How to Bet on Soccer
Soccer betting is typically done by two kinds of punters: those who bet for fun and those who bet to win. Whatever kind you are, the ultimate goal is to beat the bookie. While soccer is certainly an unpredictable game, though, there are certain guidelines you can follow to boost your chances of winning. And, with hundreds of matches to bet on each and every week, and so many markets for each match, things can get a little confusing quickly. So, we’ve put together this handy guide to help you the next time you place a soccer bet online.
Get Started with an Online Bookie
Whether you love the thrill of EUEFA, you can’t wait for the FA Cup, or you’re more of a local supporter, there’s always something to follow – and that means there’s always games to bet on. The good news is that it’s not as difficult as it may seem. The first step is to find an online bookie where you can comfortably and easily place your soccer bet online. An established bookie will post tons of soccer betting odds for different matches every day and offer handy soccer betting tips and soccer predictions. Once you’ve found a bookie you’re comfortable betting through, you’re going to need to understand all the different kinds of soccer bets.
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Understand the Different Soccer Bets
Whether you’re a soccer fanatic or you just fancy a tipple, you probably are well aware that the game consists of team teams of 11 players. A match lasts 90 minutes, split up into two 45-minute halves unless extra time or penalties are required to decide the match. The aim couldn’t be simpler: score more goals than the opponent and win the match. It’s pretty straightforward. But, in terms of betting on the game, there are several markets to consider and different soccer predictions and outcomes to bet on – all of which aren’t decided by the result of the match alone.
There are three common kinds of soccer betting:
- Handicaps
- Totals
- match outcome (also referred to as 1X2 bets)
Let’s take a closer look at each to help you place your next soccer bet online.
1X2 Bets
One of the most common types of soccer bets – win, draw or loss – is the classic 1X2 bet. In this type of bet, things are simple:
- 1 means a home win
- X is a draw
- 2 is an away win
Some bookies offer double chance bets which look like this: 1X, X2 or 12.
So, this bet refers to the match outcome. There’s only one different to Money Line betting, and that’s the draw. Standard soccer matches aren’t settled by heading into overtime and therefore just end as a draw.
Handicap Bets
In the game of soccer, handicap betting is very similar to making soccer predictions in terms of the outcome of a match. Where it differs is that it involves a goal handicap that is typically applied by the bookmaker to counter the supposed difference in abilities between the teams that are going head to head.
With a handicap bet, the use of data and applying mathematical principles can help you to calculate your own probability and then produce the expected outcomes. It’s worth noting that the favourites in the 1X2 market usually have a negative handicap to overcome and the undergo has a positive handicap advantage.
Now, keep in mind the soccer is a relatively low-scoring sport. That means that the handicap offered when you want to place a soccer bet online tends to be lower than, say, NFL betting.
For a soccer handicap bet to win, the team that has the negative handicap has to win by a larger margin than the figure that’s been set. On the other hand, the team with a positive handicap has to lose or win by a smaller margin than the set handicap figure.
Total Bets
This is betting option where punters wager on the total number of goals to be scored in the game. It’s a case of soccer predictions and pretty much nothing to do with which team wins a match. It comes down to wagering on whether the number of goals scored will be either under or over a figure that the bookmaker sets. The bookie will set a line for the number of goals and you then decide whether you think the total number of goals will be lower or higher than the line.
Other Sports Soccer Betting Variations
Once you get a handle on the basics of soccer betting, you can transfer your skills from pre-game battle to live betting. That means you can apply the same bet types and the way that they work in real time, once the match has already kicked off. There are a couple of available markets, too, other than the three traditional options. You can wager on how many corners you think will be granted during a match, or you can make soccer predictions how many cards you think will be given on either side in total during the match.
Besides markets that revolve around betting on a single match, punters can also wager on a range of outright markets, such as who you think will score the most goals, who the winners of a competition may be, which team could be relegated and even how many points a team will win spread out over the entire season.
Multi Bets and Live Play Soccer Betting
When you pick more than one selection over two different events, it becomes a multiple bet. For your bet to win, all your soccer predictions have to win.
Live play betting involves placing your bets while the match is being played. While not all online bookies offer live betting, it’s certainly captured the attention of punters across the globe and it’s an excellent way to get right in on the action. The live betting screen will show you bets available on everything going on during the game. There are plenty of different types of options, too, and in soccer, the odds will change sporadically, depending on each team’s performance and the score.
