In-depth Football Betting Guide

Types of football bets

There are loads of different types of bet you can place on football matches and tournaments. Here’s a look at some of the more common ones you’ll come across at bookies and online sportsbooks:

Both teams to score

This bet is really quite straightforward. As its name suggests, you’ll win if both teams score at least one goal during the match.

Draw no bet

For this bet, you simply pick a team to win a match. If that team goes on to win, you’ll be paid accordingly. If your chosen team loses, you’ll lose your bet. However, should the game result in a draw, your bet will be returned to you.

Football score prediction

This is one of the simpler football bets you’ll come across. For this bet, you’re simply predicting the result of a single match. You’re betting on one of three outcomes: that Team A wins, that Team B wins, or that the match results in a draw. If your prediction is correct, you’ll win.

Football double chance

With this bet, two possible outcomes are covered. Pick a team to win and you’ll be paid if the team wins or if the match results in a draw. You can even pick both teams; do this and you’ll be paid if one team wins outright, though you’ll lose if it’s a draw. Since double chance bets cover more outcomes, the odds for these bets tend to be on the lower side. Still, these bets are considered to be one of the safest football bets around.

Half Time/full time

This is a type of accumulator bet (more on that below) where you predict the result of the match at half time and the overall result. For each of the two selections, you can choose Team A, Team B or a draw.

Handicap betting

If there’s a match where one team is considered to be much better than the other, handicap betting may be offered.

This type of bet basically requires the stronger team to score more goals to win. Sometimes, the stronger team will start the match with a negative score; sometimes the lesser team will start with a one-goal head start. This is commonly referred to as European handicap betting.

Head to head betting

This is a popular betting option because it lets you bet on two teams or players who might not be competing against each other. For this bet, you simply pick any two teams or players from any matches. Their performances in their next matches are compared and whichever team or player performs the best wins.

Individual player betting

For this type of betting, you’re backing a certain player and betting on their performance across a single match or whole tournament. Individual player bets include things like Player A scoring X number of goals in a match, for example.

Lay betting

You’ll come across lay betting at betting exchanges more often than you will at bookies and online sportsbooks. The way this type of betting works, you’re betting on an outcome not happening. In other words, if you bet on Team A, you’ll win your bet if Team A doesn’t win the match.

Outright betting

This refers to betting on football tournaments, e.g. the FIFA World Cup, as opposed to betting on individual matches.

Over/under

Rather than focusing on the outcome of a match, over/under betting focuses on in-game statistics. It is most commonly offered for the number of goals scored. This bet is usually given as a half number. For example, if the bet you place is listed as over 1.5, this means that two or more goals have to be scored in the match for you to win. If your bet is under 1.5, you’ll only win if just one goal is scored, or if none are scored at all. You’ll also find over/under bets available for things like the number of corners and the number of cards given.

Scorecast

This is another type of accumulator bet. For this one, you’re betting on the first player to score, as well as the end result of the match.

Wincast

Yet another accumulator bet, the wincast has you choose a particular player to score and a team to win. If your chosen player scores and your chosen team wins, you’ll win the bet and be paid.

Singles and accumulators bets

A single bet is a bet that covers one selection only. For example, you might place a single bet on Team A winning a match. An accumulator bet, on the other, covers more than one selection. You might, for example, place an accumulator that covers Team A winning one match and Team B winning another match.

Football betting terms explained

When it comes to betting on football, there are all sorts of terms you’ll come across. For a lot of beginners, it can seem intimidating seeing all these words and phrases they’re not familiar with. Thankfully though, betting terms are generally quite easy to understand. Below you’ll find a list of some widely used terms to do with football betting and the game of football itself:

Bankroll

This refers to the amount of money you have to bet with. There are some techniques that can be used to manage your bankroll smartly.

Evens

A bet placed at odds of 1:1. If you win, you’ll receive your original bet back, plus a sum equal to your bet.

Favourite

The team the bookies think is most likely to win the match outright.

Fold

A way of describing an accumulator bet. A six-fold accumulator, for example, is an accumulator bet made up of six selections.

Long shot

If a team’s described as a long shot, it means the bookies don’t think that the team has any chance of winning.

Odds Against

Where the odds are greater than evens, e.g. 8/2. Win an odds-against bet and you’ll receive your original bet back, along with a sum of money greater than your bet.

Odds On

For this bet, the odds are smaller than evens, e.g. 1/4. If you win this type of bet, you’ll have your original bet returned to you and will receive a sum of money less than your bet.

Returns

The amount of money you stand to be paid if you win your bet.

Specials

Limited-time markets or markets that have been given better odds by the bookmaker. Many of the biggest bookies and online sportsbooks regularly offer football betting specials.

Stake

Also known as a wager or even just a bet, this is the amount of money you’re betting with. If your bet loses, you’ll lose this money. If your bet wins, you’ll receive this money back, along with a fraction or percentage of it as winnings.

Underdog

A team that most people don’t think will win.

24 Hour Rule

Most bookies have this rule in place. If a match is postponed, all bets still stand so long as the match takes place within 24 hours.