BETTING SCHOOL 101 : Introduction to football betting for beginners

Betting on football involves predicting results on matches and placing a ‘bet’ or ‘putting money’ or ‘staking’ on the outcome. ‘Odds’ in football betting represent the probability of an event to happen and makes you able to calculate how much money you will win if your bet wins. For example, with odds of 2.0, for every N1,000 (Kes 1,000) you bet, you will potentially win N2,000 (Kes 2,000), and for every N500 (Kes 500) you bet, you will potentially win N1,000 (Kes 1000). What betting odds do is present how likely the event is to happen.

Let’s make it more clear. In a match between Chelsea and Manchester United, if you decide to place an N1,000 (Kes 1,000) bet on the away win betting market at odds of (1.70). When Manchester United win the game, you will have earned N1,700 (Kes 1,700), N700 (Kes 700) of which will be profit for you.

Odds can be displayed in two different ways with most online betting sites – fractional or decimal. In fractional odds, odds of 6/1 could mean if you bet a dollar or naira or shillings, and you win you get paid six dollars or naira or shillings (6 x 1 = 6). Odds in the form of (2.0,1.7) are called decimal odds.

Betting in football gives you the ability to predict the outcome of certain ‘events’, and if your prediction is correct, you will win money. Events are like football matches for example. You can take the BettingOffers of bookmakers, bet on a team to win, draw or lose, the first and last goalscorer, the correct score, the half-time score, number of goals, whether there will be a sending-off, a hat-trick, penalty or the number of corners, and so on.

In betting, there are different kinds of ‘markets’; ‘pre-match’ markets and ‘in-play’. Some markets offer odds on whether there might be a goal, card, corner or penalty in the first five minutes of the match, for example. Pre-match markets involve placing bets before kick-off, while In-Play is betting that takes place after an event has started and up to its end. Some bookmakers or online betting sites sometimes call In-Play ‘live betting’.

Betting on your favorite football match is about more than just who will win or what the final score will be. In fact, some bookmakers (online betting sites) now offer hundreds of markets on just a single match and many more if you decide to bet In-Play.

As a beginner, you can be confused by the multiple markets available, but keep calm we’d explain them to you gradually. You will soon start to learn how the whole betting process works, by learning a few key markets at first. You as the bettor can choose whether you want to place ‘single bet’ on one of the markets or play ‘multiple bets’ or ‘accumulate’ several events for bigger returns.

These are some of the most popular markets and terms in football betting:

1. Stake: This is how much money you place on a bet

2. Handicap:  This is a type of bet that is offered when one team is the clear favorite

3. Both Teams to Score (BTTS):  If both teams score in a football match.

4. Total Goals: The total number of goals to be scored in a match

5. Multiple Bets: Any bet involving more than one selection

6. Accumulator Bet: An accumulator bet is a single bet that links together four or more bets and is dependent on all the bets winning to make a profit.

7. 3 way (1X2): This is home team wins, draw or away team wins

8. Double Chance: This is a type of bet where you pick a winner and if they win or it is a draw, you win the bet

9. 1st team to score or the last team to score: This could go to the home team or away team, or no goal to be involved in a match

10. Totals (2.5):  This is when you bet on the number of goals to be scored. Over 2.5 means if there will be 3 or more goals. Under 2.5 would be 0, 1, or 2 goals to be scored.

11. Clean sheet home team/away team: Will the home or away team play to nil (yes or no). Play to nil means without conceding