Beginners Guide to Soccer Betting

Betting on Soccer can be a fun and even a profitable hobby.  In addition, soccer betting also adds extra excitement to watching a game of soccer.  In our Beginners Guide to Soccer Betting, we will go over the basics on how to bet on soccer.

If you are new to soccer betting and want to try it out, then you have come to the right place. We will teach you about everything you need to know to get started without overwhelming you with details.

However, before we start this soccer betting tutorial, we will first go over the main terms involved in soccer betting.

Important Soccer Betting Terms

Stake or Risk – This is the amount of money you place on a bet.  It is the amount of money you stand to lose if you don’t win.

24 Hour Rule – The top sportsbooks have a rule where if a match is postponed, the bet is cancelled if it doesn’t get played within 24 hours. For example, if a match was delayed by only 2 hours, then the bet would still stand.

How to Bet on Soccer

Most Popular Types of Soccer Bets and how to Use them

Most Popular Types of Soccer Bets and how to Use themAccumulator – A soccer accumulator is a bet made up of four or more single bets. Furthermore, if each of the bets comes off then the odds accumulate together. In U.S. gambling, it is also known as a parlay.

Handicap Betting – This is a bet that is offered to counter the odds when a team is the clear favorite.  This means that a soccer handicap bet makes the odds more appealing and balanced to the bettor.

For example, FC Cincinnati and DC United play each other and FC Cincinnati is favored to win. In a handicap bet, DC United will receive a small advantage to even out the bets on both sides.  Thus, it is given handicap odds of -1.5. This means that a player betting on the favorite would needs them to win by 1.5 points or more in order to win the bet.  In U.S. soccer betting, it is known as spread betting or betting on the point spread.

Full Time Bet

The most popular form of betting on soccer is full time result.  In addition, it has two betting types being the most common – 1X2 (Win/Draw/Lose) and Asian Handicap. With 1X2 betting, you can bet on either team to win or for the match to end in a draw.

Asian Handicap was essentially created to eliminate the draw as an option and to also make one-sided matches more interesting. Bookmakers will offer you a goal handicap by adding or subtracting points to the fulltime score. For those who want to Open a Soccer Sportsbook, Asian Handicapping is a tough but essential skill to have.

Half Time/Full Time Bets – This is when you predict the winner of the first half then of the entire game.

Over/Under Bet – This is when you bet on the number of goals being scored, normally it will be over or under an amount.  For example, over 2.5 means if there are 3 or more goals. Under 2.5 would be 0, 1, or 2 goals being scored.

Other Popular Type of Soccer Bets

Other Popular Type of Soccer BetsScorecast Bet – This type of bet is when you bet on a player to score the first goal predict the correct score.

Wincast Bet – This bet is very similar to a Scorecast bet.  In a Wincast Bet, you bet on a player to score and then predict the winner of the game.

Draw No Bet or DNB – This is a bet where if the score is a draw, you get your money back for your bet. This can be seen as a safer option but you should understand that the odds are usually lower when this is selected.

Double Chance Bet – This bet is one where you pick a winner and if they win OR it is a draw, you win the bet. If the team you pick loses then you lose the bet. Like DNB the odds are generally lower but it is a safer bet as a result.

If you are looking to immediately bet on soccer games, take a look at this list of soccer betting websites.

Bookie Pay Per Head Service

Read more soccer betting tutorials

By Tommy Smith

I have been managing a sportsbook for a top sports betting company for over 10 years and do freelance writing on the side.