Soccer Betting Guide

Soccer betting guide 

Even though soccer is the most widely bet on sport in the world, it is still new to many US players.  This is slowly changing in the US due to the increased availability of US broadcasts of european competitions, the growing strength of the MLS and the success of the US national teams. 

Soccer Rules Overview 

Before discussing the most popular soccer markets to bet on, it’s important to understand the rules and how they can impact your betting strategy.  If you already have a grasp on the rules of the game feel free to skip this section.

Soccer is played over two 45 minute halves with the only commercial breaks coming during the 15 minute half time.  At the end of each half there is stoppage time or injury time added on to account for injuries, delays, and substitutions that occurred during the half which caused play to stop.  Soccer is unique in that it is ultimately the referee who decides when each half ends, not the clock.  Unlike US sports such as Football and Basketball which have a clock that counts down to 00:00 wich results in the end of the game, soccer uses a clock that counts up from 00:00 to 45:00.  Stoppage time is indicated by the 4th official, who is off the field of play near the players bench, with an LED board.  The referee notes this number and then times the remainder of the half with his wrist watch, ending the half when they feel enough time has elapsed.  While it’s fairly uncommon to end the match too quickly, referees often let the match go on past the indicated time depending on additional time wasting and substitutions or to let a final attack play out.  Stoppage time is usually between 2-5 minutes.  Despite its short length this part of the game is generally full of action as teams press hard to equalize or win.  Between 10% and 12% are usually scored in these few minutes, depending on the league.

Soccer is unique from most US sports in that if the score is tied at the end of regulation the game simply ends in a tie, there is no overtime.  Not only can games end in a draw, it’s actually quite common.  Depending on the league roughly between 20% and 25% of games end in a draw.  The exception to this is tournament play where usually an additional two 15 minute halves of extra time will be played, if the tie remains at the end of these two halves a shootout will be used to determine the winner.  As we’ll talk about later it’s important to understand whether the competition you’re betting on is league play which will end in a tie or tournament play which will go to extra time.

Another way soccer is unique from US sports is the limited number of substitutions in a match.  Almost all competitions allow for only 3 substitutions throughout a match, with the exception being friendly matches which occur outside of any competition which generally allow unlimited substitutions.  Similar to baseball, once a player is taken off the field they are not able to return.  There is no exception made for injuries, for example if 4 players on a team were injured and unable to complete the game their team would be forced to finish the game with 10 players. 

Main Soccer Markets 

1X2 

The 1 X 2 is the most popular market for soccer bettors.  This market is simply a 3 way moneyline where correctly picking a home win, draw or away win, respectively, will result in a winning wager.  Since there is an additional potential outcome new bettors often feel like the 3 way line offers attractive odds relative to what two similarly matched teams in some other sports would be priced at, and it can take them some time to understand just how much more common draws are in soccer than other sports. 

Two way money lines 

For bettors looking for other money line options there are two different ways to bet a two way money line, the draw no bet market and the double chance market. 

Draw no bet 

Just like the name implies this market is a 2 way moneyline American players will be more familiar with, where a draw results in the wager being returned to the player.  This market can be a good entry point to soccer betting as it will be more similar to the types of money lines US players are used to. 

Double chance 

The double chance bet is a bet on one of three combinations of outcomes, they are as follows 

• Team A wins or draws 
• Team B wins or draws 
• Team A or Team B win

These wagers will pay if either of the results within the bet win 

As you can see this market basically just removes one of the 3 lines from the 1 X 2 market.

To Advance 

In competitions that require a winner to be decided by the end of the match, like the World Cup knockout stage, you can bet on which team will advance regardless of whether they win in regulation, extra time or a shootout.  This market is also available in competitions like the knockout stages of the Champions League where winners may also be determined by away goals in a home and home series.  Since this market eliminates both the draw line and time constraints of the 1 X 2 market it is a less risky bet, but will also have lower odds.  If you’re new to some of these competitions and dont have firm grasp of the rules and structure yet this might be a good option for you.

Totals 

American bettors will recognize this market as being effectively the same as the over under market available for US sports.  In this market you are placing a bet on whether the number of goals scored by both teams will be above or below a certain number.  Since soccer is a low scoring game these lines are usually presented in 0.5 goal increments to avoid pushes.  Traditionally the main market presented by the sports book is a 2.5 goal line, not necessarily the line with the most even odds on each side.

Handicaps 

Due to the popularity of the three way 1 X 2 market handicaps , which US bettors will recognize as spreads, are typically offered in both a 3 way and 2 way handicap market. 

Asian Handicap 

What US bettors will recognize as a traditional spread is known as the asian handicap in soccer.  This market functions the same as spread markets in football or basketball that US players will be accustomed to, with one key difference.  As soccer is a low scoring game bookmakers offer these markets in 0.25 point increments instead of the 0.5 point increments traditionally used in US sports.  This might be confusing as it’s obviously not possible to score half a goal, but this line is really two separate lines in one.  A line ending in .25 or .75 means that half your wager will be placed on each of the half point increments above or below the offered line.  For example if you bet $20 on Manchester United -2.25 you are really placing 2 separate $10 bets on -2 and -2.5.  This is not a parley so if Manchester United wins by 3 both bets win, if they win by 2 the -2.5 bet loses and the -2 bet pushes and if win by 1, draw or lose then both bets lose.

3 Way Handicap 

The 3 way handicap can be a little confusing to new bettors as there is a draw handicap offered in addition to the handicaps for each team.  For this market the addition of the draw handicap eliminates the possibility of a push, as a match that ends in the exact spread results in the draw handicap line being settled as the winning bet.  For example let’s look at the 3 way handicap for the Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin match.  Hertha -1 is offered at +390, Union +1 at -190 and Draw -1 at +320.  If Hertha wins by 2 or more goals the Hertha -1 line wins, if Union draws or wins outright the Union +1 line wins and if Hertha wins by 1 goal the Draw -1 line wins.  Since this market can be confusing, and as a 3 way line generally has a higher margin than the 2 way asian handicap, we recommend checking other lines on offer that reflect the same required outcomes to win as they will usually have odds before placing your bet.     

Prop markets 

In addition to the main markets soccer offers a wide array of prop markets.  Due to the global popularity of soccer betting there are usually a relatively large number of these markets offered each game. 

Goal Scorer Props 

As the name indicated these props are centered around correctly picking which player will score a goal in the match.  The most basic version of this prop is the Anytime Goal Scorer market.  In this market you only need to correctly pick a player who scores at any point in the match in order to win the bet.  There are also variations of this bet which add a time element to the wager, the two most popular are the First Goal Scorer and Last Goal Scorer which as the name implies requires you to correctly pick the player who scores either the first or last goal in a match.  Some sportsbooks offer markets which narrow the time constraints even further allowing you to bet on who will score in a half or even between specific time increments (e.g. Vamie Vardy to score between 15’-30’).

Corners and Cards  

In addition to goals the total number of corners and yellow or red cards in a game are popular prop markets.  These markets are structured the same as Total or Over/Under markets where you bet on whether the total number of corners, yellow cards or red cards for both teams will be over or under a set line.  These markets are especially attractive in games where there is expected to be a low number of goals scored.