How to Profit from Football Betting Data

Betting on Match Results

Full Time Result

  Typical Odds
Team A win 10/11
Draw 9/4
Team B win 3/1

Bet Guide

This is a straightforward bet on which team is going to win the match (or whether it will finish a draw). Teams playing at Home (always listed first) will normally be shorter odds favourites – unless the visiting Away team is very strong.

Double Chance

  Typical Odds
Team A and the Draw 1/5
Team B and the Draw 5/6
Team A or Team B 2/7

Bet Guide

This bet gives you two chances to win out of the three possible outcomes. You can either back a team to win AND the match to be a Draw (so you only lose if your pick loses). Or if you can bet on both teams to win (so you only lose if the match ends a Draw). Because you are covering more options, the odds are shorter than on Match Results.

Draw No Bet

  Typical Odds
Team A 4/11
Team B 2/1

Bet Guide

This is a straight win/lose bet – with the bet voided if the match is a Draw.

Handicap Result

Team A (minus 1) 5/2
Team B (plus 1) 13/5
Tie (Team B plus 1) 5/6

Bet Guide

Handicaps can create a betting opportunity when it wouldn't otherwise exist – either making two teams more even, or getting better odds on short-priced favourites. You will see handicap bets applied to Goals (see Asian Handicaps) and Corners - the team with a 'minus' handicap having to overcome their deficit in order to win the bet.

So, for example, if a top team were awarded a (minus 2) handicap against a lesser team – they would need to win the actual match by at least 3 Goals to win the bet:

  • Bet: Team A (-2) v Team B 
  • Actual result: Team A wins 1-0 = bet loses
  • Actual result: Team A wins 2-0 = bet loses
  • Actual result: Team A wins 3-0 = bet WINS

Asian Handicap (sample)

Team A (minus 0.5 Goals) 2.0*
(Evens)
Team B (plus 0.5 Goals) 1.73*
(8/11)

* Bookmakers often use decimal odds for Asian Handicaps

Bet Guide

This is a popular way of betting in the Far East (hence the name), offering a potentially better chance than straight forward Match Result bets.

Handicaps are awarded (in brackets) that the winning team must overcome. These handicaps can vary from match to match – and are sometimes shown in 'fractions' of Goals. Of course you can't have 0.5, or 1.5 of a Goal – it is simply a means to decide winning margins. Below is a list of example handicaps and their outcomes:

  • A team with a (-0.5) handicap must: Win the match by any score. Any other result and the bet is lost.
  • A team with a (-1) handicap must: Win the match by 2 Goals. By 1 Goal and the bet is void and stakes are returned. Any other result the bet is lost.
  • A team with a (-1.5) handicap must: Win by 2 Goals. Any other result and the bet is lost.

Split Handicaps

You may also see a 'split' Handicap, such as: (0, -0.5) – which splits the bet into two, for example:

- A team with a (0, -0.5) handicap must: Win the match by any score. If the match is a Draw – half the stake is refunded, half is lost. Any other result and the bet is lost.

- A team with a (-1, 1.5) handicap must: Win by 2 Goals. Win by 1 Goal and half the stake is returned, half lost. Any other result and it's a loser.

And so on…

There are also 'plus' split handicaps. For example, a team may have a (0, +0.5) handicap. If they win the match, the bet wins. If they draw, half wins and half is returned (if they lose, the bet loses).

Half Time Result

Team A 6/4
Draw 6/5
Team B 7/2

Bet Guide

You can also bet on the outcome of just the First Half of a match – as you would a Match Result.

Half Time/Full Time

Team A – Team A 15/8
Team A – Draw 16/1
Team A – Team B 40/1
Draw – Team A 7/2
Draw – Draw 4/1
Draw – Team B 8/1
Team B – Team A 28/1
Team B – Draw 16/1
Team B – Team B 13/2

Bet Guide

This allows you to bet on the result at Half Time AND Full Time – twice as difficult as predicting the outright winner, but offering bigger odds.

Next: Betting on Goals