Main types of bets on football
Football is a very popular sport and a lot of people bet on football regularly. There are many types of bet available: you can bet before the game starts and also in-play (Live), bet on one or several types of outcome, bet on the result of the whole tournament or of a particular time interval. Live betting is considered to be more complicated because you have to know what's going on on the pitch in detail, you must be able to make decisions quickly and choose the best odds. It is recommended to bet live only if you have an opportunity to watch the game live on the internet or on television and assess the players' form and their chances of winning first-hand.
Match betting
Either Team 1 (the home team) or Team 2 (the away team) can win. The match can also end in a draw. You can bet on Team 1 to win (W1), Team 2 to win (W2) or on a draw (X). There is also double chance betting: a Team 1 win or a draw, a Team 2 win or a draw, a win for Team 1 or Team 2 (no draw option). You can place bets on different markets at the same time, increasing your chance of winning. There is also an opportunity to combine several bets into one creating an accumulator bet.
Betting on total
A "total" is the number of points/goals scored by both teams or by an individual team/player (sometimes this is called an individual total) during the whole match or a particular time interval. A bet on "total over" will win if the number of goals scored in a match exceeds a particular number set by the bookmaker. For example, with a total equalling 2 there are three possibilities:
3 goals – bet wins;
1 goal – bet loses;
2 goals – the player gets a refund (the bet is considered to have won at the odds of 1.00).
A decimal total is also common – for example Over 2.5. In this case there are two possible options. If 1 or 2 goals are scored the bet loses, if 3 goals or more are scored, the bet wins. A bet on "Total Under" will win if the number of goals scored is less than the number set by bookmaker. Totals are not just applied to goals. Total bets on corners and yellow cards are popular too.
Handicap
This is the number which will be added to the result of an event. It is used in different markets: match winner, total goals, yellow cards. Handicap is represented as H1 or H2 and a number in brackets, which corresponds to the actual size of the handicap.
For example: La Liga, Barcelona v Real Madrid H2 (2). Barcelona wins the match 2–1. Real's result is increased by 2 (the size of the handicap). This gives us 2–3, so Real wins considering the handicap and the bet wins. A handicap can be decimal too, for example H1 (2.5). The principle is the same. Handicap markets are also offered on half-time results, the number of goals scored by the forward, shots saved by the goalkeeper etc.
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