Football is one of the most popular sports across the globe.
Because of this, it is at the core of sports betting business and delivers a
huge chunk of the revenue in the industry. The popularity of football also
means that many people have enough knowledge to be able to discuss it, make
predictions and place bets. So what types of football bets are available? Here
is a run through some of the most common football bets.
(a) Match bet
This is the most common football bet. A match bet simply
means a prediction made on any of the three results that are possible in a
football match, e.g. win, draw or loss. In a match bet, you can back the home
team to win, back a draw or back the away team to win. Once you choose any of
the three options and are happy with the odds (price offered), you can place
your bet and wait for the outcome. The other names used for match betting are
WXD, 1X2 or Match Outrights. X here means a draw outcome.
(b) Correct score
bet
A correct score bet is one placed on the score of a match,
either at half-time or at full-time. For example, you can say the score at
full-time will be 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 3-0 etc. Correct score is a very attractive
market for many punters because the prices are quite high. However, the
likelihood of pulling a win in the correct score market is very low and few
punters can win a bet in this market. If you want to test yourself in this
market, then you need to begin by deciding whether a match will be high-scoring
or low-scoring. Then you should also determine which team is more likely to
score and by how many goals. Often the favorite will score, but you can’t just
ignore a high-scoring underdog on form. Remember, winning a bet in the correct
score market is difficult, but if you do then you will make a substantial
amount on a small stake.
(c) First
goalscorer or anytime goalscorer bet
The first goalscorer bet means predicting the player that
will score the first goal in a match. For example, if a deadly strike or a
clinical finisher is playing the match, then predicting that the player will
score first makes a lot of sense. The first goalscorer market offers a huge
profit on a small stake because it is quite difficult to predict the first
goalscorer of any football match. It is however not advisable that you throw a
lot of money in such a prediction.
Instead of backing a player to score the first goal, you may
opt for the more predictable option of backing a player to score at anytime in
a match. In this case, you are not restricting the player to score first, but
you are simply saying the player will not finish the match without scoring. A
good example is backing a player who is on a good scoring run, is a ruthless
finisher and tends to take many shots at goal per game. In fact, backing a good
goalscorer to score in a match is a more realistic prediction than backing the
same player to score the first goal.
(d) Double result
(half-time/full-time)
This is a football betting market with a decent risk but
high reward. The half-time/full-time prediction means backing a team to achieve
a certain result at half-time and to achieve another specific result after 90
minutes. For example, if Chelsea is playing Hull City, you can back Chelsea to
be winning (leading) at half-time and to be also winning (leading) at
full-time. On the contrary, if Hull City has a strong defense and you think
they may stop Chelsea from scoring in the first half, you may go for half-time
draw and full-time win for Chelsea. The half-time/full-time market offers
better prices than the straight 1X2 market.
(e) Double chance
bets
Double chance bets allow you to back a team for two results
in one, such as backing a team to win or draw, or backing either of the teams
involved in a match to win. For example, if Chelsea is playing Hull City and
you are confident that Chelsea will not lose the match, you can go with Chelsea
win or draw (1X). But if you think that the game will not produce a draw,
though you are not sure of the team that will win, you can opt for Chelsea win
or Hull City win (12). Backing Hull City (the away team) not to lose the match
would take the form X2. Double chance is a way to get some insurance on your
predictions, particularly when you can rule out a certain result (such as draw
or loss for one of the teams) as impossible.
(f) Each way bet
This type of bet is commonly used for league or tournament
games in which the place of finish is predicted by a punter. For example, in
league football, you can predict that a team will finish in 1st, 2nd, 3rd or
fourth spots and you will be paid for predicting correctly where they finish.
If in the English Premier League you back Chelsea to finish 1st at odd of 8.00
using Ksh 100, then you will be paid Ksh 800 if they finish 1st, but paid at a
quarter of the odds if Chelsea finish in any of the other designated places
(2nd, 3rd and 4th), earning Ksh 200. Each way bet is an insurance bet that
helps you to get some return if your team finishes in the designated places but
does not get the position you predicted. However, if the team finishes in your
predicted position then you earn the full amount at the price offered.