Understanding How To Bet Soccer
They say soccer is the world's sport. Millions of fans worldwide live and breathe with every match their favorite team plays. Leagues like the Premier League, MLS, LaLiga and others feature the top players in the world. The World Cup is a massive, worldwide phenomenon that attracts millions of viewers and features some of the most exciting and thrilling action around. So it's no surprise that a lot of fans want to add even more energy and excitement into their soccer viewing by adding a match or two to their sportsbook ticket. Like soccer itself, sports gambling is growing around the world with millions of fans getting in on the action every day. With this much action going around, it's easy to see why sports gambling and soccer are a perfect match. That's why today, we're going to take a closer look at understanding how to bet on soccer, the types of bets you can place and what to look for. So let's get right to it!
3-way money line bet
The 3-way money line bet is the most popular bet for soccer. Where in sports like football and basketball the money line bet is picking a team to win outright, the soccer 3-way money line is picking a team to win OR for the teams to tie - because remember, games can end in a tie in soccer. Let's take a look at an example.
We have Team A at +150, Team B at +200 and a Draw at +250.
A $100 bet on Team A would net you $150, a $100 bet on Team B would win you $200 and a $100 on the match finishing in a draw would win you $250.
There is a specialty bet for soccer called the 'Draw No Bet'. That is when you remove the possibility of a draw and wager on the winner. If the game ends in a draw, your wager is refunded to you.
Point spread bet
If you don't feel confident picking an outright winner for a match you can always try a point spread bet. For soccer, because offense is usually limited and not many goals are scored, the point spread will almost always be set at 1.5. So a favorite would have a spread of -1.5 (meaning they're laying 1.5 goals) and an underdog would have a point spread of +1.5 (meaning they're getting 1.5 goals).
If you bet on the favorite at -1.5, they would need to win the match by MORE than 2 goals. So if they won 4-1, congrats! You win your bet. But if they only win 1-0 your bet would lose because you are taking 1.5 goals away from their final score.
If you bet the underdog at +1.5 then they could lose the match but you could still win your bet. So if the underdog loses the match 2-1 you still win your bet because you are adding 1.5 goals to their final score.
Over/under goals scored
The over/under is another fairly popular soccer bet. Because goals are at a premium for soccer, some players feel predicting the over/under is easier than in sports like football or basketball where the scoring can get fairly high.
So if the oddsmakers list an over/under at 2.5, an over bet would be the COMBINED number of goals being over 2.5. An under bet would be the COMBINED goals being under 2.5.
Speciality Soccer bets
You wouldn't think soccer has so many different options for betting but you'd be wrong. There's a ton! Let's take a look at some of the more popular speciality bets available in soccer…
- Correct Score
This is exactly what it sounds like - picking the correct final score of the match. Since this is seen as a more difficult bet to hit, the odds will always be positive, meaning higher payouts if you're able to hit the bet. This is a fun bet because you're living and breathing with every goal scored - or not scored.
- Half-time/full-time
This is a fun bet where you're betting on the outcome of the first half AND the final outcome. Soccer is played in two 45 minute halves - plus any stoppage time at the end. A half-time/full-time bet is where you bet on what the outcome of each will be, respectively. So for example, you might think Team A will lead at the half but Team B will win in the end. Or you might think it will be a draw at half-time but that Team A will win in the end. Or you might think both will be a draw. The half-time/full-time bet gives you some more options and opens up your avenues to winning.
- First goal scorer or anytime goal scorer
Another widely popular bet, this is betting on a player to be the first goal scorer of the match. Or, if you don't feel confident picking the first scorer, you can simply make your bet an 'anytime goal scorer' and if your selected player scores at anytime - you win!
- Time of First Goal
Another fun bet, this is where you wager on the time of the match that the goal will be scored. Usually, you have selections of 0-15 minutes, 16-30 minutes, etc. If the first goal is scored within your timeframe, you win.
- Corner Kicks
Corner kicks are an exciting part of any soccer match. And when you bet on them they're even more exciting! This bet is basically an over/under bet. There will be a set umber of corner kicks predicted by the oddsmakers - let's say 10.5 - and you bet if there will be OVER 10.5 or UNDER 10.5. And like the total goals, this is a COMBINED total from both teams.
- Player and Game Props
Player and game props are fun bets that take away the final outcome of the game and instead, focus on specific players or teams doing specific things. So player prop examples are 'Player A having over 1.5 shots on target', 'Team A to score first', 'Player B to have an assist', 'Both teams to score in each half'.
Conclusion
So there we have it! Our look at how to bet on soccer. As you can see, there's quite a lot to choose from! So the next time you're ready for a sportsbook session, head on over to the soccer section and think about putting down a 3-way money line or player prop on the next big soccer match. Then, sit back and watch all the exciting action - and hopefully come away a winner!