Online betting has come a long way, and nowadays, virtually every reputable online bookmaker allows you to bet on a lot of different markets. While this is great news for seasoned punters since it adds variety to the mix and enables them to take full advantage of each betting market, online football betting can prove overwhelming for inexperienced punters.
However, there’s no reason for concern. Even though some types of football bets might look complex, they are rather straightforward once you get the hang of it.
If you are new to football betting, keep reading our guide, as we will explain the most common bet types that you can encounter at online bookmakers.
There are many different types of bets on football, and match result is the simplest and most beginner-friendly one. As the name suggests, with a match result bet, you’re betting on the outcome of a match after 90 minutes.
Let’s say that Chelsea is playing Arsenal at home. Since Chelsea has the home pitch advantage, they would be represented as “1” on the betting slip, while Arsenal would be shown as “2.” An “X” is used to indicate the odds a bookie is giving in case of a draw.
Match result is one of the most recommended football bets because of how easy it is to use it. Simply select or mark “1” if you wish to bet on the home team, “2” for the away team, or “X” for a draw. If you place your wager on Chelsea and the result is 2:0 after 90 minutes, you will win the bet. You will lose your initial stake if the result is a draw or Arsenal wins.
To help you calculate the value of football bets, bookmakers will always show odds next to each selection, so you will know beforehand how much you can win based on your initial stake. In case you are unsure how to calculate the odds and what they represent, make sure to check our article about different types of odds before placing any sort of wager.
Double chance is yet another type of bet on football that is simple to use. In this case, you can bet on two outcomes instead of just one.
Let’s take the same example again and say that Chelsea is playing Arsenal at home. Instead of betting on “1,” “X,” or “2,” you would bet on “1X,” “12,” or “X2.” Since your chances of winning the bet double, double chance is considered one of the best types of football bets, as well as the easiest one.
So, how do you win with a double chance bet? Let’s say that Chelsea wins 2:0. If you bet on “1X” or “12,” you will win your bet since, in both cases, you bet on Chelsea’s win. However, if you wagered on “X2,” you would lose your initial stake because you failed to predict the outcome.
The value of football bets changes in this case because you have more chances to win by placing a double chance wager. The odds will be lower than when you place a match result bet.
Similar to match bet and double chance bet, draw no bet is one of the recommended football bets due to how easy it is to place it. When using draw no bet, you can either bet on the home or the away team to win. In case of a draw, the bookmaker cancels the bet and returns your initial stake.
Draw no bet is quite similar to double chance. However, since you cannot win your bet in case of a draw, the odds for the draw no bet are generally slightly higher than the double chance bet.
Among the various types of football bets, both teams to score is one of the most exciting bets to place. It is abbreviated as BTTS and as the name suggests, you are betting on both teams to score a goal. What makes BTTS exciting is that the bet is valid until the very last minute, even if one team is leading 7:0 at the 85-minute mark.
The correct score is one of the most straightforward types of football bets we explained. In this scenario, you are betting on the exact score of the game. If you predict it at the end of 90 minutes correctly, you win the bet. If not, you lose your initial stake. Since predicting the correct score of the game is one the most difficult types of bets in football, it is also the most rewarding one.
Over and under bets are also known as total bet. With other types of bets on football, bookies usually provide odds, but in this case, bookmakers propose a line, and you will have to bet whether there will be more or fewer goals than the proposed line.
For example, let’s say that the bookmaker is proposing there will be 3 goals in a game between Chelsea and Arsenal. Instead of betting on a team like with the other types of bets in football, with over/under, you bet on the number of goals both teams will score combined. If you believe both teams will score three goals or more, you will bet on “Over 3.”
If the match ends 2:2, you will win the bet. In case the game ends, let’s say 1:1, you would lose the bet since both teams combined scored less than 3 goals.
Additionally, unlike many other types of football bets we already explained, over/under bets allow you to bet on much more than just goals. In fact, you could bet on the total number of corners, fouls, yellow cards, and much more.
Another important thing to know is that sometimes the bookie will propose a line shown as 3-4.5 or 3-6. Since lines like this can make it easier/harder to place an over/under bet, the bookies will adjust the odds accordingly, as is the case with all the other types of football bets. However, regardless of how the proposed line looks, the principle is still the same when placing the over/under bet.
