Football Betting Guide

Arrigo Sacchi called football the most important of the unimportant thing in life. And he was right.

Football is more than a sport. More than a recreational activity for those who are not professionally involved in it. It is a medium. An emotional platform to share experiences with friends and family, escape the realms of real and enter the world of unimaginable joy – and sadness alike.

It’s pretty simple as few things in life can compare to sharing a collective triumph or disappointment with millions of others.

Romantics of this beautiful game today might even see football as a sports soap opera that has the world’s best athletes as its actors. With all the pleasure and entertainment it provides, the lucrative aspect of the football industry is not to be undermined and not seizing the chance of making money on it would be a fool’s choice.

Football is the most important of the unimportant thing in life!

It is often said that “the best way of learning about anything is by doing”, but does that really apply to football, and especially when that learning curve can cost you hard-earned money? Football betting has become a science of its own, and contrary to popular belief, learning about it from someone else would be a smart thing to do.

In today’s time, a simple act of choosing random matches won’t get you far in this ever-growing online betting industry. Having the right information and knowledge about the game can do wonders for both your winning percentages and your bank account as well. Worry not! Your Betting Fellow is here to offer you the most extensive football guide out there.

With our tips, and your willingness to learn, the journey to the top will be a walk in the park.

The Most Popular Football Leagues

How to Bet on Football?

Football betting has been around for ages. For some people, it represents a way to relieve stress and for others, it can be a lucrative method to create extra income. If the other option seems like an attractive one for you, be informed that a certain level of knowledge is required in order to make the transition and start earning.

First and foremost, it is crucial for you to find a reputable online bookmaker that can be trusted with your money and time. Once you’ve found the right bookie for you, a thorough analysis and narrowing of the market is in order. The process of narrowing down is perhaps one of the most important tips you can get from a Betting Fellow as knowing a lot about one league in particular will by far exceed knowing a little bit about many of them.

The last piece of the puzzle is to learn as much as possible about a chosen competition, make a solid financial plan, and follow it religiously. In this line of work, discipline and patience make a huge difference. Remember that.

How to Win a Football Bet?

Before placing any wagers, the players are advised to find the best information possible in order to make the right choices. Paying attention to little details, as well as knowing all the nuts and bolts of a certain league, are bound to pay dividends in the long run.

In order to increase your chances of winning a football bet, you should always look at the head-to-Head records of the opposing sides, be always up to date their team news, injury status and – people will often disregard the following – overall atmosphere in the team. You should know that a positive group has bigger chances of making an impact on-pitch which is to say that team spirit has a great role to play in your own decision making.

The last thing to look for is how to actually maximize your winnings. Before placing any bets with online bookmakers, you should actually see which ones offer the best odds and margins for a given match.

At the start, taking so much information into account can seem a little daunting, but as time passes, all of them together will form the bigger picture, one that will produce the winning bets.

The Best Football Betting Sites

The advancement of technology has done wonders for the gambling industry. With the entire entertainment industry setting it course towards the online universe, galaxies of possibilities have revealed themselves. 

Hidden behind the most prominent stars in the football betting skies are betting establishments that will try to exploit your good will and nature, which is why recognising the most trusted and reliable bookmakers is also one of the first things a betting newbie should learn.

Fortunately, your Betting Fellow is here to do the pedestrian’s work for you and list those betting venues where you will be treated like royalty and given the best service for your money.

Betfair

BetFair

Betfair is a unique betting venue compared to traditional bookmakers.

Provider whose markets, odds and promotional plan helped it reach the very pedestal in football betting.

T&C's Apply
Pinnacle

Pinnacle

Pinnacle is considered the best option for punters looking to wager large amounts of money. Their goal is to provide the highest odds, highest limits and a fundamentally new approach to the whole idea of online gambling.

T&C's Apply

You can find more recommended bookmakers at our full list of best betting sites.

Football Betting Explained

What is 1x2 in Football Betting?