Live betting offers an incredible number of outcomes. From betting on your favourite players to gambling on which team will win the match, live better offers unique situations unlike anything else in the world of sports betting.
Soccer Betting Tips
Placing a soccer bet online has certainly seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. With bookies becoming more prominent online, more and more punters are wagering huge amounts across soccer season. Let’s face it, soccer is by far one of the most popular sports worldwide, with millions of fans watching a wide range of competitions and leagues every week. From the Argentinian Primera Division to the ever-popular English Premier League, each league has a huge following of fans betting on them.
Our expert soccer betting tips will help you when you want to stake money on the match or competition.
One of the key tips we can give is you to prepare, and that means arming yourself with information. There are loads of websites with all sorts of stats for players and teams, previous results and so much more. Do your research and gather all the necessary data.
A good starting point is with the long-term stats of the teams. Take a look at how they’ve been performing in the past few months, what the styles of the teams are, how many goals they score on average, how many goals on average they concede, how they’ve performed in games against similar opponents and so on.
Next, research the form of both teams in the last few weeks. Determine a couple of short-term trends that could offer you that extra edge, like players on form, fatigue, average goals conceded and scored and that kind of stuff.
Don’t forget to have a look through the historical results between the two teams. This could actually change the entire context of a game.
Try to Develop a Strategy for Soccer Betting
Even if you’re new to the world of soccer predictions and bets, if there’s a match coming up that’s piqued your interest, you probably already know what form the teams are in, how many injuries they may have and even what type of tactics they use in matches. But, you need to build on your basic knowledge if you want to stand a chance of making money on sports betting.
Before you jump right into daunting predictive models, a little basic data analysis could do the trick. So here’s one of our soccer betting tips: you can quantify things like “that team plays better at home” by analysing the home field advantage and then using it to figure out their own odds and then comparing those against the ones presented by the bookie.
Of course, soccer is a game that is incredibly random and rather difficult to predict, even for the most talented bookies. However, past stats and historical performances can help give you the edge when you place a soccer bet online. Whether you bet on both teams to score, want to predict a draw or you wish to analyse expected goals, data can be your best friend.
Brush Up on Your Mathematics
Applying maths to soccer can help you improve your understanding of how the game actually works. From regression analysis to Elo ratings, a basic understanding of maths is important if you want to make money.
You can use the art of maths to calculate:
- whether or not to place a bet
- how much to stake per bet
- whether or not there’s a positive expected value
By using staking methods, you can optimise your bankroll and improve your chances of making a profit in a number of other ways.
For instance, double chance betting if when you bet on multiple outcomes in the same match. It may reduce how much profit you walk away with (when you bet on a team to win), yet it can provide you with profit for another match outcome.
Using mathematical principles can also help you to calculate your own probability, which you can then convert into odds to compare against the bookies’ and produce your expected outcomes.
Be Cautious of Others’ Soccer Predictions
Soccer betting may seem pretty complex compared to the actual sport, but our soccer betting tips should help you understand what it takes to start making some cash. There are, however, plenty of people out there claiming to have a winning formula, but it’s better to learn how to measure tipster performance before you take note of their soccer predictions.
Making a profit from soccer betting takes patience, effort and time. Following other people’s predictions certainly seems like an easy option, but in the long run, it just isn’t worth your while.
Check Up on Soccer Team News and Information
The final one of our soccer betting tips may seem obvious, but it’s not just a case of checking out who’s injured and suspended. Rather, that’s just your starting block. You should also check out both team’s schedules, since there’s always the chance of rotations if there are plenty of games in a short period. This is particularly true for the more popular and busy leagues like teams playing in the Europa or Champions League.
Often, one player might start, and you’ll think everything’s going to plan. Then, hearing that he took a knock in training could stop you from betting on the player to be the first goalscorer, for example.
Once you have done your research on starting line-ups, try to predict how it’ll affect each team’s performance. Consider how important the missing players may be, how their possible replacements have performed and even how it affects the entire style of a team. Try to create a whole picture of how a game might look.
Use these soccer betting tips to make the best possible soccer predictions the next time you want to place a soccer bet online.
