Football is the most popular sport worldwide, whichever perspective you look at it from. Betting is not an exception. No other sport collects more wagers globally than football. The connection between football and betting is very strong. Even if you are new to the sports betting world, you must know the basic wagering options for football affairs. Even if you have never placed a bet in your life, there is a high chance you suggested to your friend what the potential outcome of a certain affair would be at some point.
This article, which has been done by top football expert John Pentin of Newjerseysafebetting.com, is dedicated to those who are not quite familiar with football betting and the super-large list of options it offers. Since it is impossible to cover all markets and betting possibilities at your disposal when it comes to football betting, we will keep the main focus on the most popular/significant ones.
Full-Time Win
This is the simplest betting option. You get to choose between three options:
- Home win
- Draw
- Away win
There are no strings attached. If your predicted scenario indeed happens, your bet is winning.
Double Chance
This is another very easy-to-understand market. You also have three options to select from here, but your chances of getting them right are much bigger because you can cover two of three outcomes in a single bet. Here are the options:
- Home win or Draw
- Away win or Draw
- Home win or Away win
Of course, the odds for this market are significantly lower than those offered for the full time winner picks. However, it can be useful when you want to back the underdog not to lose a certain game for example.
Over 2.5 Goals FT
The Over 2.5 goals FT is the most popular betting market after full time winner. By backing it, you are betting that at least three goals will be scored in a specific game. The odds vary from one game to another and usually go between 1.44 and 2.20. Before choosing to go for this market, you want to check some stats and see whether the teams involved in a particular match have been inspired in the final third of late. This market can come in quite handy if you do not want to test your nerves backing the winner of the game. The outcome does not have any impact on your bet in this case. You only want to see at least three goals scored from both teams combined and that’s it.
Under 2.5 goals FT
Everything written in the paragraph above works the same for this one, with one minor distinction. Here you need the total number of goals in a match to be lower than three. Only several potential outcomes can thus make your pick winning (0-0, 1-0, 1-1, and 2-0). However, these four are the most frequent scorelines in football. Spanish, Italian, and French second divisions have constantly been fantastic sources for the Under 2.5 goals FT bets.
Both Teams To Score
The nature of this bet is very similar to the one of Over 2.5 goals FT’s. However, your pick would be a winner even if the match you are backing ends in a 1-1 draw in this case. The negative side is that your bet would lose even if a certain team bags five or more goals without conceding a single at the opposite end. The best part of this market is the fact that your bet can become a winner even after several minutes of the game. As soon as both outfits get on the scoreline, your bet is a winner. Even if there are no goals until the 85th-minute, you can win the bet if both teams find the net in the final five minutes of the contest.
Full-Time Winner & Both Teams To Score
If you are in the mood for adding a little spice to your bets and going for bigger longshots, you will love this market. As the name suggests, it allows you to combine the full-time market with both teams to score options. You can back it whenever you have a certain favorite to win the math but believe that the opposing team would find the consolation goal in a high-scoring affair. Since it is pretty hard to nail this market, the odds you’ll get for going for it will be proportionally attractive.
Correct Score
If you want to go for even bigger longshots, you can test your luck with the correct score pick. Unlike the full time winner where you only get to predict the outcome of the game, here you need to successfully predict the exact score of the match. Since this is extremely hard (much harder than the Both Teams To Score & Win market), the odds you will get for backing it rarely go below 5.50.
Half Time-Full Time
This is another interesting market that allows you to predict the outcomes of the half time and full time at the same time. You need to get both right to make the bet win. For example, you can back Chelsea to have the lead at halftime against Manchester United and go for the draw at the end of the game. Your chances will be higher if you go for a more realistic scenario, i.e. back Real Madrid to have the lead at halftime against Cadiz and win the match at the end.