The 1X2 betting, also known as three-way betting, refers to the process of backing or laying a home win, draw or away win. It is one of the most popular betting options in football and has over time found its way in other sports where a draw is one of the outcomes.

The name can cause some confusion with inexperienced punters, but if you have ever bet on sports in the past, then you will have likely seen this betting option in action. Basically, the three outcomes of a match between two teams are represented by either 1, X, or 2.

This means that 1 stands for a home win, 2 for an away win, and X for the draw. Simply choose the outcome you think is most likely and place your wagers in hope that your betting instinct – backed by hours of analysis and research – has gotten it right.

What is Double Chance Football Betting?

A double chance bet allows you to cover two of the three possible outcomes in a football match with one bet, thus reducing your risk but also the odds.

It is often used by cautious tipsters when they believe that one of the three events has little to no chances of happening. As such, it is also a great option for betting beginners who are still rather insecure about whether their insights can yield results.

With this market, you can wager on 1X, X2, or 12.

This essentially interprets into a home win or draw, draw or away win, and home win or away win. By combining 2 outcomes, you have got an even bigger probability of winning your bet, though it might admittedly be for lower odds than those offered in a traditional 1X2 market.

What is Draw no Bet?

Draw No Bet is a betting market which removes the outcome of a draw on three-way markets, allowing bettors to choose home or away win as one of the possible results. In this market, stalemate returns the full stake back to the player and is generally considered a safer bet for punters. As such, it is another great option for cautious newcomers still learning the tricks of the trade.

Betting on Draw No Bet market is rather simple. Let’s say were to bet on Barcelona against Manchester United in the Champions League knockout phase. Barcelona have got a 1-0 aggregate lead, and the first game was somewhat of a tight affair. The odds on the 1X2 have Barcelona to win the game at 4/6 (1.68), however, the odds on the Draw No Bet are displayed below:

Barcelona to win: 2/7 (1.28)
Manchester United to win: 10/3 (4.30)
If you placed a £200 bet on Barcelona on the Draw No Bet market at odds of 1.28 your profit would be +£56 if they win, 0 in case of a draw, and lose £200 if they were to lose. Contrary though, if you think Red Devils could spring a surprise at Camp Nou and such a thing does happen, you would be in for quite a hefty payout worth £660 on top of your £200 stake. 

Read full guide through asian handicap betting.

Over/Under Football Betting Explained

In comparison to most sports, scoring in football is a less frequent event as we only see a few goals or none for that matter.

However, during short tournaments and knock-out games the outcome can be somewhat unpredictable, and in those cases, waging on the final result may not be the best thing. For matches of that kind, betting on the number of goals scored is a suitable option.

Over/Under football betting represents the average number of goals scored per match and in most cases, it provides great odds.

Over/Under betting, or total bet as it’s called at some online bookmakers is a wager where you will predict that an occurrence will be over or under a certain threshold. The Over/Under 2.5 goals market is considered to be one of the most popular ones for football betting. Choosing the “over 2.5 goals” option would mean that the teams need to score a combined 3 goals in order for your wager to be successful, and should you choose the “under” option you would need 2 goals or less.

Der Klassiker or the Spanish El Clásico, are perhaps the best examples of clashes in which Over/Under betting yields the best results. Games such as those big, historic encounters have always been a bit on the hectic side, which simply makes betting on the final outcome a rather unreliable option.

HT/FT Football Betting

Half time /Full-time betting is one of the most lucrative options that you can find at online bookmakers. It is categorized as one with the highest odds in the betting market, but it comes with a downside as you are basically combining two bets into one.

This type of betting is typically made for the favourite team in order to increase the odds if there is a noticeable difference in strength between the two sides.

For example, if Manchester City were to play Crystal Palace at home, the odds of them winning would stand at around 1/3 (1.32). If you agree with this choice, but also consider that the first half is going to be a slow one that results in a draw, HT/FT betting should be your weapon for the day. Waging on a draw at HT and Manchester City win at the end of the second, or FT as it is also called, would give you the significantly enhanced odds of 3/1 (4.00).

