Playing the odds in your favor | A Football Betting Guide
Soccer, or Association Football, as it is better known; is one of the most popular sports amongst audiences the world over. With hundreds of millions of fans eagerly awaiting their favorite clubs’ games, it’s no surprise that football tops the charts in sports viewership. Keep reading on this Soccer Betting Guide to place smarter bets.
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Understanding Soccer Odds | A Guide
If you’ve seen Soccer odds in a sportsbooks like BetUS before, then you’ll know that football soccer is one of the few sports to have three likely outcomes. Let’s look at all three outcomes through the example of a fixture between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. You look through a sportsbook and find:
Bayern Munich (-200)
Borussia Dortmund (+300)
Draw (100)
Bayern Munich (-200) | The Favorites
The favorite is the team that most people bet on to win. Note that this isn’t necessarily the team that is most likely to win, but just the team that the bookmaker, and most bettors, expect to win. If you’re looking at American odds, a bet for the favorite may be recognized by negative odds, while in the case of decimal odds the favorite team has a lower number than the underdog (usually between 1 and 2; in this case they’d be 1.5). The odds are read as the amount you would have to bet to win a 100 dollars (or whichever currency your sportsbook features). As the stronger team in our hypothetical fixture, Bayern is the favorite and thus the team with the lower potential payout. A 100 dollar bet on Bayern yields 150 dollars total, or a 50 dollar reward.
Borussia Dortmund (+300) | The Underdogs
The Underdogs, on the other hand, are the weaker team in the contest, at least according to the bookie and betting trends. When it comes to American odds, a bet for the underdog can be recognized by its positive odds, while in the case of decimal odds it’ll be the bet with the higher multiplier (usually over 2, in the case of our example it’s 4). Positive odds are differently from negative odds. Positive odds denote your reward if you were to place a 100 dollar bet. So for our example, with Dortmund standing at (+300), you’d take home a total of 400 dollars if you were to bet on them and win.
The Draw
In this helpful Soccer Betting Guide you will find out that Football Soccer is a low-scoring game, and one that is highly likely to end in a draw (at least for non-elimination contests). While many sportsbooks feature a “Draw, No bet” option, by which bettors are returned their amounts in the case of a draw, others feature odds for draws and allow you to bet on them as an outcome. Normally, the odds for the draw will be lower than those of the underdog but higher than those for the favorites (in terms of payout). However, this isn’t always the case. In the case of our example the draw odds are (+100) / (-100) by American odds standards (because both would mean the same thing), or 2x in terms of decimal odds. This means a 100 dollar bet on the draw would net you twice that amount in total, or a 100 dollar reward plus your original bet.
The Types of Soccer bets
The Three way Moneyline
The example above illustrated a three way moneyline bet, which is different from most other sports because it features three possible bets.
Double Chance
This is a bet that is almost entirely unique to soccer, though some other sports do feature it. Since there are three possible outcomes, sportsbooks will allow bettors to bet on the likelihood of two outcomes against the third. What this means is that you can bet on one team winning or drawing, or the likelihood of a decisive result (one of the teams win, essentially a bet against the draw). In the case of our example, let’s say you bet on the likelihood of Borussia Dortmund losing or drawing. Your bet would be successful so long as Dortmund didn’t end up winning.
Since double chance bets give you an advantage by letting you cover two outcomes, they’ll feature odds lower than either of your bets. Considering our example, you could expect such a bet to pay between 10 – 25 percent, considering you covered both of the more likely outcomes.
Totals
The classic over/under bet, applied to the Soccer format. Since it’s a low scoring game, you can even bet on a no goal match, though that isn’t a very popular bet. The majority of bets occupy the 0 – 4 range, but all that means is that you’ll see incredibly high odds betting on higher numbers. A successful bet for over 7 goals can easily net you over 10 times your original sum, but then the chances of a game featuring more than 7 goals are also very low.
Scorecard Predictions
Another popular bet with high potential return is the score prediction. The nature of the bet is pretty straightforward, you bet on the exact state of the scorecard at the end of the game (plus stoppage time). A possible score prediction for our hypothetical game could be:
Bayern Munich 3 – 2 Borussia Dortmund
Even though you’re betting on the favorites to win, a bet like this will yield much more return than a simple moneyline bet, but then it also requires you to be more exact than a simple “win” or “loss”.
We hope our Soccer Betting Guide has been helpful, and wish you the best of luck with all your future bets!
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Soccer Betting Guide FAQs
Soccer odds represent the probability of different outcomes in a football match, such as a team winning or a draw. Understanding these odds is crucial for making informed bets and maximizing potential returns.
In football betting, the favorite is typically the team with negative odds (e.g., -200), while the underdog has positive odds (e.g., +300). The odds also indicate the potential payout for a $100 bet, helping you identify which team is favored to win.
Draws are common in football, especially in non-elimination contests. Some sportsbooks offer odds for draws, and bettors can wager on this outcome. The odds for a draw are usually between those of the favorite and the underdog, making it an intriguing option for certain matches.
There are several types of soccer bets, including the three-way moneyline (betting on a win, loss, or draw), double chance (betting on two possible outcomes against one), totals (over/under bets on goals scored), and scorecard predictions (betting on the exact final score of a match). Each type offers different betting opportunities and potential returns.
Double chance bets allow bettors to cover two of the three possible outcomes in a match. For example, you can bet on a team winning or drawing but not losing. While these bets offer an advantage by increasing the chances of winning, they typically come with lower odds due to the reduced risk involved.