Half-time/full-time bet is one of the more challenging bets to predict, which is why it is one of the recommended football bets for seasoned punters only. While it is quite similar to the match result bet, you need to predict correctly both the outcome of the first and the second half.
This type of bet will be shown as “1-1,” “1-2,” “1-X,” “X-1,” “X-X,” “X-2,” “2-1,” “2-X,” or “2-2.” Again, 1 represents the home team, 2 represents the away team, and X is for a draw. Make sure you don’t confuse this type of bet with double chance betting because these belong to different types of bets on football. With the half-time/full-time bet, the first number represents the first half, and the second number represents the result at the end of the game.
For example, let’s say again that Chelsea is playing Arsenal at home. If we were to place a 1-X bet, we would be betting on Chelsea to lead after the first 45 minutes and for the game to end in a draw.
Goalscorer bets are special types of bets on football where you get to bet on a specific player who will score a goal. There are many variations of this specific bet, and you can bet on which player will score the goal or which player will be the first one to score. You can also bet on what team will score the first, and so forth.
Many of the goalscorer bets are valuable football bets since defenders can score just as easily as other players. Namely, if you are betting on a defender or even a goalie to score, your odds will be much better than betting on a player playing for a favourite team as a midfielder or attacker.
Goalscorer bets are not the only type of special bets, as there are dozens of other bets of the same type. There is no specific rule for these types of bets, as they vary from one bookie to another. Specials can include a lot of different types of football bets — the number of corner kicks, whether a team will score with a header, or if there will be a penalty kick.
In some cases, you can even bet on the number of offsides or whether a player will be transferred and where they will end up next. The possibilities are endless, and it’s only a matter of finding the most profitable and most exciting bet to wager on.
Handicap bets are one of the best and the most popular types of football bets. They are designed to eliminate the advantage that a significantly stronger team has over the weaker rival. Bookies set a handicap to the favourite team, which can be shown as -1, -2, -3, etc. These types of bets are known as the European handicap bets.
Let’s say that Manchester United is in top form, and they are playing Fulham that has been struggling for a while, which is why the bookie placed a -2 handicap on Manchester United.
Unlike other types of bets in football, the result is calculated a bit differently because of the handicap. For example, if you bet on a draw and Manchester United wins 2:0, you will win the bet. Since Manchester United scored two goals more than Fulham and was given a -2 handicap by the bookie, your bet counts as a draw.
At the same time, if you bet on Fulham to win and Manchester United wins “only” 1:0, your bet is successful because Fulham wins 2:1 due to the handicap given by the bookie.
There are different types of football handicap bets, and apart from the European handicap, bookies also offer Asian handicap betting. When it comes to the Asian handicap, one of the teams has to win, and in case of a draw, the stake is returned to the punter.
Since Asian handicap betting can be confusing for new punters, we’ve dedicated an entire article where we explained how Asian handicap betting works.
If you mastered all the recommended football bets we discussed above, you would have no issue whatsoever mastering accumulator bets. As its name suggests, an accumulator bet consists of multiple bets accumulated into one bet.
When creating an accumulator bet, you can add the best types of football bets and multiple games to the mix. For example, you can have an over/under bet, a handicap bet, a half-time/full-time bet, and two match bets. All of these bets are combined into one accumulator bet.
Naturally, since you are placing multiple bets, the odds of the accumulator bet are calculated differently than with the regular bet.
Unlike other types of bets in football where you need to win a single bet, in accumulator bets, you need to predict five (or more) outcomes correctly to win the bet. In some cases, you can win or have your stake returned even if you correctly predict only four selections. While the general requirements are the same as in other types of bets on football, the exact details of the accumulator bet change from one bookie to another, which is why you should always read the terms and conditions on the bookmaker’s site.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated about any of the types of football bets we covered, and it will take no time before you familiarise yourself with them. However, if you are still uncertain about some of the betting types, we recommend taking things slowly.
While placing bets on high-reward types like accumulator or correct score bets might seem appealing, they are also a lot riskier. Instead, begin by focusing on safe bets like BTTS, double chance, and draw no bet before you get the hang of it.
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