The betting world keeps expanding every day as more and more punters and gambling businesses join the bandwagon. Of all the options you have with a sportsbook, soccer betting is the most popular.
There are several reasons why punters love to bet on soccer. A huge following worldwide, lots of exciting leagues and tournaments, numerous daily matches and a vast range of betting options are just a few of these reasons.
You are on the right page if you want to start betting on soccer. Here, on this page, we cover the basic concepts every beginner needs to know about soccer betting and football betting in general. However, we only covered a section of the topic here. For more important information, you need to check out this page that takes you through the popular soccer bets.
What is soccer betting?
In simple terms, soccer betting is the act of predicting the outcome of a soccer match and risking some money on that prediction. In the betting space, it’s you against the betting company. You win; they give you money. Lose, and they take yours.
Some soccer betting terminologies
Stake: This is the money you risk on your prediction. Depending on the match outcome, you either lose it or win higher amounts of money with it.
Odds: This is the amount staked by the betting company divided by the amount staked by the bettor. If, for instance, you place a $5 bet on an outcome that is ten odds, it means the company is staking 10×5= $50. You win the $50 if your bet is successful.
Banker: a highly certain bet.
Wincast: This is a prediction of the player that will score and the team that will win.
Scorecast: This is a prediction of the match score and the player that will score first.
Half Time/ Full Time: This bet is 2 in 1. Here, you predict the result of the first half and the result at the end of the second half.
DNB: This means draw no bet. In this case, you cannot predict a draw. You can only choose either Win or Lose. If the outcome you select happens, you win money. If it doesn’t, you lose your stake. If the game ends in a draw, your stake will be refunded. Just as the risks involved are low, so are the odds.
Over/Under: Here, you can predict the number of goals. This number is expressed as Over or Under a number. For instance, if you pick over 1.5, you are predicting two or more goals will be scored in the game. If you pick under 2.5, you’re predicting two or fewer goals will be scored.
Note that overs and unders don’t refer to goals alone. Any other countable aspect of the game, such as the number of yellow or red cards, corner kicks, penalties and so on, is inclusive.
90 minute betting: This bet covers players who feature within the normal 90 minutes of play. If the player doesn’t play the match, the bet is cancelled.
Double Chance: Another low-risk, low-odds option. Here you can predict a winning team, and if they win or draw the game, you win the bet. If they lose, you lose as well.
24-Hour Rule: This rule states that so long as a game is played within 24 hours of its postponement, all bets placed on it are valid. A lot of betting companies follow this rule.
Accumulator: This is also referred to as a ticket. It consists of multiple bets packed together. If their predicted outcomes are successful, their odds are combined and multiplied by the bettor’s stake, and he gets paid the resulting amount. If just a single bet fails to make the cut, the bettor loses out on the full money. This is a high-risk, high-reward option.
Handicap: This kind of bet gives a bit of an edge to the team that is more likely to lose. Handicaps are added to the final scoreline. For instance, in a Man City vs Watford game, Watford could be given a handicap of +4. So if the result is Man City 4-0 Watford, the game will be taken as a draw because the handicap implies the score is Man City 4-4 Watford.
There are two kinds of handicaps: the Asian and the European handicaps.
They could be as simple as the example given above, and they could also be complex. For example, Man City vs Watford and Watford is given a handicap of +2,+3. This means that half your stake predicts a win, loss or draw for Watford by less than two goals, and the other half predicts a win, loss or draw for Watford by less than three goals.
So if the result is Man City 3-0 Watford, the first half of your bet is a loss because handicap would mean Man City 3-2 Watford, and the second half would be a draw (Man City 3-3 Watford).
Asian and European Handicaps are the same but for one difference. In the Asian handicap, the bettor’s stake is refunded when a draw is obtained. However, a bettor loses his stake when a draw happens in the European handicap.
Conclusion
While this post has done justice to the basic concepts of soccer betting, it is not enough to know everything you need to know about wagering on soccer.
As you sojourn in the world of soccer betting, you will find the need to know more information; do not hesitate to read and learn more. Start by reading the articles on Cabets.ca.
