the result.
Downside: Hitting on one out of three is almost never easy.
Double Chance
This bet also comes in the form of betting on one-of-three, but the concept is slightly different. Here, every option contains two of the three possible outcomes. The three options are: Home Win or Draw/ Away Win or Draw/ Home or Away Win. Betting on the first option, for example, will make you a winner if the match ends either in a draw or with a win to the home team.
Obviously, in the Double Chance method the chances to hit it right rise, hence the odds drop.
Upsides: Relatively easy to hit it right, as we cover to possible outcomes in one bet.
Downside: Low odds. Usually you won't be able even to double your money.
Asian Handicap
This type becomes more and more popular as it eliminates any chance for loss due to a tie. This leaves you with only two options to bet on, thus increasing your winning chances. In this, the bookie gives an edge of half a goal (or more) to one of the teams. For instance, if Liverpool get +1.5, this means that Liverpool start the match with a 1.5-0 lead over their opponents. If the match ends in a 2-2 draw, Liverpool actually win by 3.5-2. This makes whoever placed the bet on Liverpool the winner, even though the match itself ended in a draw.
Since this method is not only popular, but also a bit complex, we'll make a special guide for it, covering the issue from all angles.
Upside: Relatively easy to hit, as the bookies make it an almost 50-50 bet - the chances to hit rise.
Downside: A 50-50 bet (or close to it) brings lower odds. Also, the chances to fail rise as well.
Halftime/Fulltime
This is a tough bet, as you need to predict the right combination of both halftime and fulltime results. Only hitting on the right combination will make you a winner and since this is quite difficult, usually the odds for this type of bet are relatively high.
Upside: The odds are usually high.
Downside: This is a difficult as we need two bets to come true to win. Frankly, the chances to hit it right are quite slim.
Over/Under
This bet usually relates to the number of goals scored in a match, but it can also relate to the number of corner kicks or free kicks in a match or in a half, whatever the bookie sees fit. This is very simple - you need to bet on whether the number of goals (for instance) will be higher or lower than a middle point set by the bookie.
For example, if you bet on "over 2.5", you will win if there will be at least 3 goals in the match. Lower number than that - and you lose.
Upside: Relatively easy bet.
Downside: Easy bets come with low odds.
Tips
As mentioned, the specified bet types are the most common and these are the ones you'll meet in all of the bookies. Still, there are a lot of other betting types to complete a very long list. You can find yourself trying to predict the exact result of the match, betting on whether the numbers of goals scored will be odd or even, or betting on which team will score the first goal and so on.
You should always be aware to the simple fact - the bookies hand out nothing for free, so high odds for a specific bet means it is harder to make it right. Just make sure you know what you're betting on...