Generally, with HT/FT betting you are choosing the outcome of the match after the first and the second 45 minutes. Some options are a rare occurrence, such as a comeback after losing the first half, and they offer the biggest odds in this category.

What are Football Accumulators?

A football accumulator is a bet which combines multiple selections of four or more into a single wager. This way of online betting is popular with casual punters who are eager for huge profits without extensive prior research. They usually wager a small amount of money and rely on luck, rather than information.

In a football accumulator, a person can combine multiple events into one which, if successful, translates into huge winnings. In order for your accumulator to be a winning one, each of the chosen events must happen.

If you put on a five-fold accumulator and only four selections win, your bet will lose. Compared to betting on five single selections, risks involved with football accumulators are considerably higher, but hey, the rewards can far outweigh the risk in most cases.

Outright Football Betting

Outright bets are wagers placed on entire competitions instead of single matches. It is the most popular form of future betting where you predict the winner of the entire tournament.

For example, bets placed on the winners of the Premier League in a given season, or the outright winner of the World Cup. These bets may be placed before an event begins, and some bookmakers provide outright bets part-way through bound events or competitions.

How to Watch Football Online?

What if the Betting Fellow told you can combine watching with betting on a single platform for the ultimate online betting experience?

In-play betting will give you that. It has become a greatly popular choice in recent years with its ever-growing odds and bookies were quick to understand how important it is to have the first-hand experience of those matches.

With the number of lucrative leagues and games increasing with each season, providing an appropriate platform where punters can view and bet on all of them has become a priority for many online bookmakers. Sites such as Unibet, William Hill or Coral offer Live Streaming services and do it free of charge. However, there is a catch.

The majority of online betting websites that offer Live Streaming will ask you for one of the two things. You need to be a holder of an active account with these bookmakers. That’s first. Secondly, your account needs to be either funded or to have a bet placed in the last 24 hours in order to use their streaming services. With the vast supply of live football matches that they provide, that seems like a reasonable and fair deal.

After all, you will be provided with the fastest quality streams and industry’s leading odds, which is something that is essential in order to make the best-timed decisions that take advantage of the optimal opportunities.

Football Betting Strategies

Before you start betting and using your newly acquired knowledge, you should also learn a thing or two about football betting strategies. First and foremost, such a thing as a perfect winning formula does not exist but the act of combining a few simple principles is bound to push you in the right direction.

There are a number of ways that we can tip the odds in our favour whether it's by minimising the risks or by extracting the optimal value. These two factors represent the core of any betting strategy and understanding how crucial they are can make a great difference in the long run.

Finding the Value Bets

Value betting is a necessity for all who are serious about getting their game to the next level. It represents an overall approach to betting that should be one of the primary tools in your arsenal. Essentially, value betting is the practice of taking advantage of bookmaker’s mistakes, and if done correctly, you are almost guaranteed profits in the long run.

If you see a game that gives your team 20% chances of success but you believe that they are somewhere closer to 25%, then placing a bet with a bookmaker supporting the odds could represent value.

If “(odds x probability %) / 100” is larger than 1 then a wager can be considered a value bet.

Analysing Your Betting Performance

Analysing your betting performance is an important process that all punters should practice.

Being true to yourself and learning from your mistakes can both save and earn you a lot of money in the future. You are not in school and no one will judge you if you've failed a few times. Everyone makes mistakes, even the most experienced bettors. What separates them from others is their commitment to understanding mistakes and their willingness to act on it.

The only way that you can properly analyse what is it that you're doing wrong and how you can improve it is by keeping accurate records on all the wagers you’ve placed and money you invested. Setting up a spreadsheet and reviewing your bets and results periodically will benefit you greatly and ultimately help you keep hold of your finances.

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